If you share your life with a Labrador, Golden Retriever or another of the traditional retriever breeds, you may occasionally wonder whether your dog possesses an inexhaustible supply of energy.
You take them for a good walk.
They run, sniff and explore.
You come home expecting a pleasantly tired dog.
And, sometimes remarkably soon afterwards, there they are looking at you as though to say:
“Right. What are we doing now?”
The understandable response can be to think:
Perhaps my dog simply needs more exercise.
Sometimes that may be true.
But physical exercise is only part of the picture.
For many retrievers, what is missing isn’t necessarily another mile of walking.
It is something meaningful to do.
Retrievers Were Bred to Do Things
The retriever breeds we now enjoy primarily as family companions were developed over generations to work alongside people.
That work involved much more than simply running around.
A retriever might need to watch.
Wait.
Remember where something had fallen.
Respond to direction.
Move out when asked.
Search.
Pick something up.
Carry it.
Return with it.
And deliver it back to the person with whom they were working.
Think about what that involves.
Physical activity certainly.
But also attention, memory, self-control, problem-solving, communication and cooperation.
That combination is important.
A retriever wasn’t developed merely to exercise.
A retriever was developed to do something.
Exercise and Purpose Are Not Quite the Same Thing
Imagine two outings.
On the first, your dog spends an hour walking and running.
On the second, the physical distance may be considerably shorter, but during the outing your dog has opportunities to search for something, retrieve it, wait for permission, return to you and use their nose and brain.
Both can be valuable.
But they aren’t necessarily providing the same experience.
Physical exercise uses the body.
Purposeful activity can involve the body and the brain.
And for a breed developed to cooperate closely with people, it can involve something else as well:
the relationship between dog and owner.
That is one reason I am cautious about assuming that every lively retriever simply needs to be exercised more.
Sometimes we can achieve rather more by making some of the time we already spend with our dogs more meaningful.
More Exercise Isn’t Always the Answer
There can also be a practical problem with continually responding to energy by adding more physical exercise.
Dogs become fitter.
A healthy, active retriever who regularly receives substantial exercise may become increasingly capable of substantial exercise.
So if our entire strategy for producing a settled dog is:
“I’ll tire him out,”
we may find ourselves trying to physically exhaust a dog who is becoming increasingly good at not being exhausted.
That doesn’t mean we should reduce appropriate exercise.
Retrievers need opportunities to walk, move, sniff, explore and enjoy being dogs.
The point is simply that exercise and engagement are not interchangeable.
A dog can have plenty of one and still benefit enormously from the other.
Give the Retriever an Outlet for Being a Retriever
This doesn’t mean that your family Labrador needs to become a working gundog.
Nor does it mean you need access to a shooting estate, specialist equipment or acres of private land.
Very simple activities can provide an outlet for natural retriever behaviour.
You might place or hide an object for your dog to find.
You might ask your dog to wait while you put something down and then release them to retrieve it.
You might practise returning with an object and delivering it calmly to your hand.
You might use two or three simple retrieves rather than throwing a ball repeatedly until your arm—or your dog—gives up.
The important part isn’t how impressive the exercise looks.
It is what the dog is learning while doing it.
Notice. Connect. Ask. Reinforce. Progress.
We can use something the retriever already enjoys as an opportunity to build communication.
Retrieving Doesn’t Have to Mean Endless Ball Throwing
There is an important distinction here.
When people hear that retrievers benefit from retrieving, the obvious solution can be to take a ball launcher to the park and throw a ball repeatedly.
The dog charges after it.
Returns.
The ball is immediately thrown again.
And the process continues.
The dog may certainly enjoy it.
But we can make retrieving much richer than simply repeatedly chasing a moving object.
Instead of concentrating on the number or distance of retrieves, we can introduce thoughtfulness.
Can your dog remain with you while the object is placed or thrown?
Can they wait briefly before being sent?
Can they watch where it lands?
Can they return towards you rather than running away with it?
Can they place it into your hand?
Can they finish the exercise and settle with you afterwards?
Suddenly the retrieve isn’t merely physical exercise.
It has become a conversation between you and your dog.
Calmness Can Be Part of the Activity
This is particularly important with excitable retrievers.
We sometimes think that calmness means doing nothing.
It doesn’t have to.
A dog can learn to be calm while waiting to do something they enjoy.
That can be extremely useful.
Your dog wants the retrieve.
Fine.
But the retrieve doesn’t have to happen immediately.
Perhaps first we wait for a moment of attention.
Perhaps we ask for a sit.
Perhaps the object is placed rather than thrown.
Perhaps there is a brief pause.
Then the dog is released.
The activity itself becomes the reward for calm, connected behaviour.
Over time, the dog can begin to learn:
Being calm doesn’t make the fun disappear. Sometimes calmness is what makes the fun begin.
That lesson can travel well beyond retrieving.
Use the Brain as Well as the Legs
Retrievers also have excellent noses.
Searching can therefore be another simple way of giving them something purposeful to do.
An object doesn’t always need to fly through the air.
Let the dog see you place it somewhere simple.
Send them to find it.
As they become more experienced, gradually make the search a little more interesting.
Again, we don’t need to make it difficult quickly.
The aim isn’t to test how clever the dog is.
The aim is to give them an achievable problem to solve.
Short — Simple — Successful.
A few thoughtful minutes can sometimes provide far more useful engagement than another period of frantic activity.
Purpose Can Strengthen Connection
Perhaps the aspect I value most is that these activities give dog and owner something to do together.
You aren’t simply providing entertainment for your dog.
You are participating.
Your dog begins to notice that interesting things happen through you.
They learn to look towards you for information.
They learn that listening doesn’t end the fun.
And you begin to learn more about them.
What excites them?
What causes them to lose concentration?
How quickly can they settle?
Do they naturally bring things back?
Would they rather parade around proudly with their prize?
What happens when the exercise becomes slightly more difficult?
Those observations help us understand the individual dog in front of us.
And understanding should always come before trying to change behaviour.
This Is Not About Creating a Working Dog
For owners of pet retrievers, there is sometimes a concern that encouraging natural retrieving instincts will somehow create a dog who needs to work.
I see it differently.
Those instincts are already part of the dog.
We are simply finding constructive ways of allowing the dog to express some of them while living perfectly happily as a family companion.
Your retriever doesn’t need to participate in field sports.
They don’t need to retrieve game.
They don’t need to reach some predetermined working standard.
They can simply enjoy activities that make sense to them.
And we can use those activities to develop qualities that make everyday life easier:
Attention.
Patience.
Communication.
Self-control.
Reliability.
Connection.
Sometimes Less Can Give Us More
So if you have an energetic retriever, by all means consider whether they are receiving enough appropriate physical exercise.
But don’t stop the question there.
Ask something else:
“Does my retriever have enough meaningful things to do?”
The answer doesn’t necessarily require another hour in your day.
It may require using ten minutes of the time you already have rather differently.
A short search.
A thoughtful retrieve.
A little waiting.
A little problem-solving.
A few moments of genuine cooperation between you and your dog.
Then stop while things are still going well.
Your retriever may not always need more.
Sometimes they simply need something that means a little more.
Best wishes,
Gerry Turner
Calm Canine Companion
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