A Swimming Weekend

Since Cosi and I will not be going to trials in August, I thought I'd make a little me time. I'm going swimming on Saturday for the first time in a very long time. I recently lost 25 pounds and had to actually go shopping for a bathing suit as the ones I had were two sizes too big. The weather promises to be lovely for being poolside on Saturday. Here's to treating ourselves with sun, relaxation, and drinks with little umbrellas!

Dive Right In

Cos and I went swimming tonight. What a blast! Jeff built a new ramp into the dog swimming pool. It's now a solid ramp instead of steps. Cosi really liked the change. He actually--for the first time--went down the ramp and did a little leap off into the water.

We made up a new game in the pool. We swim to the end of the pool, and I encircle his belly with my arms. He stops swimming. I say, "Ready, ready......break!" and let go. He swims hard and fast for the ramp. He loved it.

Cosi didn't have dog camp today, and it's a shame. It was a beautiful day. So I wanted to treat him to some good exercise, and swimming seemed to be a good choice. I'm so glad he had fun.

No photos. :( I was alone.

Cosi Goes Swimming

I try to do a lot of activities with Cosi. He's young and energetic, and I like to see that energy channeled in as many ways as possible. In the summer we go lure coursing. We walk all year round. And, of course, we have agility and obedience work. A new plus has come in to our lives: My agility instructor has an indoor pool *just for exercising dogs*! How cool is that!?

I wanted to get Cosi used to swimming (Shelties are not known for their swimming abilities) as an alternative way to exercise. It uses his muscles in a whole different way. Last summer Coleen opened the pool for students to use. At first I got in the water with Cosi, which I loved. I'm an ol' water bug, love to swim. I wanted to do the swimming with him at the beginning, graduating to his swimming by himself. Today with temps in the 30's and winds at 25-30 mph, getting into a bathing suit and getting wet was not attractive. Today was Cosi's turn to get wet, not mine.

I put his life vest on because when that coat gets wet, Shelties tend to sink, not float. Thanks goodness Coleen has all the amenities at the pool, including toys that float, life vests in various sizes, and water heated to 80 degrees.

Here are some pictures of Cosi in his vest, posing next to the pool. I didn't get any of him swimming as I was by myself. When he was in the water, I was next to him on the walkway. No way was he going in without me 100 percent on Life Guard duty!

We had a great 30 minutes of swimming. He was a very tired pup when he left and earned a rawhide chew (a rare treat) on the way home. I figured he needed an extra special reward for working at something I wanted him to do. He didn't enjoy the activity, but he did it with heart. Just for me.

I love this dog.