She Swims!

Never thought I'd have to train a dog to like swimming, but considering CJ hates it maybe that's where I went wrong.

Little by little, while I've been away, Jen's been working with Gretchen.

I think it started with Jen picking her up and putting her on the step, then slowly coaxing her out into the water with sticks.

She would do it, get good at it, then protest the next time Jen went swimming.

Now she's a pro. If the rubber stick sinks from a hard throw, she'll tread water waiting for it to surface.

A nice side-effect is the pool has become her grooming mechanism. All that fur that we were brushing out daily is now in the filter. Eh, so I have to backwash sooner.

She's cooler and cleaner for it.

Though I'm not sure clean enough to lounge in the sun on the furniture.

- b