Happy Birthday, Freki!

Today Freki is one year old.
We have had her since she was 9 weeks old, and it has been a ton of fun!

She seems to learn or teach us something nearly every day. Yesterday, she learned to swim in the neighbor's pond. I took her there on a leash and let her approach the water on her own. She was soooo excited to see the water! So much water! Much bigger than her swimming pool!

Then, she stepped in. You could see the muddy bottom around the edge, and she sank ankle-deep. It must have startled her, because she leaped backward. She paced the area, then tried it again. Same thing, only she went farther and dropped off into deeper water. She leaped out, and shook the water from her coat. Never one to back down from a challenge, she jumped back in the pond and this time she swam.
It wasn't a graceful dog-paddle. It was more like the exaggerated stride of a Tennessee Walking horse with water splashing everywhere. She sank a bit and must have sucked up a snootful of water, because she lunged out of the water and stalked about, retching. But the gleam was still in her eye and she charged back into the water. I'd taken her leash off and she swam freely around, getting the hang of it a little better each time. 
She was so wound up! I finally got her attention and hooked the leash on her collar and took her back to the yard. She pranced and darted about the whole way, so pleased and proud of herself and excited to have learned something new.. I rinsed her off, played ball for a few minutes, then took her inside to the utility room where she got a thick towel and a fan to help her dry. It took a long time to get her presentable enough to join us in the house, but she was tired and napped.
What a nice thing to discover a way to tire her out! And she had a blast!
Does your dog like to swim? Is he a 'foot-dabbler' or a 'cannon-baller'?
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                                                         THEN AND NOW

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