Val 3 dogs
Free Member
My neighbours have their children and teenage grandchildren visiting this week.
They have two large dogs of their own back in the UK and I think the kids are missing them, "Dad" had also met Querida briefly when she was a baby pup and couldn't wait to see how much she had grown.
We bumped into them on the beach of the lake yesterday, both the dogs and the humans had great fun throwing and retrieving sticks (yes,Liam the grandson was swimming after them too) from the lake.
Lass is stick and water crazy and tended to be hogging the action, while Querida splashed about in the shallows retrieving lesser sticks and those surplus to Lass's requirements.
Roy (grandad) and I turned our attention more to Querida and were throwing our sticks carefully in the shallows coaxing her in a little deeper with each throw, combining this with tug games with her when she retrieved them.
She plays a lot of games of tug with Lass but isnt really that interested in retrieving or doesn't normally have much chance as Lass is so much faster and more nimble.
So that was yesterday,Querida was teetering on the edge of swimming but not quite daring to get out of her depth.
Today we met up on the beach again,this time Dad kept Lass occupied, Roy and I threw our sticks with Querida in the shallows and Liam waded in just beyond Querida's comfort zone and enticed her with sticks just out of her reach.
Then Wow ,she'd done it! Swimming like a good un. The lake was quite choppy today too but she wasn't bothered by the waves.
She wasn't swimming any great distance but intentionally retrieved from out of her depth on about half a dozen consecutive throws.
We called it a day then, I think Liam was getting pretty chilly but we were all really chuffed with her.
Liam, Dad and Grandad headed home to get dry and changed. I went on along the beach and back through the pinewoods giving Lass and Querida a chance to dry out. I was so proud of my pup and only six and a half month's old what a little (well not very) star.
she has been sleeping solidly since.
They have two large dogs of their own back in the UK and I think the kids are missing them, "Dad" had also met Querida briefly when she was a baby pup and couldn't wait to see how much she had grown.
We bumped into them on the beach of the lake yesterday, both the dogs and the humans had great fun throwing and retrieving sticks (yes,Liam the grandson was swimming after them too) from the lake.
Lass is stick and water crazy and tended to be hogging the action, while Querida splashed about in the shallows retrieving lesser sticks and those surplus to Lass's requirements.
Roy (grandad) and I turned our attention more to Querida and were throwing our sticks carefully in the shallows coaxing her in a little deeper with each throw, combining this with tug games with her when she retrieved them.
She plays a lot of games of tug with Lass but isnt really that interested in retrieving or doesn't normally have much chance as Lass is so much faster and more nimble.
So that was yesterday,Querida was teetering on the edge of swimming but not quite daring to get out of her depth.
Today we met up on the beach again,this time Dad kept Lass occupied, Roy and I threw our sticks with Querida in the shallows and Liam waded in just beyond Querida's comfort zone and enticed her with sticks just out of her reach.
Then Wow ,she'd done it! Swimming like a good un. The lake was quite choppy today too but she wasn't bothered by the waves.
She wasn't swimming any great distance but intentionally retrieved from out of her depth on about half a dozen consecutive throws.
We called it a day then, I think Liam was getting pretty chilly but we were all really chuffed with her.
Liam, Dad and Grandad headed home to get dry and changed. I went on along the beach and back through the pinewoods giving Lass and Querida a chance to dry out. I was so proud of my pup and only six and a half month's old what a little (well not very) star.
she has been sleeping solidly since.