What My Golden Retriever Taught Me About Investing
- Frank Deliessche, MBA, PMP
- 5 days ago
- 6 min read
It's somewhat humbling to take advice about finances from a dog who once ate a whole sock and felt very proud about doing so.
The older that I become, the more obvious it is to me that my golden retriever is much better at understanding investments than a good chunk of us out there.
Every day, Teddy wakes up with the exact same goal: protect the home (barely), find food, chase the squirrels, and convince everyone around him that he's been chronically underfed throughout his life. Here we have the definition of a straightforward and uncomplicated routine; there's no fancy strategy involved here, no franticness whatsoever, no watching of CNBC and no hot tips picked up from social media.
However, there are several lessons that one can learn from this particular point of view.
Markets change, technology evolves and the amount of sensational news that appears every year seems to grow, yet our behavior as investors stays essentially the same all the time. It's usually not the market but emotions like fear, greed, impatience and overconfidence that cause us the most harm.
On the contrary, dogs are wonderfully uncomplicated creatures. There's no market-timing, there are no constant portfolio checks and absolutely no refinancing of a perfectly solid doghouse because there's a promise of "infinite leverage" in YouTube videos.
Despite the lack of any understanding of cap rates, my golden retriever knows many other important truths.
Chasing Every Squirrel Usually Ends Badly
When you have a golden retriever, you know this story.
We walk quietly. Suddenly… squirrel!
Tension. Sudden rush. Chaos. No strategy. Five seconds later, the squirrel is long gone, and now Teddy seems surprised by what just happened.
This happens all too often in the investment world.
Last week, it was all crypto. Next week, it's going to be AI stocks. Then vacation homes. Then storage facilities. And then there’s some guy on the Internet who claims that he made four million dollars from trading options off his cell phone in five minutes while waiting outside a Lamborghini dealership.
We always chase the quick move and miss the actual value.
Over here at Shore Acres Capital, we preach the importance of not making emotionally driven decisions when investing. Good deals aren't always the loudest ones but rather those with strong fundamentals, proper due diligence, and a clear path towards value creation.
And remember, Teddy hasn't managed to catch the squirrel yet (and I don't think he would know what to do with him if he did!).
Consistency Beats Excitement in Investing
My golden retriever follows the exact same daily routine.
Wake up. Breakfast. Go for a walk. Relax somewhere out of the sun. Beg for attention. Start over.
He does all this while being incredibly happy.
Investors are always seeking thrills.
They're looking for thrills in their investments. Fast returns on investment. Stories to tell at dinner parties about how they made money out of "that one deal" or "that one stock."
However, true investing is often dull.
It involves purchasing assets of value.
Improving them bit by bit.
Taking risks prudently.
Being determined through uncertainty.
Repeating the process repeatedly.
Especially with real estate, consistency pays off.
The consistent purchase of real estate can be rather dull from year one to year two. However, after five years, you'll look at yourself saying "this was rather smart!"
Just like my dog, I'm not trying to reinvent myself daily.
There must be a lesson here somewhere...
Loyalty Matters More Than Trends
Goldens are extremely loyal.
You could leave the house for six minutes and return like a war hero coming home after twenty years overseas.
Such loyalty is rarely found among investors.
Many give up too easily when things get tough in the market. They react to dips, change their plans, or leave at the sight of the next big thing.
Loyalty doesn't mean stubbornness. Bad investments need to be reviewed. However, good investment strategies require discipline.
Often, some of the most successful real estate deals won't initially look promising. It takes longer than anticipated to complete renovations. The process of leasing stalls. Interest rates fluctuate. The market shifts.
But disciplined investors are well aware that temporary pain often pays off in the end.
Dogs trust instinctively. Sometimes investors do not.
The Food Bowl Principle: Don’t Overcomplicate Things
Teddy regards each mealtime as the golden opportunity to make money (no pun intended).
Forget about financial models, forecasts, long Excel files full of different tabs.
Just believe.
Modern investments are extremely crowded.
It’s about podcasts, newsletters, TikTok clips, Discord communities, macroeconomic forecasts, recessions, interest rates, and around 400 guys on LinkedIn, claiming that they had predicted it all from the very beginning.
The majority of investors are just flooded with information.
However, some of the strongest investment principles could be rather simple.
Invest in good assets.
Avoid high leverage.
Maintain reserves.
Focus on the long run.
Be disciplined in times of sharp price movements.
Stick to cash flow and fundamentals.
Simplicity does not equal ease.
But simplicity tends to withstand market turbulence better than complexity.
While dogs know how to stay simple, humans do not.
Patience Is an Underrated Superpower
One thing that Teddy excels at doing, though, is sitting by the kitchen door.
Hours can pass. It doesn’t matter.
He'll always believe that some cheese may just appear out of thin air someday.
It's remarkable how patient he is. It's the same with investing.
The worst mistake that people ever make when it comes to investing is believing that fast results come easy.
Today, we live in a world that revolves around instant gratification. Quick shipping. Instant access. Updates in real-time.
Building wealth takes time and real estate is no exception.
Real estate in particular rewards patience. Markets move in cycles. Neighborhoods evolve. Forced appreciation takes time. Relationships and experience compounds.
The best strategy sometimes involves waiting when others lose their minds.
It's tough on humans.
However, dogs are capable of staring at a sandwich for four hours straight without ever blinking.
Mentally, they may even surpass us.
Risk Management Is Basically Avoiding the Invisible Fence
First lesson for any dog: Get shocked at the invisible fence just one time, and there won't be a second attempt.
Investors learn to do the same.
Not that they're supposed to eliminate risks completely; that's impossible.
What they need is to anticipate potential risks before they become a problem.
This involves:
using leverage conservatively,
doing adequate due diligence,
having sufficient liquidity,
challenging assumptions during stressful times,
not making emotional decisions.
Those who survive in the investing game are seldom risk takers but people who remain on their feet after other investors made too many mistakes.
Such lessons become especially valuable in uncertain environments.
Final Thoughts
At the end of the day, investing is less about intelligence than people think - it's more about behavior.
Discipline.
Patience.
Consistency.
Risk management.
Emotional self-control.
Ironically, dogs tend to have these virtues more consistently than humans.
After all, Teddy still believes squirrels are a reasonable long-term investment strategy, so he’s not perfect.
Nevertheless, where consistency, loyalty, patience, and simplicity are concerned, he may be on to something.
At Shore Acres Capital, we believe successful investing isn’t about chasing hype. It’s about discipline, patience, and finding opportunities with strong fundamentals, even when the market gets noisy.
Teddy would probably agree. Assuming there are snacks involved.
Key Investing Lessons from Teddy
Avoid chasing hype
Consistency beats excitement
Patience compounds over time
Risk management matters
Emotional investing usually fails
Teddy's Story
Teddy has been part of our family for the last five years and, at well over 100 pounds, has become somewhat of a neighborhood celebrity purely because of his size.
Despite his intimidating stature, he is incredibly loyal, playful, and convinced that every person he meets is there specifically to pet him.
When he’s not unsuccessfully negotiating with squirrels, Teddy enjoys his other passions in life: sleeping, eating, and strategically positioning himself near anyone handling food.
He also comes from a long line of champion show dogs from Canada, although judging by his daily behavior, you would never know it.
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