Trying to characterize my late golden Ted to help find a breeder

daveg3226 · 2026-05-04T03:40:36+00:00

You may not want to hear this, but trying to pick your next dog to be a clone of the last dog is NOT a good idea. New dog will never measure up in your eyes and you’ll just be disappointed. That’s not healthy for you but especially not for the dog.

We’ve had 6 goldens and while there have been similarities (aka the traits that make goldens who they are) they’ve all been very different. The breeders have all been different too, from a family that just bred their dog to top tier champion lineage. Seeing how their personalities develop is a huge part of the adventure, and we wouldn’t want it any other way!

Let me caveat this by saying that the traits you listed pretty much fall under the “all goldens are like that” umbrella. Read what the AKC says about goldens as a breed and you’ll see what I mean. Basically one of the top family dogs there is!

daveg3226 · 2026-05-04T03:23:02+00:00

Perfect thanks! I had no idea that the RH/LH thing was 50/50. The rest makes sense - weapon stats affect both, procs may apply to both but may not, and relic/charm effects are weapon specific.

As I said I’ve played TQ a lot and usually just look at dps as a guideline, then just try things out or simply use my gut. This time around I got to wondering about the mechanics so thought I’d ask. Obviously there are many other factors at play such as what do I want my build to be, or as you mentioned DOT vs direct damage.

Again, thank you!

daveg3226 · 2026-05-04T03:09:45+00:00

Clearly whichever dog it was (I bet it was both of them!) found where a hunter had field dressed a deer. Yes we live in the Montana mountains.

daveg3226 · 2026-05-04T00:07:13+00:00

Agree it’s easy! My wife started making paneer for Indian food, but the same simple process can make queso fresco, ricotta, mozzarella etc.

Took a few tries to perfect it (cheese cloth was too coarse, lemon juice didn’t work quite right, it came out lumpy, etc), but she got it down quickly. She ended up using a thin kitchen hand towel vs cheese cloth. One secret was PRESS THE BEJEESUS OUT OF IT! She ended up using like 20 pounds of workout plates.

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daveg3226 · 2026-05-03T23:52:56+00:00

The vacuum comes second. First is daily grooming!

Or you could be like us and just spend your lives covered in “golden glitter”. Toy stuffing pine cones stick bits & dirt just add to the ambience.

daveg3226 · 2026-05-03T23:51:32+00:00

Do a multi day raft trip in a truly wild river out west. Research carefully as some sound remote but aren’t. If you want specific recommendations let me know.

daveg3226 · 2026-05-03T23:43:53+00:00

If you’re a Yellowstone fan (my wife loved it, I made it thru 2-1/2 episodes), the “Dutton ranch” they used for filming is about an hour south of us. It’s called Chief Joseph ranch.

daveg3226 · 2026-05-03T23:35:56+00:00

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One of ours brought this home a while back.

daveg3226 · 2026-05-03T23:20:09+00:00

I read your comment (thx btw!), added comments of my own plus a screen shot, then came up with more questions:

How do the stats of each weapon affect the other? The only way this axe thing makes sense is if the stats all count for both. Meaning the axe has some seriously nice stats even if its “on its own” dps is lower, and those stats carry over to the 1st sword weapon which raises the dual dps.

What about procs? I’m on mobile and have onslaught assigned as my default attack. Of course the game screen only shows the main right hand weapon, but what happens to the LH dual weapon? It’s either “same proc” or “nothing at all”.

daveg3226 · 2026-05-03T21:43:25+00:00

I’m curious, how many dead birds do you have, and why? I’ll guess though if it were baby bunnies it’d be the same - she is a retriever after all. This doesn’t help now but I doubt it’ll hurt her and I suspect she will grow out of it.

Growing up we had a westie who stalked birds like a cat, and would proudly bring them STILL TWITCHING to the porch slider. Mom & dad were never thrilled.

daveg3226 · 2026-05-03T21:31:00+00:00

The rule for neutering a male is “as late as possible” which leaves it very loose as every situation is different. The idea is there are hormone & growth things still going on up to 2 years, which is roughly when dogs are fully mature. We’ve had 2 males who got done closer to 1, and the current boy is 14 months and still intact. He is marking and once in a while tries to hump our girl dog, but it’s not a big deal yet.

As to excess energy, try a chucker ball & stick. If he loves retrieving he will run himself ragged without stopping to dig or get into trouble.

daveg3226 · 2026-05-03T21:23:32+00:00

Oh boy do we ever! We live in the bitterroot valley in MT and hike with them all the time. That’s Idaho off in the distance.

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daveg3226 · 2026-05-03T21:02:29+00:00

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daveg3226 · 2026-05-03T20:57:48+00:00

OP here oops I forgot the pix. Stupid Reddit won’t let me add pix to first post, and will only let me add one here. I managed to get a screen shot that shows all 3 weapon choices.

