One thing that I hear consistently about labs, especially chocolate labs, is that they're stupid, goofy, etc. What I've discovered about Jack, however, is that even though he may appear to be yet another goofy lab, it's just a front---he can actually be quite crafty....
Last night I brought home a squeaky football for the dogs. Like usual, Sally hogged it (she usually hogs a new toy for the first 15 or 20 minutes). Every time Jack would try to play with it she would body block him, etc. Finally, Jack went over and got his orange ball. We kind of have a routine with the orange ball when I get home at night--he greets me, gets petted, and brings me the orange ball for a little game of fetch in the house before bed. I just figured he'd given up on the new toy and took his ball and threw it for him.
Usually Jack is Johnny-on-the-spot when it comes to fetching, but this time he did not even glance in the direction of the orange ball after I threw it--instead he kept his eyes on the new toy. Sally, on the other hand, dropped the new toy immediately and went after the ball the second she saw me throw it. As soon as Sally turned her back on the new toy, Jack grabbed it up and started squeaking it with fervor....