I am trying to figure out the breed of my dog?

Hi all, I am new to this site..I am excited I found it! I have a dog that we have had for a couple of years that we rescued. I know from the Rescue lady that his mom was definitely a Golden Retriever since she saw her. We don't know Dad though. I know pictures would help, but since I am new..I haven't figured it out yet.


I know it could be a mix of things and you can never be sure..but I am trying to narrow it down. A lot of people tell me that physically they think he has Border Collie in him.

I have seen certain behaviors that are different than my Lab. My dog<Kodi> doesn't seem to like the heat at all due to his longer hair. He will either run through a puddle, jump in the kids pool, or roll around in the dirt to cool off. Maybe that is a trait in all dogs..I just don't see my lab doing it. When you throw a ball or object for him...he won't retrieve it. He will just look at it. We just got back from a beach vacation and I thought Kodi would have loved the beach, being part retriever. My Lab loved it. Kodi would lay in the shallow end and just let the waves rush over him and then he was done.

We get rabbits in our fenced in yard sometimes. WE have an acre. Last month I let my dogs out to go to the bathroom in the early morning. Before I knew what was happening, Kodi chased down that rabbit and brought it back to me. It was dead. I am not sure if he killed it or it had a heart attack. The rabbits have only one way to get in which is on the other side of my yard . It happened again last week. I didn't see the rabbit and let my dogs out. I saw Kodi make a bee line for that rabbit. I yelled and he stopped..but then went over and brought me the rabbit again<obviously training is something he may have to do since he didn't listen all the way> . But the rabbit had already died. I think he had a heart attack before my dog got there. Kodi lives with 2 cats and seems to like them..and never chases them at all.

My lab wasn't interested in chasing down the rabbit..What kinds of dogs have this type of instinct? I have read before that some Northern breeds like to bury themselves in dirt to cool off..which is what Kodi does..Is the rabbit thing just a retriever instinct..or more of a hunting dog instinct?

Thanks guys!

Hi,

Kodi chasing down and bringing a dead rabbit to you is just him displaying hs prey drive. He's bringing it to you to please you. What do you do when he brings it? If he realises that it's unwanted behaviour he can easily be trained to stop doing it although it will take some time.

Prey drive and retrieving are 2 very different things. My youngest GSD is now just learning to retrieve. He'll do it fine at home but anywhere else and he just won't do it. He wouldn't do reacall for a while either - making me look like a right muppet at training.

Unless you knowf or sure of his genetic make-up and history before you had him it may be difficult o narrow it down.

Why not just enjoy Kodi for the dog he is. If you don't want him bringing dead rabbits then train him not to. Or train him to be better at recall and learn to break his focus on that rabbit when he's outside. Also, maybe checking over the yard/garden before you let him out may be an idea too.

Find somethign else, whether it be a favourite toy or liver cake treats that you can use as a far higher value reward. This way he'd rather have what you've got than go after the rabbit or continue with the unwanted behaviour. Again, it may ake some time to figure out what really makes him want to come back to you when there's fresh rabbit on offer!

When you post piccies we'll be able to make suggestions on what else he could be. ALthough we could be wrong - particularly if he has more than 2 different breeds in his make-up.

Good luck.

Laura xx

Thanks Laura...I have been taking a peek in the yard before letting him out. That is what actually made me post about it..because the two rabbits were in the yard this morning. So I had to go out and chase them myself to get them out of the yard.

I do know it is almost impossible to say what he is..I was just curious since his behaviors are different than my lab's. I'm not really asking about correcting the rabbit behavior..I know he needs to be trained better. I am just curious that is all

Thanks!!