Meet the rescue dog who has an obsession with fish

By Barney Riley via SWNS

A rescue dog has a bizarre obsession with fish and stares into aquariums - and even searching riverbeds to find them.

Eight-year-old Teddy is literally obsessed. Video footage shows the pooch visibly shaking when encountering fish in various situations.

Owners Haile Endicott, 30, and her fiancé Cole are not sure what breed he is or if it has anything to do with his obsession.

Cole, from Missoula, Montana, is a fly-fishing guide. Both he and Hailie are crazy about fishing.

Teddy has been accompanying Cole on fishing trips since he rescued him from a litter in Seattle as a pup.

Haile said: "Teddy grew up going fishing with my fiancé and still spends a lot of time on the river with us.

"My fiancé says Ted was about six months old the first time he took him fishing and he was instantly, naturally obsessed with fish.

"I was surprised by the large number of people who commented on my video, even those who aren't fishermen, who said their dogs also look for fish in the water.

"We weren't sure if his obsession was 'nature or nurture,' i.e. whether he learned to be excited about fish from Cole or if he would've had this obsession no matter what."

But when Teddy does get his paws on a fish, he doesn't even attempt to harm them.

Haile added: "He doesn't really do anything to it. H just dances around, whines excitedly and follows the fish after we release it.

"He has never hurt a fish, but a few times in the past he's 'nipped' towards them as if he wanted to 'herd' them.

"He got into trouble for that and doesn't do it anymore.

"We usually just fish for sport and release the fish we catch, but the few times we kept and cooked fish he wasn't interested in eating any."

Despite the quirk being quite funny and interesting, it has soon become a bore for Haile and Cole.

She said: "We don't understand his motives. When Cole found out Ted was obsessed with fish he realized it was unique and thought it was funny, but eventually, we also found it to be a bit annoying.

"Ted would be so excited that he'd get in the way while we tried to reel fish in. He also makes loud whining and chirping noises when we catch a fish.

"Other fishermen on the river occasionally give us weird looks like 'what are you doing to that dog?' and we imagine the whining might be annoying for friends who are on the boat with us."

The couple even tried to discourage Teddy from his curiosity with fish, but to no avail.

Haile added: "We eventually realized Ted really can't control his obsession and it makes him happy so we just embraced it. Now we let him say 'hello' to all the fish we catch."