I saved the best for last. I have always wanted a golden retriever. I knew how smart and loving they were, but my dad would never let me get a dog that shed. I was luck enough to get that golden retriever, but she would not be able to stay at my house which was fine as long as I got to see her often. Oaklee is not your typical golden. Now many people say that their dog is more special/different than the next persons dog. How often do you see a golden that is less than fifty pounds? The average golden is about 60-70 pounds for reference. When I walk by with her everyone looks and asks if she is full grown or how old she is expecting a puppy less than a year old when she is really almost 3 years old. The special thing about Oaklee is that she is seventh generation hunting line. Hunting line dogs are a little smaller than the show line which is what just about everyone else has.
Since she is apart of a hunting line you would expect her to be one of the best hunting dogs out there. Well, she isn’t. Oaklee is scared of loud noises, which is not good for hunting when you are using a gun. She hides from the sound or she jumps. Since all of my other dogs have a purpose, I had to find one for her since hunting was not it. Turns out she is an amazing emotional/service dog. I have not officially gotten her service dog license, but we are well on our way. I take her to hospitals and sometimes to the library where kids can read to her and just love on her.
One obstacle we had to overcome was her being environmentally skittish. This basically means she is scared of new environments and hides from everything. The way I got her to overcome her fear was just taking her everywhere with me. I would not force her to do much. I would go to target one day, and she barely got through the doors. The next day when I went back, to target she got a little further inside and each day she would improve. I would reward her for doing this so she knew that if she went further inside, she would get a treat.
With the corona virus going around and being bound inside she has been my family’s emotional support dog. She can sense when we are stressing out and she comes and lays next to us with her head in our laps. She isn’t your typical golden retriever, but she is mine and I love her to death. I would do anything for this pup.
For the Love of Paws 