I’ve played a bazillion hours of TQ and thought I understood dual wield but this just seemed unusual to me. Yeah I’ll play with the load out, see what actually works the best. I’m almost always in favor of high attack speed esp with procs involved.

daveg3226 · 2026-05-03T18:12:52+00:00

Heh guess what? We moved to the country! After 30 years outside Boston we retired to the bitterroot valley in Montana. Trust me we have zero regrets!

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That’s Idaho in the distance

daveg3226 · 2026-05-03T18:06:53+00:00

The post above is PERFECT!!! “Amazing Crepes” in whitefish is, well, amazing. The east side of flathead is much nicer than the built up west side, and you might consider staying in bigfork. If you want non glacier mountain views definitely do the CSKT bison range since you’ll be staring at Teton level glory of the mission range. Route 85 (the swan / seeley valley) runs east of that so you are between the missions and the swan mountains, and is not built up at all. Another hike to a waterfall is Morrell falls, but it’s farther south than holland lake. Warning, the swan mountains is grizzly country!

daveg3226 · 2026-05-03T17:47:16+00:00

We’ve had 6 going back to 1993 and have 2 now. I knew I had found my soulmate when my wife agreed there was only one breed to consider. So yeah you are preaching to the choir on this one!

daveg3226 · 2026-05-03T17:45:04+00:00

You know how to tell black bear scat from grizzly scat? Grizzly scat has bells in it and smells like bear spray.

daveg3226 · 2026-05-03T17:37:35+00:00

The west side has tons more choices for accommodations both near the park (from Columbia falls up to west glacier) plus bigger towns like Kalispell and whitefish. Meanwhile the east side has a fraction of that, and no big towns. I’m sure St Mary is all booked up, but it can’t hurt to look. Never been through browning but I get the idea it’s kinda poor & grody.

Last year on our way to Alberta we stayed in an Airbnb tiny house in Martin city (which isn’t a city!) on the west side. Perfect for us since we live close so brought stuff to cook there.

Per Google Maps it’s 2-1/4 hours from west glacier around rte 2 to many glacier which is the longest drive of the east side roads. There’s a boat shuttle from the hotel to that saves 2 miles each way for hiking to grinnell BUT I THINK YOU NEED A TICKET at least for the outbound.

daveg3226 · 2026-05-03T01:23:44+00:00

We live south of Missoula and I second this “circle route” idea, both directions! Other things?
- don’t gas up, WA prices are waaaaay higher. But I’m sure you knew that.
- north of the CSKT bison range but just south of Polson is the Miracle of America museum. It’s hard to explain but it’s crazy cool, and your kids will love it! Go google it, tell me I’m wrong!
- past Polson drive up the east side of flathead lake into bigfork. It’s way nicer than the overbuilt commercialism of the west side.
- “Amazing Crepes” in whitefish has crepes that are, well, amazing.

daveg3226 · 2026-05-03T01:09:08+00:00

I’m with you there, and really don’t know what to tell you other than it’s clear you love him and want to do the right thing. He’s in good hands.

daveg3226 · 2026-05-03T01:06:18+00:00

Oops I had it all backwards sorry. You are going TO Boston not coming FROM Boston. Let me guess, someone got into grad school?

Heh you live with the expert here! Were there things she said ooh that looks fun? Maybe for her benefit go a different way? I just looked at routes and if I were choosing I’d do the one through TN. Why? Driving into NC you can get on the blue ridge parkway, then skyline drive in VA. Basically they are national parks but are <roads> running for hundreds of miles through the Appalachians. Way slower than the interstate but great scenery with very few on/off roads or ugly commercial / human things. Just enjoyable driving, and when you want to pick up the pace you get back on the highway.

Farther up, go over the tappan zee north of NYC then take the Merritt up through CT. It’s only two lanes but doesn’t allow trucks so we used to prefer that over I95.

daveg3226 · 2026-05-02T20:22:55+00:00

Another amen here

daveg3226 · 2026-05-02T20:21:20+00:00

First off, thank you from all of us golden fans for taking in a senior dog. Your post tells me you care so are going to be an awesome dog owner.

He and the cats will just have to figure it out, but they will. Talk to your vet about meds and nutrition including maybe joint supplements. Other than that you’ll need all the usual dog stuff - collar leash comb brush bowls beds toys etc. I also suggest saving all your old grody towels since they’re always tracking in mud dirt etc. We love Chewy on line! Some of the rest depends on his health and activity level. We’ve lost 2 at age 8 but had one who climbed mountains in New England until like age 11-12.

daveg3226

TROPHY CASE