Emme does not like to get her feet wet. She does not like to go out in the rain to do her business. Sometimes she absolutely refuses to go outside when it is raining. If she does go outside in the rain, she holds up one front paw to keep her feet as dry as possible. When the grass is dewy, she does the same thing. We have purchased a child's swimming pool to use as a doggie pool. We put it on a slope so there are some areas with shallow water and some other dry areas. Emme will go into the pool, stand on the dry areas and drink the water. But she doesn't want to get her feet wet.
When we are at the lake, she is fascinated with the water. She will stand up at the railing of the boat and watch the water the whole time we are riding. On the dock, she gets as close to the water as she can and watches and smells.
We have never taken her swimming. The water by our dock is deep. At the front end of the dock, the water is over my head. This doesn't bother Rudy who jumps right in but it doesn't make for an easy transition from dry land to water for a Bichon. We have planned to take Emme to one of the swimming beaches sometime when no one is there to see if she will go into the water. I have no idea how she will respond. One part of me wants her to get in the water and swim and enjoy herself. The other part of me is concerned that she will like the water too much and will jump off the dock or off the boat and get herself into trouble in the water.
.jpg)
2 comments:
Having just spent an hour yesterday blow drying Chloe, I am beginning to think a non-swimming inclined Bichon is fine with me. However, I (like you) would love to see Chloe out there in the swim, enjoying herself. So I can relate to your being torn between dry land and the wide open water.
I have several Bichon owners that use life jackets. Many are avid boaters and one couple owns a charter boat for deep sea fishing in Florida. I guess we're all older and mover slower and have a "better safe than sorry" mentality. --So, life jackets give us a sense of security. Although, many of the same Bichon owners have invested in a Metro commercial drier. You can dry a soaking wet Bichon is about 20 minutes and you always get that, --just groomed look when you use them. Have a great summer! Happy boating!! Darlene
Post a Comment