Run and Snooze

I love watching Shyla run. She can run like the wind and seems to never get tired. She is in her prime.

Part of why we choose "field Labs" for our family is their athletic ability and their drive. When she arrived here, Shyla wasn't in strong physical shape and didn't seem to have a lot of drive. By contrast, now, people comment on how muscular she is - her muscles seem to bulge from her trim body. Our vet says that she is "perfect". Don't tell her that - it might go to her head!

Back when I first met her, she also seemed to have little drive for anything. I thought that she was almost apathetic about most things - as if she didn't expect a lot from life. Now, she is insistent about the things that she loves. In the morning, she does not tolerate me sleeping late (past 6AM). If I do, she sits on the bed staring down at me and intermittently smothering me in kisses. She knows that it's time for our morning jaunt, and she isn't going to let me sleep through it.

R is the same way, although his intensity is directed at the Runner, who takes him on the trails every morning. As R leaves on his morning run, he lets out a series of high pitched barks and yodels, and he grabs his leash in his mouth like a puppy. Even if I'm a mile or two from the house, I know when R is starting his run from the sounds emanating from the direction of our house!

Even with all that drive, both dogs are content to hang out restfully for most of the day. Some people call it an "off switch". No doubt, they both know how to turn off the intensity and snooze. In the photo below, I'd just accidentally awakened Shyla from a snooze in a sun puddle. What a sweetie she is!

It's a great combination for us - high drive dogs who love the trails like we do but who also love to snuggle and snooze. Is it any wonder that we have had this type of Lab for many years?

For anyone who is considering getting a Field Lab, the one caveat is that you must be very committed to giving them the exercise and mental stimulation that they were bred for. Without those things, you'll have a Lab who goes out of his/her mind with excess energy! Even with sufficient exercise and training, Field Labs are well-known among vets to be prone to obsessive-compulsive disorder. We struggle with OCD in R (it manifests as endless water drinking) - but we can generally control it as long as he can run and do daily training. He's our first Lab with OCD.

On that subject, R has been allowed short bouts of off-leash running recently, after his long hiatus with a sore elbow. He's a happy dog!

My blogging may be sporadic over the next little while. Don't worry about us!