I've always wanted a dog who enjoyed playing in water, if not full on swimming. Terra is my fourth attempt. Her initial introductions to bodies of water went similarly:
she got excited, then jumped in deeper than she was comfortable, then avoided the water. I didn't take her to any swimming areas over the winter, but now the weather is over 80 degrees and it was time to try again.
Earlier this week, I took her to the local creek and waded in.
Initially Terra paced the shore, wanting to come to me but nervous about entering the water.
I praised her every time she tried to muster up her courage, and slowly she started to venture in more.
Eventually she joined me where I was standing, in about a foot of running water!
She started whining a little, like she didn't know what to do with herself. I did some playful gestures and got her to smile at me. Then we exited the water and went home. A successful trip!
A few days later, we walked through Point Isabel with Miki. Her dogs ran down to the water to cool off, and Cai followed to investigate. I was thrilled to see Terra go in, too!
She only went in to a depth of a few inches, but it was another positive experience. Yay!
