Kayaking on the River

The river was low and slow today, so I decided to put Winnie's life vest on and try kayaking with her in the main part of the river right at our house. She did really great!

We didn't go too far, this shot shows the distance from shore but it was still pretty shallow.

Once we got back to shore, she didn't want to get out! But this picture reveals why - she hated the idea of stepping into the muck. Such an outdoorsy dog, huh?

Cooling off on a very, very hot day!

Quiz...

I made my poor, abused dog sit in the back the other day. Do you think she likes it back there? Or prefers the front seat??

Dog Paddling

I have been wanting to see if I can get Winnie on the kayak with me. You might remember the exercise on the lawn using the clicker that went pretty well. I did a float trip on my own today, and Sandy picked me up at the take out point. I thought it'd be a perfect opportunity to try Winnie on the kayak!

We used the boat ramp at Brunswick because it's on the C&O Canal, nice and shallow, no mud and very little current. First step: see if she'll get in at the ramp. So far, so good!

Nice and easy...atta girl...

Sandy and I were both surprised to get this far, but she was doing great!

Well, pushing her around on a kayak is no fun. Time to see if we can both try it!

Winnie: "You're not doing what I think you're doing, are you?"

Winnie planning her escape route.

Hey, look at us! QUICKTAKEAPICTURE!!!

Ed: "I can't believe this is working."
Sandy: "I can't believe this is working."

Winnie: "What's that??"

"I think I can reach it!"

(There is a scene missing here, when Winnie went overboard. Head first, because her ass end was still in the boat. I watched her go under, then when she came up I grabbed her collar and helped her back onto the boat. A few important things here - when she was in the water, her reaction was to come back to the boat, rather than to shore. I wondered if this would be the case. Secondly, by putting my left leg off the left side of the boat, I was able to drag her while she climbed onto the right side of the boat without tipping. I wondered about this too, and was very pleased to get her in the boat without getting a bath.)

Back in business! Note only one of us is wet here.

Well this little test run just could not have gone better! What a good girl!!!

Two's Company

I'd be lying if I said I didn't spend some time contemplating whether to get one of the awesome chocolate lab pups my friend next door to us has. I even got the green light from Sandy, who keeps adding animals, I believe in an effort to find out where the line actually is for me (it is at Pigs).

But as far as dogs go, I've had two, Sandy's had two, for a time together we had four. We have had three for maybe the longest time. But our current stable of two just seems too good to mess with. They're both about 2 years old, and they just couldn't get along any better. They help each other exercise, which is nice, but there are just never, ever, any conflicts between them.

So for the time being, we'll stick with this winning combination. We're lucky to have them!