Walking on Water

The beginning of Fall means the end of pool season. WAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!! I want my pool back!!! My human dad closed the pool down yesterday. I was one unhappy pup, until I discovered that now I can walk on water!

It was so much fun! I loved racing across the surface and brought some toys with me, which I conveniently left in the middle of the pool cover where no one could reach them.

So Girl Twin came to the rescue, much to her dad's chagrin. "GET OFF THE POOL COVER!!!!!"

We both think it was fun while it lasted.

Night Swim

I went night swimming for the first time earlier this week! It was a lot of fun and I wasn't at all spooked by the darkness or the pool lights.

Here's a clip of me riding the floating mattress:

And another one of me jumping (OK, stepping) off the deck into the pool. I'm making progress toward jumping off the high end of the deck. My human dad thought he'd "help" by showing me I had nothing to fear (yeah, he threw me off!! My human was not amused. At all.) but I'm still not convinced.

A Ruff Day

Today was a ruff kinda day, but in a good way. My Family had a swim/cookout with lots of friends and family, including 11 kids (7 of which were age 4-or-under). Those little ones really wore me out! But everyone commented on how well I played with them, didn't knock anyone down (not even the 21-month old twins) and put up with all the poking and prodding and kisses. But I have to confess, I couldn't restrain myself from pinching some of their food as they walked around ...I say if it's at nose-level, it's fair game!

I also learned a new skill today: riding the floating mattress!




Girl Twin pushed me around and I didn't mind at all, and even sat down for the ride. My human was too busy playing hostess to take any video footage...next time.

By the afternoon's end, I was so pooped, I fell asleep in my human's lap.




My human said it hit her how much I've grown, when she saw that picture of me. I'm not the little ball of fluff she brought home 4 months ago!

I will leave you with something to pass on to your humans, a recipe for a great summer cocktail that was a big hit today:

VODKA GINGER LEMONADE
Boil in a pan 1 C. water, 1 C. sugar and 2 tsp. ground ginger, stirring, until sugar dissolves.
Let cool to room temperature. Add 1 and 1/4 C. vodka and 1/2 C. fresh lemon juice; stir well.
To serve, put about 1/4 C. of mixture in a glass, add about 2/3 C. seltzer water and ice cubes. Stir and enjoy!
Recipe can be doubled to serve a crowd.

Meet Girl Twin, My Human Sister

Since I've introduced you all to my feline siblings, it's time for you to meet my furless ones.

I'll start with Girl Twin, 'cuz I think she loves me the best! She's 10 years old. She plays with me, takes me on walks, does training sessions, bakes me doggy biscuits, chooses my bandanas and even goes on pooper-scooper patrol without being asked! Now, if that's not love, I don't know what is! Did I mention she likes to sneak me treats when my human isn't looking? She makes drawings of me, takes pictures of me (many of which appear on my blog), and has even composed a song about me. We're working on the keyboard accompaniment which isn't quite blog-ready, but stay tuned.

Girl Twin loves all animals, especially dogs. When she was really little, my human got her baby dolls to play with, but she ignored them in favor of her stuffed animals. She wants to have 4 dogs when she grows up and has even picked out names for them: a Kuvasz named Biggie (inspired by the one with a blog!), an Akita named Indiana, an Alaskan Malamute named Dakota and a Doberman named Butch.

This is a science project she did with a friend, about dog breeds. Check out which breed is representing the Sporting Group!

I love to swim with Girl Twin. Even when there's nothing to retrieve, I'll paddle out to her just to do laps with her. She swims on a swim team. Too bad there's no doggy paddle event, I'd be a top contender! Enjoy this clip of the two of us in the pool. I'll tell you about my human brothers another time.

Water Baby

We have finally been able to enjoy the pool after the monsoons of June!

I am getting really good at swimming now and my human doesn't feel like she'll have to jump in to rescue me anymore, if I swim more than one lap.

I am *thisclose* to jumping off the deck...on the low side! That side with the 5 foot drop is still too scary.

I almost gave a Toller Scream when I got so frustrated at the deck's edge...my Family thought it was pretty funny but I didn't!!

I just learned to jump in & climb out of the attached jacuzzi. That' with bubbles off, please!

I love ending pool time with a good game of Bite the Water.

I'm Swimming!

Yes, I've taken the plunge! After several practice swims with my human dad holding me around the middle, yesterday he finally let go and away I went:





Everyone was so excited for me! Especially my human...she sounds like a crazed stage mom but she just couldn't contain her enthusiasm.


And then, I made my big debut with my First Real Water Retrieve:

After such an exciting afternoon, I was so tuckered out I had to have a little cat nap right there on the deck...forget walking the extra 20 steps to my nice comfy crate bed!

It's going to be another glorious day here in NY and the neighborhood kids are coming over for a swim...I can't wait to show off my new skills!

But before I go, I have to share with you that I got my first Doggy Blog Award from Bijou:

Thanks so much, Bijou! I am honored. Now, I am passing this award on to the Toller puppy over in Sweden who inspired me to start my blog, Sienna. She is the cutest ball of fluff and has some of the best photography in the world of dog blogging. Go check her out!

Do These Count As Water Retrieves?

In my book, they do...I entered water, I retrieved, ergo Water Retrieve! No one said anything about having to actually swim!

Here was my first one, when I was just over 3 months old. This is our drained pool.

Retrieving the little bumper...

...and the big bumper (OK, so it's a noodle)!

And some day, I'll work up the courage to jump off the deck!

Baby Steps

Joy, oh joy! My family opened their backyard pool this past weekend, and I'm finally getting acquainted with water! My human had seen a "Dog Whisperer" episode (she's a Cesar Milan groupie) with a Toller who was afraid of swimming, so she is being very cautious with introducing me to it. Apparently, that Toller had accidentally fallen into the pool when she was 8 weeks old, and her human jumped in to save her and proceeded to make a REALLY BIG DEAL about it afterward, which of course only served to make the puppy more fearful of water. Silly human! So Cesar worked with her to re-introduce her to the joys of swimming, and she did great.



So here's my human, encouraging me to take a walk on the little platform between the hot tub & the pool. Note my slightly baleful expression. I spent a few minutes walking back & forth from the deck onto the platform...so far, so good.











Here's Girl Twin, telling me the water's fine and I should just take a step in...I was curious, but not too eager to dip a paw in just yet.













Then, Little Boy started playing with the orange noodle, and I couldn't help myself...I just HAD to get over there to check it out!
















And then Girl Twin made a hose out of the noodle and I got to play one of my favorite games...Bite the Water. Didn't taste quite as good as the stuff that comes out of the hose, but it was still fun!




I'm not quite ready to take the plunge yet, but I think I'll get there before the summer's through.