Thank you!! We do have dogs, 2 pound puppies (they are 4 yrs. now ) that are bro and sis from the same litter. Lab and Border Collie, maybe beagle, the Heinz 57 variety. These are the only dogs that I have ever owned that have absolutely NO CLUE what it means to "retrieve" anything. Tennis balls, sticks, knotted ropes, they look at you like "you 've got to be kidding, what did you throw that thing there for"!!
I tried to work with them when they were little, but no luck. What they WILL do, is play together for HOURS, with those larger rubber balls that have the knotted rope going through them. One grabs the end and trots it over to the other one, waits for him/her to take the other end and they run around and around the yard, sometimes they do a tug of war. They each adjust their speed so they stay abreast and that is their big entertainment. It is very diplomatic, polite courteous - and hilarious to watch their quirky play habits. I think they play like that probably because they have been together since birth and they really relate only to us and to each other. They try to like other dogs and they'll play a little bit with familiar ones, but they really are just in their own little world together.
They are very laid back, lovable, well trained and healthy (now) but for being part Border and Lab, they are about as "un-LL Bean" as they come. The male probably was the first born and was the largest in the litter of four and his sister is the runt. We had orginally intended to just take the female, but when we started to leave, he raised such an unholy fuss that I said, "aw heck, we can't leave her big brother/protector behind"......soooooo, my daughter and I suffered the "wrath" of my husband for about a day (for bringing home TWO instead of the "approved" ONE) and by noon the next day, hubby and Perry, the boy, were joined at the hip. So now, 4 years later, when I really want to "stick it in and twist it" I tell husband (Bob) that "the shelter called and we're going to have to return the male dog that you didn't want" and he's like "over my dead body..........."
Somewhere at that shelter in MI, my picture is on the wall with a big STAR next to my name......haha!! AND, we went back the following weekend for my sister to adopt a female Lab/Beagle/something/everything who was/is a little older and had been adopted out but ended up coming being returned to the shelter for some reason, like "digging holes in the back yard" - duhhhhh........my family really cleaned house at the shelter that month, whoooooweeeeee!
I don't know, we've got 15 acres at the new place in NC...........am I in danger of being the next "house of squalor on the local news" once we get down there???
LOL. There you go. They are a pack and they are littermates. Bet they have never been out of each others sight. That explains their closeness and being littermates. They don’t need anyone or anything else because they have got each other and you.
I was out at a Retriever Training Day today with my two. My older dog is sweetly obedient but lacks the high octane for the really long retrieves. We tried her on a 200 yard mark and she came up JUST a little short . . . maybe next time. Otherwise she was perfect - with a little coaching she ran a 60 yard blind retrieve which is longer than she has ever done before, and she ran it with real enthusiasm.
My younger dog, a puppy really (14 months), has all the high octane but lacks discipline. She did much better today though, she did pretty good on 60 yard single marks with ducks, carried them ALMOST all the way back before she spat them out. And she now comes back to me whenever I call. So we are making progress.
But your dogs sound like a dog that one of the trainers had out there today. He is supposed to be a "Silver Lab". There IS no such thing . . . what happened is that somebody had the bright idea of creating another color of Labrador (like 3 isn't enough?) and so they outcrossed to Weimaraners. Unfortunately, Weimaraners aren't generally good retrievers and they are extremely hard-headed. The dog simply stares at you when you throw a bumper. And I hear that the owner paid an incredibly large price for this dog, and expects the trainer to train him . . . . glad it's not my problem!