First Swim of the Season

This weekend Rudy went swimming for the first time of this season. He absolutely loves to dive off the dock and play fetch with his orange toss toy. On Friday, we went down to the dock for a first boat ride of the season and Rudy had to bring his toy and play a little fetch. Ken threw the toy a few times and Rudy was in heaven. You can see then that he is really a water dog. You wouldn't know it when it is time for a bath or to go outside in the rain. Then he can't stand water and will do anything to avoid getting wet. If he misbehaves, we spray him with the plant mister and he hates it. Only in the lake is water good and there it is very good.

His coat is so thick that it takes hours for him to dry. After our ride, we all stayed out on the deck for some time so Rudy could begin to dry in the sun. When he is wet and goes inside immediately he uses the rug and all the furniture to dry himself off. Drying in the sun is better.

Emme has never gone swimming. She is fascinated by the water and loves to be out on the boat. I keep her on the leash because I am not sure that she wouldn't just go over the side. She stands on her back legs and sniffs the water over the side of the boat. The water by our dock is deep and the only way to get in is to jump off the side or the end of the dock. We don't have a gradual slope so you can wade in. We just have deep water. Later this summer we are going to take Emme to one of the beaches at the lake some week day when no one else is there. We will let her get her feet wet and see what she does in the water. I wonder what she will think of that.