A Sunday Swim

Against his wishes, Dasher endured yet another swimming lesson yesterday. We went to the lake earlier than usual so the water would be relatively still and there would be no other dog or human distractions. We hung out on the shore, easing ourselves away from the edge a little bit at a time. The first step from the solid rock beneath his feet gave Dasher a little surprise, but he began paddling. And paddle, he did. Right back to the rocks and out of the water. 


We called, and he returned. I think he's hating it a little less. We repeated this exercise a few more times. Then he became really reluctant to return, so we took a break. Other dogs and humans had arrived by that point, so we loaded everybody up in the boat and took a ride. Dasher was the first the jump on board. He loves the boat! He must not understand that the boat is in the water, and he might have to swim in anything went awry. He sits regally on the seat as he watched the shore whoosh by us. It's the ultimate head-out-of-the-car-window feeling.


Later in the day, Dasher's favorite human dude had a brilliant idea. Let's try him on a float! When I beckoned him to the dock stairs, he attempted to divert our attention by trying to jump back on the boat. It did not work, and I eventually got him to step onto the float with minimal resistance. A huge step forward in my book. It took some convincing to get him to sit, and then lay, on the float, but we were successful in the end. Dasher wasn't shaking and seemed only marginally afraid, mostly when I walked out of sight to grab the camera.


Then, as proof of our progress, we asked Dasher to swim to the dock from about twenty feet out, and he did! He attempted to get onto the dock where there were no stairs, so we still have some learning to do, but I'm feeling more confident that we'll get there someday soon.

"I will never understand humans. Where is the joy in this? Where is the dirt? Where are the rawhides?"
June 2012

"Alright. It's cool as long as you just hang out right there and pet me. I guess we can work this out."
June 2012

"What are you doing?! I told you to stay right here. Where are you going? You can't breathe under there, you know."
June 2012

"Huh. This is kind of relaxing. Not so bad after all. Hey, will someone throw me a bone?"
June 2012