From Apexpredator11
Believe it or not, an actual study found that shows that certain populations of wolves in British Columbia will fish for salmon before they go hunting for deer. Why?
Salmon is nutritious. It is a good source of omega 3 fatty acids, and it is also a lot safer for a wolve to catch fish than tangle with an ungulate with sharp hooves and possibly sharp antlers.
Of course, wolves cannot live on fish alone, for salmon are a seasonal delicacy. But when the salmon are running the deer in this part of the world don’t have to worry about the wolves.
It is also possible to train a retriever to help catch fish. Two ancestors of the retrievers were known for their utility in commercial fishing. The Tweed water dog and the St. John’s water dog were both used in fishing enterprises. The St. John’s breed was known for hauling nets from the sea and bringing in fish hooked on longlines. The Tweed water dog was often seen helping fisherman net salmon near the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed. All one has to do is teach the dog to stay at a heel while both dog and human wade into a trout stream. The dog remains at a heel until the a fish is hooked, played with, and then nearly hauled in. The dog then catches the worn out fish.
Here’s “Ben of Hyde” (the first yellow Labrador) doing this task in a British trout stream:
awesome! i’m off to the lake tomorrow …
With the exception of the perhaps somewhat feathered tale, it’s striking how much “Ben” looks like a modern field-bred Labrador. Could be my own.
He was the first yellow Lab, born in 1899. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ben_of_Hyde.png
Thanks for the additional pic. Most Labs today have a kindlier expression. True, it’s hard to tell a great deal about conformation from the pics, but it’s still striking how little the breed has changed, at least the ones I commonly see. Interesting.