Golden Retriever: the Trusted and Advantageous Pet for Human Beings Essay

Nowadays, it is known that thousand kinds of dogs are spread around the world. A lot of kinds of dogs live among people as pets, although there are also some which live wildly. People’s taking care of dogs is based on some purposes. Not only is dog taken care as pet, people also keeping dogs to keep their houses secure. For this reason, people usually keep the kind of ‘guard dogs’ such as Boxer, Pitbull, Herder, Rottweiller, and Doberman which is known for their fierce behavior and strong power. Another purpose is people keep dogs to help their jobs. For this purpose, people like to keep dogs from ‘utility group’ which can do some kinds of particular jobs. People in Alaska use Siberian Husky as the cart puller because of its strength and ‘navigation’ instinct. Another example is Dalmatian. People in North America, Western Europe and Mediterranean use this kind of dog to help they hunt and carry the firewood during the winter season. The other example is St. Bernard which is known as the rescue dog. This dog has a very good sense of smell that it can detect the victim who is buried under the thick snow or ruins and save the person. The other purpose is people take care of dogs for fun and make them as friends. People usually keep the dogs from ‘toy group’ which tend to have small size. Some example of this kind of dog is Chihua-hua, Maltese, Cavalier King, Pug, and Shih-tzu. People can dress the dogs with accessories they like. In addition to the pleasure purpose, people also bring up dogs for companion reason. They keep dog to be their friend in purpose. The dogs for being companion usually come from ‘gundog group’. Some kinds of dogs from this group are Retriever, Cocker Spaniel, Pointer, and English Setter. It is clear that people take care of dogs for some purposes. However, to get the purposes, people have to take care of some dogs as well. Among thousand kinds of dogs, there is Golden Retriever which is popular this decade. By having Golden Retriever as pet, people do not need to keep some dogs in their houses. People take care of Golden Retriever because it is trusted and has a lot of advantages for human beings’ life. Golden Retriever has a specific physical appearance that is different from other dogs. This kind of dog has golden fur. That is why people name it ‘Golden’. Besides having golden fur on the whole of its body, Golden Retriever also has a quite big size body. The height of an adult Golden Retriever can reach of 23-24 inches. It also has wide and semi-curved skull seen from front and sides. A good Golden Retriever should have black lip, wide chin, black or brownish black nose, reddish pink tongue, wide fall ears, strong teeth structures, proportional body, strong hands and feet, long strong tail, and lovely eyes. In this case, lovely eyes mean that Golden Retriever’s eyes have to look friendly and smart. In addition, Golden Retriever’s eyes usually colored dark or light brown. The spreading of Golden Retriever in the world itself has passed a long way. Originally, Golden Retriever’s ancestor comes from Scotland. According to Natasaputra (2004), the first person who bred the first Golden Retriever was a nobility of English, Sir Dudley Coutts Marjaribanks MP or Lord Tweedmouth. Lord Tweedmouth loved hunting very much and as a true hunter, he wanted to have a kind of dog which was able to assist him in hunting. Thus, he mated his Yellow Retriever to his Water Spaniel. From the first mating, Lord Tweedmouth got three offspring which became the ancestor of Golden Retriever. Orang pertama yang menghasilkan Golden Retriever adalah Sir Dudley Coutts Marjaribanks MP atau biasa disebut Lord Tweedmouth. Sebagai seorang pemburu sejati, Lord Tweemouth mengidamkan seekor anjing pendamping berburu yang tidak hanya pandai menjemput, tetapi juga mampu mengantarkan buruan kepadanya. Saat itu ia mendapat hadiah Nous, anjing berjenis Yellow Retriever. Secara kebetulan, ia pun memiliki Belle, anjing berjenis Water Spaniel. Kemudian Belle dikawinkan dengan Nous untuk mendapatkan keturunan anjing baru yang pintar berburu. Perkawinan tersebut menghasilkan tiga anak anjing berbulu kuning yang kemudian diberi nama Crocus, Cowslip, dan Primrose. Anjing inilah yang menjadi cikal bakal lahirnya Golden Retriever. [The first person who bred Golden Retriever was Sir Dudley Coutts Marjaribanks MP or Lord Tweedmouth. As the true hunter, Lord Tweedmouth wished for a dog to assist him in hunting which was not only able to take, but also bring the prey to him. At the time, he got Nous, a Yellow Retriever, as prize. By chance, he also had Belle, a Water Spaniel. Then Belle was mated to Nous to produce new offspring which was good in hunting. The mating produced three puppies which was then named Crocus, Cowslip, and Primrose. These dogs were the ancestors of Golden Retriever. ] In addition to the first breeding of Golden Retriever, the dissemination of Golden Retriever in the world notes a long story as well. Some of Lord Tweedmouth’s families brought the offspring of Golden Retriever out from Scotland to some countries such as North America and some countries in Western Europe. In North America, the breeding rate of Golden Retriever increases rapidly. In United States and Canada, Golden Retriever becomes very popular and lots of people take care of it. That is no wonder if some people think that Golden Retriever comes from United States or