Swimming 101

Rejoice!  Mr. Sawyer has finally taken the plunge (pun intended) and mastered the dog-paddle.  With yesterday's extreme heat, a trip to the Hamilton beach was warranted.  Sawyer had no idea what we had in store for him, as we were packing up the vehicle.  Once at the beach, there was no turning back.

We were relieved to see half a dozen other dogs wading in the water or chasing after their prized fluorescent balls.  It was safe to let him off-leash. Off he went.  Mr. I-Love-To-Network-With-Every-Dog-in-Sight Sawyer is definitely not a shy dog. He met three beautiful retrievers (tried stealing their balls), another Berner (with a haircut, who had absolutely NO interest in Sawyer) and a number of other mixed breeds.  Some were more receptive to his advances, while others blatantly told him off.

(networking with his friends)

MJ was very determined to teach Sawyer to swim once and for all, and never gave up.  She coaxed him with sticks and lots of encouragement.  Finally after half an hour standing in the water, our boy finally paddled over to her.  Way to go girl!  Although MJ maintained that he was cheating by allowing his back paws to touch bottom while paddling to his destination.  It was a joyous moment for us, as well as other bystanders who joined in on the cheers.

Bravo Sawyer, you've earned your Level 1 swimming badge!

(splashing about)

 (standing on your back paws, eh?!)

 (almost there Sawyer!)

 (Hanging on tight to mom!)

  (hey, someone needs to teach that dog to cut back on the splashing!)

(After a good swim, Mr. Sawyer just had to roll in the sand, then shake the excess all over me....sigh!)