Quiet Afternoon

On Saturday afternoon, Annie went for a hike while Sage and I fished. We had a quiet, contemplative afternoon. But it is hard for her to be separated from her pup, now...she is such a pack dog.

Murphy's day.

Training a Pup

I've been working on the basics. Sit, lie down, come (oh, it's so hard for a lab to come when there are distractions!). But I am leaving it to Sage to train Annie on how to be a lab. And I have to say Sage is doing a fabulous job. Annie knows how to play tug o' war, chase, retrieve, and most importantly, beg for biscuits!

Murphy did a great job for Sage, so the legacy continues.

Murphy's day.

Never Embarrassed

Labs are never embarrassed. If a picture like this was posted of me...but Annie, she thinks she is looking pretty darn cool. She has the tug toy, is getting attention...life is sweet!

Murphy's day.

Bird Dogs?

This weekend we encountered a covey of pheasants. Quite cool, really. But my so-called bird dogs? Slept through it all. Not a peep from them.

I read an interesting article in Just Labs about field dogs versus conformation. There is a lot of discussion among lab people about the differences. Murphy was a field lab through and through. To retrieve was her destiny. Annie has lots of field lab traits in her, particularly her size, which is smaller, leaner. Sage is gorgeous, the perfect show dog but is indifferent to retrieving. She likes to swim, to dive into the water, but only for her own enjoyment, not to chase anything.

So I guess I shouldn't have been too surprised that they didn't even wake when I snapped these pictures of the pheasants. Annie isn't trained to sniff them out and Sage really couldn't care.

Murphy's day.

Funniest Toys

One of Murphy's favorite toys was a dead volley ball. It had to travel all the way across country and in fact still sits in her toy box in the basement. She loved that thing. Sage has always been destruct-o dog when it came to toys, except for a yellow plastic monkey. Which then became Annie's favorite toy until, well, an excited tug 'o war game between the two of them.

After last rites for the toy, the dogs realized there was still life in the beheaded thing. This is both of them wrestling over the monkey's head. The body looks like a left-over from a French Revolution guillotine!

I've learned over the years that the most loved toys are usually the most destroyed. Well used and well loved.

Murphy's day.

Picture Perfect

Sage being picture perfect. Patiently waiting for her pack, hanging out by the river. Sweet girl (unless you're near her car or back door).

Murphy's day.

Fire in the Canyon

Oops, I forgot to describe what happened last weekend. There as a fire in the canyon, about a mile away from the property. Pretty exciting.

But I have to say all the firefighters, sheriffs, and neighbors were fantastic. And the girls, well, they stayed calm. Of course, chewies helped!

We'll go back this weekend to check on the fire, which apparently is out. It will be interesting to see the burn (the ecologist in me gets a little excited about these things). And, of course, the girls will spend a fair amount of time in water.

Murphy's day.