Canada. The name of Golden Retriever, etymologically, comes from two English words; ‘golden’ and ‘retriever’. People named it ‘golden’ because of its golden fur color. Furthermore, the name ‘retriever’ was taken from its behavior. At first, Golden Retriever usually became the partner in hunting. It would take and retrieve the shot prey completely to its master. Because of its ability, people named it Retriever. The combination of its fur color and natural ability make people call it Golden Retriever. Disebut golden karena warna bulunya senantiasa terlihat keemasan bila diterpa sinar. Awalnya, trah ini dibiakkan sebagai teman berburu burung dan unggas liar lainnya. Saat buruan telah tertembak dan jatuh, anjing akan mengambil dan menyerahkan buruan kepada tuannya secara utuh. Kemampuan inilah yang menyebabkan anjing ini disebut retriever. Perpaduan warna bulu dan keahlian inilah yang membuat anjing ini terkenal dengan sebutan Golden Retriever. (Natasaputra, 2004) [It is called golden because its fur color always looks golden under the light. At first, this race was bred as hunting assistant to hunt birds and other wild fowls. When the prey was shot, the dog will take and bring it to the master completely. This ability is the cause why this dog is called retriever. The combination of its fur color and natural ability make people call it Golden Retriever. ] People in the world like to take care of Golden Retriever because it is advantageous and trusted. There are four common reasons why people like to keep Golden Retriever. First, Golden Retriever has pleasant behavior. Golden Retriever is calm, tame, cheerful, loyal, and friendly dog. Because of this reason, people like to take care of Golden Retriever as friend for companion. Not like any other kinds of dogs which are emotional, especially dogs from guard group, Golden Retriever tends to behave calm. For instance, if there is a strange person comes to its master’s house, it may look at the person and then run to tell its master. It is very contrast compared to the guard dogs which will bark fiercely, move to attack or maybe bite the person. Beside its calmness, Golden Retriever is best known for its tameness, including to the little children or other animals. Although it has a quite big body size, it does not mean that Golden Retriever is fierce and aggressive. Golden Retriever is a type of cheerful dog as well. It likes to play and does something fun together with its masters, mates or other animals. For example, Golden Retriever likes to play throw-catching game. It will try to find the thrown ball or frisbee until it gets the thrown thing and retrieve the thing to its master. Another pleasant behavior of Golden Retriever is its loyalty to its master. It will obey its entire master’s order, as the master has trained it before, happily. Furthermore, it also will wait its master coming home faithfully and welcome its master happily. Beside Golden Retriever is calm, tame, cheerful and loyal, it is also a kind of friendly dog. Golden Retriever likes to play with the member of family, makes friends with other dogs or animals, and kind to everyone. In other word, Golden Retriever is a kind of dog with warmhearted behavior. The second reason is Golden Retriever can help people in doing some particular jobs. In United States, Golden Retriever helps people in rescuing the victims who is trapped or buried in the building ruins. People, especially the police, in United States also have Golden Retriever to track down narcotics, bomb and other illegal things. In United States, as well, there is Canine Companion for Independence (CCI) which is the biggest and the oldest dog training academy in the world. In CCI, the trainer trains a lot of dogs including Golden Retriever as service dog. For example, Carol, a Golden Retriever, has accompanied Nicole Sibottom for five years. Nicole, a handicapped person can not use her hands properly. In this case, Carol helps Nicole in doing some particular things, for instance, in the book store, Carol bringing Nicole book, taking it to the cashier and paying for it. Carol also helps Nicole taking the fallen pencil and taking off Nicole’s Shoes. Carol –seekor Golden Retriever- yang pintar dan rajin telah menemani Nicole Sibottom selama 5 tahun. Nicole terlahir dengan kondisi cacat. Tangannya tidak bisa digunakan sebagaimana mestinya. Tugas itulah yang dilakukan Carol. Misalnya saat diajak ke toko buku, Carol mengambil, membawa, hingga membayarnya di kasir. Saat pensil terjatuh pun dengan suka cita Carol memungutkannya. Bahkan, Carol mampu menarik tali sepatu dengan cekatan saat tuannya ingin mencopot sepatu. (Natasaputra, 2004) [Carol, a Golden Retriever, which is smart and diligent has accompanied Nicole Sibottom for 5 years. Nicole was born handicapped. Her hands can not be used properly. That is Carol’s duty. For example, when it is took to a book store, Carol takes, brings, and pay for the book in the cashier. When the pencil is fallen, Carol takes it happily. Even Carol is able to pull the shoes rope skillfully when its master wants to take it off. ] Natasaputra (2004) also states that in Japan, people train Golden Retriever to help blind people. There is Eye Mate Incorporation (EMI) which trains Golden Retriever to guide blind people. Di Jepang, Golden Retriever dimanfaatkan untuk membantu orang buta. Di Ginza Street, Tokyo, dengan lincah anjing itu mampu memandu tuannya yang buta di antara hilir mudik orang yang penuh