blue cape
Monday, March 30, 2009
Trainer's Diary: Who's Who
One of the first challenges of starting a new string of dogs is learning to tell them apart. This is easy with Aussies and Collies. Yellow dogs, easy (usually). Vizslas are a little trickier. But black Labs and Goldadors are the hardest. At first, all the black dogs look alike, especially if they are from the same litter. But after looking at them for a few days, the differences start to jump out at you. You notice that BlackDog 1 has lighter eyes than her nearly identical sister. Or BlackDog 2's tail curls all the way over her back. Or BlackDog 3 has a cowlick on his shoulders. Something always stands out that you can use to tell them apart. After a few weeks, they look so different from each other, it's hard to imagine ever thinking they all looked alike.
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4 comments:
Now this is really neat. I am sure that once you start working with especially the black dogs, you can really start to tell them apart and I am also sure that their personalities shine too.
Lin and Major
Donna Said
This is something I always wondered about, although I should know characteristics and slight physical changes would separate one black from another. I have 3 Goldens and I hear lots of times from folks who think they all look alike and ask me if they all one family. Funny, to me the difference is huge. I certainly understand how you tell the difference between same color dogs. Thanks for clearing up another "mystery." I love this article, Karen.
Someday ask your ACs how many of them have stories about people taking the wrong dogs home (or, nearly) from a meeting that included an off-leash playdate...!
I'm really glad you wrote about this. When I came down for Walk-a-thon I toured the school and the Training Kennels. I wondered how trainers would know my dog from the others when he comes in for IFT. It makes me feel better about sending him knowing that trainers work hard to get to know each dog and their personalities. Thank you for taking the time to write these articles. I know all of you are very busy. It is comforting to have knowledge about the "other side of training" once they are no longer with us. This is great! Thank you!!
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