Reply #32: My 11 month old dog figured it out on Friday

[undeterred]

As soon as the lake thawed he started walking into it to wade. On Friday someone was tossing a ball out for their golden retriever to get, and he had to swim to it. Ollie really wanted to compete for the ball but he wouldn't go further than he could walk. But I could tell he was trying to figure it out.

All of a sudden he just started following the golden and I realized he was in deeper water and not wading any more! It was like a light bulb came on. Now he keeps trying it out. This morning he swam out toward a couple of ducks. He kind of snuck up on them quietly, but when he got within six feet they flew away. Now he's got to figure out that he'll never catch them!

He's an Australian shepherd, a herding dog that I wouldn't necessarily expect to love the water.