Waterboy

So, let's clear up about last night.  I felt like shit.  Probably had something to do with the junk food dinner I had... That's why I didn't blog.

Today I have something good to blog about!

Rudy finally jumped into the pool for the first time today!!!

So, he has been going in to the first step, no problem.  But that's as far as he can go very willingly.  If he goes any farther, he does a nosedive in the water.  So, he has gone out past the first step a handful of times.  Most of the time though, the FP "coaxes" or drags him deeper.  Once he gets swimming, it looks pretty graceful and effortless.  The difficult part is just getting him in the water.

So, we have been trying to lure him in with treats and toys, but most of the time he just barks desperately on the side because he can't reach the treat or toy.  So, then, maybe the FP will lead him into the water, and he can retrieve the toy or treat and swim back to the steps.

But today, after a while, he finally kind of jumped off the first step into the water to retrieve a soggy dog treat.  Then after that, he realized that it was easier to get in the water than he thought, so he slowly kept going in to retrieve the blue frisbee that the treat was on the first time.

And he went in several times.  Of course, the FP was being a typical father figure, trying to push him to go in the pool one time right after the other.  Rudy liked to have a few minutes in between to chew on the frisbee before going back in.  I thought Rudy looked like he was getting tired, so the FP let him take a breather.  But then after a little while, he was ready to go in again.

We just need him to figure out how to jump from the edge of the pool now.  It will come.  Then he will be ready for Bark Park dog swim.  There is a manmade lake there, with a nice drop off where people can throw tennis balls and dogs can jump off and swim to retrieve the ball.  Some of these dogs can jump really far.

Rudy should be able to jump too.  After all, he is a retriever!

We were such proud parents!  And in this day and age, no video of it.  But maybe tomorrow, or Saturday.