Comic #6 - Go Fetch!
Written by Cristina Byrne | Illustration by Sarah JL Mapes
Shea is not a big into, "Go Fetch!" You really have to get her excited to maybe get her to run for a toy, sit there and rip it apart.
She is a mix between a Labrador and a Basset Hound and often mistaken for a "Giant Wiener Dog!" or referred to as a "Goofy Pup." Her body is shaped like a Basset, but her head is a Lab.
Can you picture her? I like to call her a short-legged Lab.
With Shea being a mix of a Lab and a Bassett, both breeds work as hunting dogs and she has inherited specific characteristics from each.
One of them is NOT retrieving.
In the modern world, most of us don't send our dogs to hunt for food (And if I did, to be honest she would come back with last night’s garbage) like we did in the past. Our pups still have those natural instincts that have been passed down by their ancestors.
“Vivamus pellentesque vitae neque at vestibulum. Donec efficitur mollis dui vel pharetra.”
For example, many dogs, including Labradors, were specifically bred to retrieve certain items for their human (this is basically the game of fetch). Basset Hounds were also bred to work as hunting dogs, but as scent hounds which makes their sense of smell their biggest attribute as well as their use of howling to communicate with their pack and handlers when hunting.
Shea mostly definitely has inherited the sense of smell part and believe me if I disclosed the information of what she sniffed out, it will scar you for life! But she didn’t inherit the howling, in fact, she barely barks.
So the only thing that Shea is retrieving or sniffing out (besides repulsive items that I have caught her with) is her next meal (some are questionable choices of food, if you can even call it that).
Both the Labrador and Bassett characteristics shine in her super sweet, friendly, and well behaved personality. They are both very social dogs and love to play and interact with humans or other dogs. Shea will most likely by pass other dogs and go straight to the human.
Dogs don’t pet dogs, humans do! DUH!
She isn’t much of a water dog like most Labs are, she will sit in shallow water like a cow in a puddle of mud on a hot day. Apparently Bassett Hounds aren’t really good swimmers maybe because of their short legs…? She is also not high energy like Labs are and is somewhat mellow and “lazy” like the Basset Hound.
Basically, she is a couch potato.
Even though, the Game of Fetch is a good way for your doggie to get some exercise and to have some bonding time together, in some cases, dogs just don’t ‘get’ the point of fetch.
“What do I look like?” Shea would question.
“A dog..?” I would respond!
So how does a couch potato dog like Shea get her exercise and some quality time together?
Even though fetching is clearly not Shea’s bag of bones. I have found other ways for her to get exercise that not only suits her but for me as well. Plus, in the game of fetch it's usually the dog getting the exercise and not the human.
The answer is hikes, which is LOVES! It allows her to smell all sorts of new, exciting and natural smells that doesn’t result in me having to touch things I have never wanted to touch before.
So if your dog is not a go fetcher try and find some quality time in nature’s beauty so you both get some exercise.
