Life with Bronte

Brought to you by Royal Canin.bronte

I’m sorry cat people, but dogs are the best. When it comes to sides, I am firmly planted right on the dog side, and will never venture over to cat territory.

We’ve always had dogs, ever since I can remember, growing up as kids so I didn’t cope well when I lived in an apartment in Sydney and having a dog was a no-go. One of the key motivators for moving up to the Gold Coast area was that we’d have a house, with a yard and we’d get a dog. In fact as soon as the offer on our house was accepted I bought Bronte, our chocolate Labrador Retriever, from the breeder and I was as happy as a pig in mud.

There was no doubt what breed dog we’d get. I’d had a Labrador growing up, and Bronte was my dream dog. The hardest part was naming her, and that wasn’t hard at all. She’s such a huge part of our family. We celebrate her birthdays, we take her to the beach, she does silly tricks that makes us cry laughing, and she’s very good at snuggling.

Labrador’s are greedy eaters though. I remember her first Christmas with us, I had cooked a beautiful ham which sat on a piece of foil. I was moving the ham over to a platter, and she somehow managed to work her way inside {I think it was my most awesome cooking that lured her} and she ATE THE FOIL. All of it. It was Christmas Eve, so thankfully the vet was still open. I freaked out, called the vet and they said to watch and wait. She was fine, but I’ve learned that Bronte {and Labrador Retrievers in general} will eat just about anything. She ate our clothesline just a month ago. THEY WILL EAT ANYTHING.

But she’s so cute… so it kinda makes up for it.

They also gain weight easily. We’ve been super determined and mindful not to let Bronte get overweight. There was a time, just after I’d given birth to Lulu, when we got distracted and Bronte put on weight. We managed to monitor her food and exercise and she’s back down to a healthy weight. Dogs can go on diets too.

Royal Canin has a Dog Breeds Guide which is an awesome resource to find out more information about the needs of each dog’s breed. As well as lovely Labradors, all the most popular breeds are covered including French Bulldogs, Pugs, Golden Retrievers, German Shepherds, Poodles, Cavalier King Charles and more.

If you’ve got a Labrador, or know a Labrador, or have ever seen a Labrador eat you’ll know they’re practically pigs. They eat fast; blink and the food is gone. On the Royal Canin site, there’s a video that explains how to slow your Labrador’s food intake. Royal Canin makes dry food just for Labradors with a unique donut shaped kibble that slows them down while they eat.

Labradors also love daily exercise, so we do walking and in summer we’ll take her for swims at the beach or nearby creek. She loves running on the sand at the dog beach, but she’s not particularly obedient so it takes forever to get her back which can be stressful, and slightly embarrassing.

If you’re a Labrador-lover {owner!} you can check out this handy guide to owning a Labrador to see what they need to live a healthy, happy life and any concerns you need to keep an eye out for their particular breed. Otherwise if you own another breed of dog, click over here for Royal Canin’s Dog Breeds Guide to find out more about your dog’s breed and their needs.

Have you got a dog? What breed? And what’s their name?

38 thoughts on “Life with Bronte”

  1. Choccie Labs are just the best! Here is my lovely girl, Rolo – nine years young and still as crazy as ever. I love her to bits ?

  4. This is Finn. He’s a Samoyed/Retriever. He is not a over eater thank goodness. He’s a Delta Therapy Dog and we go into an Aged Care Facility and visit. He can do so many tricks – from counting to dancing. Love him.

    My daughter’s name is Bronte. Love that name. Interestingly enough, a friend of ours had a golden lab and her name was Bronte!

      • Ha ha Chantelle – we are in Melbourne. You are welcome to meet him. He has a FB page (that I don’t update very often) https://www.facebook.com/FinnTheTherapyDog

        He is with me 95% of the time and yes, we get stopped so often. He has had his photo taken with strangers countless times and he is always happy to pose! He can shake hands, bow, count – add and subtract too – opens our old back door using a piece of rope, walk on his hind legs, we ‘shoot’ him with a pretend gun and say BANG (sadly he NEVER stops wagging his tail while being dead though 😉 ) ha ha he can say his prayers too! Can’t remember what else but there’s more on that!

        Here he is in Bronte’s bear onesie – cracks me up!

  6. We had a black Shepherd/retriever called Storm. She was amazing! We currently can’t have a dog as we don’t have a big enough or properly fenced yard but we are busting to get a Border Collie when we move next. We do have a cat but I am still very much a dog person 🙂

  7. Oh this all sounds oh so familiar. We too have a lab
    7 year old Rio… Our first born named after the city where we got engaged. You turn your back for one second or she jumps up and steals whatever is on the bench or table. She has eaten a whole tray of raw meatballs before when my back was turned for a split second. She also ate a whole pizza when our mate was dog/house sitting. I did warn him. Shes starting to slow down a little but still very puppy like at 7. She also eats royal canin and has since we got her. Its the best and helps keep her lean. And we have a regular delivery from pet circle which is so convenient. Bronte is so so cute. Never a dull moment huh! Xx