sesak. Anjing itu dididik oleh Takhasi Suzuki, pelatih anjing dari Eye Mate Incorporation (EMI). Sebagai pelatih anjing berpengalaman, ia telah melatih 100 ekor anjing untuk membantu orang buta. [In Japan, Golden Retriever is used to help blind people. In Gimza Street, Tokyo, the dog is skillfully able to guide its master which is blind through the heavy traffic. The dog is trained by Takhasi Suzuki, a trainer of Eye Mate Incorporation (EMI). As an experienced dog trainer, he has trained 100 dogs to help blind peole. ] The third reason is Golden Retriever has a high intelligence. Most people like to train Golden Retriever because of this reason. In other word, people can train Golden Retriever easily because of its high intelligence. The true example is in the movie â€Å"Air Bud†. There is a Golden Retriever named Buddy who is being sport star in basketball, soccer, baseball, and volleyball. Not only is Buddy good at any kinds of the sports, Buddy also helps to save its family from the bad guys. From this example, it is clear that Golden Retriever has a high intelligence that it can play in a movie. The last reason is that people like its appearance. In addition to the advantages of taking care of Golden Retriever, people also confess that they like Golden Retriever’s physical appearance which looks glamorous and cute. Its long golden fur supports its glamour and its cute appearance make people interested in keeping this dog as their pet. Besides giving a lot of advantages in human beings’ life, Golden Retriever also needs a good treatment in order to support achieving the advantages continuously. Some important things in taking care of Golden Retriever are to provide the needed utensils, suitable diet, and appropriate treatment. In keeping Golden Retriever, people necessarily provide some utensils such as stable, food and drinking bowl, toys, fur-brush, and dog rein. The stable should be suitable with the size of dog. Otherwise, it is better to have the larger stable for dog so the dog can move freely. In addition to the needed utensils, people also have to provide food and drinking bowl. To keep the dog’s health, it is necessary to keep the food and drinking bowl cleanness because the dirty bowls may cause illnesses. As Golden Retriever is a kind of cheerful dog, people ought to provide some kinds of toys such as ball, fisbee, bone toy, etc. to keep the dog out of stress. Dog toys must be harmless for dog so the dog can play safely without feeling worry of being hurt. Another utensil that is very important is fur-brush. Fur-brush is very important to keep the beauty of Golden Retriever’s fur. People need to do regular brushing in order to keep the dog’s fur tidy, clean, and beautiful. The other utensil that people must have in taking care of Golden Retriever is dog rein. The dog rein is useful when the owner takes the dog for some walk. However, the owner does not need to keep the dog in the rein all the time. The using of rein is just when the dog walk to a new place in order to manage it easily if something is likely to happen. Besides providing the utensils that are necessary for Golden Retriever, people have to give the suitable diet for dog too. A good diet has to contain carbohydrate, fat, protein, vitamin, and mineral. â€Å"Pada umumnya komponen utama pakan yang seluruhnya masih diimpor ini terdiri dari protein, lemak, karbohidrat, mineral, dan vitamin† (Untung, 2004). [Commonly, the main diet component which is entirely still imported is consist of protein, fat, carbohydrate, mineral, and vitamin. ] The giving of diet has to suit the age and activity of the dog. For puppies, it is a must to give the diet, in this case is dog-food, for puppies. People may not give the diet for adult because of the difference of food composition that is harmful for puppies. The giving of diet is also different to each dog. The dog with less activity needs only adequate amount of food, whereas the dog with a lot of activities and breastfeeding dog need twice up to three times amount of adequate food. Not only are important utensils and suitable diet necessary for Golden Retriever, regular treatment is also has an important role in keeping Golden Retriever’s health. People has to bathe the dog at least once two weeks, clean the dog’s ears, eyes, and teeth, brush its fur, and cut untidy claw. It is also crucial to vaccinate the dog regularly, on the certain period, to keep the dog’s immunity so it will not easily suffer from illnesses. In conclusion, Golden Retriever is a kind of dog which has a lot of advantages in human beings’ life. Its history and dissemination to some part of the world make Golden Retriever existing until today. People like to take care of Golden Retriever because of its pleasant behavior and ability in helping people doing some particular jobs. The Golden Retriever’s appeal also lays in its physical appearance which is glamorous and cute and its high intelligence that people can train it easily. In taking care of Golden Retriever, people have to know how to take care it properly so it will support the given advantages continuously. As long as the development of Golden Retriever in human beings’ life for those who want to have pet with a lot of advantages and excellences, Golden Retriever is a good choice. References Natasaputra, I. (2004). Golden retriever, anjing cerdas nan anggun sahabat keluarga. Jakarta: Penebar Swadaya. Untung, O. (2004). Merawat dan melatih anjing. Jakarta: Penebar Swadaya.