Bud and Zinnia would play all day given the chance, sometimes it’s irresistible to watch. I leave them alone for a half-hour in the morning otherwise, they can play all they want outside.

I don’t want Zinnia to learn to be aroused or cranked up in the house.

She needs to learn how to be calm and quiet, and mostly, she is.

Still, they are perfectly matched – gentle, playful and stubborn.

My Lab training theory is to flood the house with chew toys, so the dog has better things to chew on than my socks.

And it’s working. Zinnia pays no attention to our shoes or socks or sofa pillows, she has plenty of stuff around to chew or steal from Bud.

And no ball chasing in the house at all. I’ve seen too many Labs turned into obsessive and annoying animals because people over-stimulate them.  This breed needs to learn how to chill.

It’s a balancing act, but something to be mindful of.

When I put a leash on Zinnia (which I do if they get too cranked up) she just lies down and goes to sleep. I’m teaching her to do nothing, something she doesn’t know how to do.

I did a short two-minute video of these two doing their morning thing. They are fun to watch. Come and see.