It is a mystery.

[Duncanpup]

Dunc the chonk cannot catch a bouncing ball. And yet he has no problem catching half of bacon egg sandwich when i toss it at him.

[Diamond_Dog]

1. Lab/retriever math.

Effort put forward to ensnare airborne object is directly proportional to the satisfaction of said object filling the bottomless pit of a Lab/Retriever stomach.

[Duncanpup]

4. Thank you for posting this information.

SOPHIE DOG.

[Diamond_Dog]

5. You're welcome, Duncanpup.

[tanyev]

2. Motivation, motivation.

[Walleye]

3. Just shows how smart your pooch is

[MLAA]

6. I think his sense of smell and taste way outpace his vision.

[AnnaLee]

7. Never thought of it that way before

but that must be why the nose is part of the upper jaw; it guides the mouth to the target.

[MIButterfly]

8. Priorities, Father.

Dunc knows which way is up.

[Aussie105]

9. Built in food radar. Might be echo location, fine tuned by smells!

Every chonk has it.
Hence the chonkiness.