June, Marie, Rooney, and September

The adventures of Marie, June, Rooney, and September. Marie is a cattle dog mix who was adopted 9/30/2016 and is about 8 years old. June is a purebred Labrador Retriever born 5/1/17. Rooney is a purebred Labrador Retriever born 8/18/23. September (Ember) is a purebred Labrador Retriever born 7/28/24.

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Hey all! It's been a hot minute. Re-introducing myself and the dogs (including 2 new ones!). Hoping to get back into chronicling life with the Labrador crew (with an occasional guest spot from one grumpy old mutt).

June - Labrador retriever, d.o.b. 5/1/17 - my first field Labrador, the one that started the obsession. Gentle, sweet, and a total lovebug. Will do anything for a ball. Obsessed with water. Formerly dabbled in agility, dock diving, and nosework. Now a therapy dog and long-suffering older sibling.

Rooney - Labrador retriever, d.o.b. 8/18/23 - the wild child, an agent of chaos. Fun and active, always in motion. The reason half my shoes are chewed and all my laundry stays hidden. Secretly a sensitive soul and snuggler extraordinaire. Currently learning agility.

September (Ember) - Labrador retriever, d.o.b. 7/28/24 - half-sibling to June, personality still forming. Bold, determined, and mischievous. Takes her job as the annoying youngest sibling very seriously. Future agility dog, currently my alarm clock.

Marie - mixed breed, d.o.b. 7/1/15 (est.) - my first solo dog, now shared with my parents. Just wants to eat and sleep. A walk would be nice sometimes. Wicked smart but always wants to know what's in it for her. Used to do some sports stuff but was only in it for the treats. Much happier at my parents' house, where she literally has her own twin bed.

Mickey - the human (she/her) - trying to keep up with the chaos. Veterinary professional, certified Crazy Dog Lady™️. Striving to be as R+ as possible. When I'm not walking, feeding, training, or cleaning up after my dogs, I can usually be found with my head in a good book. I love fantasy, especially anything written by Rick Riordan or V.E. Schwab.

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Colorado Mountain Dog

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I tried to tell her that this stick was too big for fetch but she was not open to suggestions

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How we spend our Saturday evenings

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The fearsome foursome

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I thought this was a stunning photo of September

But then I sent it to my mom and she responded with "wet and perplexed"

So I guess there are 2 kinds of people in this world

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Current view

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I have been starting canicross and bikejoring with June and Rooney. It's been going really well! They are having lots of fun. We did 4.5 miles canicross today at about a 12 minute pace. I am very excited to have an activity that they enjoy and that will wear them out. However, I failed to consider that if they are going far enough to wear themselves out, I am also going far enough wear myself out. Also, fun fact: they are in better shape than me.

(Photo is an old one with just Rooney - no photos from today)

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Allegedly they're related. Who can say though?

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One of my favorite games to play is "too tall or too heavy?"

This game happens when random strangers meet my small Labradors (55 and 45 lbs) and precede to tell me how small they are and how the Labradors they've known have been so much larger.

As an example, I recently met a man who marveled at my tiny Labs and then proceeded to tell me about his neighbors' 150 lb Labradors.

So then I get to guess if these Labradors were:

A. Morbidly obese dogs on a Labrador-sized frame

B. Okayish weight dogs on a Great Dane-sized frame

C. Some combination of the two

It is also interesting to me how much pet people in this breed love to have the biggest Lab possible. I'd rather have a below standard, little Lab than one of these behemoth, 100+ lb Labs.

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It's fall y'all

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Quick socialization trip this morning. Miss Ember loves meeting new people (maybe a little too much - tried to launch herself from the cart lol).

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i find it very interesting that when you hear 'preservation breeder' it implies a maintenance of the breed as a whole as it was made to be and you would think that includes working instincts and working the dog as it was traditionally used however i find it is usually always the opposite.

those touting themselves as 'preservation breeders' are often deep into the conformation world with little to zero involvement in working their breed (often because working/show breed split means dogs with working instincts are not 'perfect' enough to be competitive in the show ring and show dogs are often void of proper working instincts...) and those breeding the dog to its actual purpose just use 'working' not 'preservation'.

what are you even preserving when the dog can't do what it was originally bred for? a dog is more than how it fits the breed standard physically and even then a ton of breed standards still call back to the dog's ability to do its original job. i just wish people would be honest and come out and say they're not actually preserving shit.

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So much this. Also I don't understand the purpose of freezing a breed in time for the sake of preservation?

Take Labrador retrievers as an example. Even if we buy into the lore that the shape of the show Labrador is ideal for swimming in the frigid waters of Newfoundland where its ancestors were found (and that these show Labradors would actually retrieve a duck from said waters 🙄), the Labrador retriever is now used as a hunting dog in areas with majorly different climates than where they originated. Would this dog do well hunting in Florida? Could it even hunt at all without overheating?

And even if it could, why can't hunters decide that they want a dog with different strengths? A dog that moves faster on land? At the end of the day, the show-working split has occurred because hunters are selecting the dogs that actually do the work in the way that they want today and show breeders are selecting the dogs that win in the ring under the guise of "preserving" the dogs as they were in the late 1800s.

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Christmas Joy

Christmas Cheer

The Grinch

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Baby's first big girl walk