  8. I have 2 purebred Labradors Max and Millie, and a lab x Rosie. Definitely BIG personalities and definitely part of the family! Max will be 9 next month, Millie is nearly 2 and Rosie is 7. xxx

      • Millie is a bit of a troublemaker, she loves grabbing my washing off the line so we have to peg everything up high but we are working on training her not too lol but she is the sweetest! Not a mean bone in her body. Max is the boss, we find that by spreading them out at dinner time we avoid any food dramas! I think since we added Millie to the family both Max and Rosie have mellowed out. Millie always has a giant smile on her face 🙂
        I certainly know what you mean by poop! lol

  9. My family has always had dogs. Growing up with the family dog who was part of the family 3 years before I was it was inevitable that as an adult dogs would be part of my own family. We have always had spaniels with the exception of a mini foxie There have also been a few rescues that we have fostered over a time. Through it all we have always had a cat or two and all has been very social. Currently we have a cocker spaniel, Rufus (the Red) and Clawed Monet, the Tonkinese cat.

  10. We fostered this beauty for 18 months. He is now a police drug detector dog. We loved him and have literally 100s of photos and videos of him. We miss him greatly and can’t wait to get our forever furbaby, we desperately want another lab!

  11. My beloved dog is a Swiss appenzell mountain dog, one you might not see very often in Australia 😉 Her name is Einstein, she’s on a diet too, although she’s not too keen on her kibbles she loves anything coming from your plate, and her best doggy friend is a chocolate lab!

  12. This is our boy Jasper, ge’s a yellow labrador & he is inly 14 months, so we still are going thru the naughty cheeky puppy time at the moment but we all love him so much & he’s like the 3rd child in our fsmily. He loves going to the beach & just playing in the water in general, lije when im trying to hose the garden etc, he has his own pool to splash in after having a big walk or playing football. I have always had figs but he is our 1st Lab & it’s been the best decision ever to have him. We love it mostly when we rub him on his belly & he smiles at us.

  14. I am the same Chantelle!!! I love dogs!!! I’ve had dogs my whole life, and I can’t ever see me without one.

    We did the same, within 3 weeks of moving into our first house we bought my hubby his first every dog.
    And so we got Daisy! She’s a 3 year old cavoodle that’s black with white smudges. She is such a different dog now than the terrorising destructive puppy that she was in her first year. Now she’s a moody teenager, but she still loves cuddles and playing.
    We decided she needed a sibling to keep her company when we were out, so we got Willow our 7 month old cavoodle (gold/caramel with white smudges). She loves to nudge, be your shadow, have a chat and a cuddle and follows her big sister everywhere. She recently decided she likes reading – but her ex-librarian nanny isn’t impressed she likes to chew on the spines while she reads.

    Then there is my little old lady Molly. She lives with mum and dad (even though she’s technically mine). She’s a 16 year old Maltese x Pomeranian ( aka 2kg white fluff ball) who is totally deaf, fairly blind and only has a few wobbly teeth left. She’s getting very old and cranky but she’s still happy and trots around with her “baby” (toy koala). While her big little sisters can be a bit much after a bit, she still loves to play with them until she starts quacking (has a collapsed esophogus that kinda chokes her). We’re all getting sad that the sad day will be here all too soon, but for now she’s still a happy little pup.

    We also got 2 sheltie x poodle brothers (buster and Chimo) when I was about 2. The only dogs I’ve ever had who didn’t ever play with a toy or a ball. Beautiful Black and Tan pups – buster had slick smooth fur and Chimy had a crazy frizzy mop of wool.
    Sadly Buster was run over when they were about 5, but we were lucky enough to have Chimo until the ripe old age of 17! The most placid, loyal, loving dog who thought he was a human. And was petrified of the tiny bouncing fluffball that was Puppy Molly – but she reenergised him and he hung around to be her best friend for 5 years.

    Miss Chimy and Buster dearly, and like I said before – I wouldn’t know what life would be like without my pups and I don’t ever want a life without pups in it.

  15. This is Odin. He is a 4yr old Irish Wolfhound. Wolfhounds will eat pretty much anything also, and being bench and table height just makes it more interesting! He likes to pick his own fruit from the trees, consume entire loaves of bread and more.

    • Odin also likes to ensure he looks ‘man about town’ when out and about, so has around 6 ties he can choose from 😉

  17. I have 3. 2 Australian bulldogs and a Boston terrier. Yes i love squishy faces. their names are cheeky, gator and Tonker

  18. My Harvey is a shitzu chihuahua…small white fluffy boy that we didn’t know how much we needed until he came into our lives 4 years ago. I wuv him ?

  20. I have a 10 1/2 year old Lab called Kayley and a 5 year old Beagle called Lara. I love them both but not equally – Kayley is my bliss!! Beagle’s are stressful but adorable so that helps lol I have had Kayley since she was 10 months old and cannot imagine a day without her, or a life without a Lab ?

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