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!)

Blessed rain...

We have been blessed with incessant amounts of rain this year.  I'm trying to be as indifferent to the cold and rainy days as Sawyer appears to be.  It's really just another day for our canine companions (as it should be for us) and life goes on.

When the Bruce Trail is terribly muddy, we resort to neighbourhood and beach walks. Again Sawyer is fortunate to have such varied of terrain close to home.  Recently, we walked on the Hamilton side of the beach.  It's lovely if you can ignore the hydro towers and the Skyway traffic noise.  However, none of these bothered our boy.  We enjoyed a peaceful walk alone on the beach, listening to the waves crashing.  Unfortunately most of the beach was under water and the sandy banks were quickly being eroded by the waves, leaving a trail of debris and driftwood.  All the more fun for Sawyer as he chased sticks in the water and sniffed his way amongst the native beach grasses.  We found an unusual amount of whole coconuts amongst the debris and Sawyer enjoyed chasing them or chewing on the shell.

 

Near the end of our walk, Sawyer laid down and busily gnawed on a coconut, while I paused to thank my lucky stars for the magnificent surrounding and for our precious boy, Sawyer.

Footprints in the sand

Sawyer's latest favorite haunt is the local beach, along the shores of Lake Ontario.  Although the city has posted numerous signs disallowing dogs on the beach and in the water, as it is a popular beach destination during the summer months, we chose to turn a blind eye (signs? I didn't see any signs!).   It was a gloriously sunny morning.

Sawyer sniffed his way from the boardwalk, to the sandy beach and finally to the water's edge.  The first few times at the beach, he was in his glory eating the sand, cigarette butts, lake weeds and even fish carcasses.  Finally at 4-1/2 months old, he's developed a more discerning palate and now prefers to wait for his gourmet raw meat!

After our walk, trying to keep up to passersby on the boardwalk and dilly-dallying from one bush to another for almost one hour,  Sawyer had had enough.  He stubbornly planted himself smack-dab on the walkway for a little snooze.  However, after much coaxing (and treats), I finally convinced him to walk a mere few meters to the car.  Puppy is now sound asleep on the living room floor, no doubt dreaming about his next walk on the beach!