Tag archives: golden

Every state has a flower, a nickname and another officially decreed symbols. However, only 11 states have an official state dog. This seems like a gross injustice to me, considering some of the symbols recognized by some states include official state amphibians, insects, fungus, poems and even toys.

In 1964, the Chesapeake Bay retriever was the first dog to be decreed an official state canine – that was in Maryland, the state from which it originated. Typically, the dogs that originated in a state or played a role in its culture tend to have the official-state status bestowed upon them.

Several states have shot down proposed state dog breeds; politics knows no bounds, apparently. In 1991, Georgia politicians came to an impasse when two opposing campaigns pitted the golden retriever against the bulldog for state canine. Similar attempts to designate dogs as state symbols failed in Washington state (Siberian husky) and Kansas (Cairn terrier; a hat-tip to Toto from The Wizard of Oz).

If your state were to name an official breed of dog as the canine symbol, which breed would be the best representation?

Official State Dogs

Alaska: Alaskan malamute
Louisiana: Catahoula leopard dog
Maryland: Chesapeake Bay ...

Hunters spend big bucks on their passion. Seriously, big bucks. According to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, hunting’s economic impact surpasses Google’s revenue ($38.3 billion dollars in 2011, compared to $37.9 billion) and supports more than 680,000 jobs. Hunting-dog owners are a big piece of that economic impact.

Well-bred field dogs average in the realm of $500 to $1,000, and this upfront cost is the least of your worries when it comes to caring for a dog. The AKC estimates that more than $2,000 is spent on one-time expenditures (crate, bowls, etc.) and that on average their members spend approximately $2,500 per year, per dog.

At first glance, that might seem extraordinarily high, but for hunters and competitors, it’s probably on the low side.

Professional trainers worth their salt average $550 to $650 per month. If you choose to use a pro trainer, you’re looking at a minimum of three months of board and training. Not a whole lot can be conditioned in and built upon in less than that time, unless you’re just going for a preseason tune-up or obedience training. In three to six months of training, you’re already knocking on or ...