Jake Goes Kayaking!

We've had a busy week this week! Jake went swimming for the first time on Tuesday night and then we went kayaking on Thursday!

Alan and I took a weekday off work to enjoy some perfect weather out on the water. We decided Jake was ready to try kayaking since he's doing so great with hiking and swimming so far.

We already know that Charlie is a challenge on kayaks. Her herding tendencies kick in and she doesn't like that "her family" is split up on two different boats; she can never decide which kayak she wants to be on and only calms down when we push the kayaks together or take a break on a shoreline so we can hang out together.

I knew adding Jake to the mix was going to be interesting; we had no idea how it would affect Charlie or how Jake would do on a boat.

Turns out Jake was great. Charlie was her same old neurotic self.

So basically, Jake is sitting in my kayak chilling and relaxing but looking over at Alan's kayak and trying to figure out why Charlie is freaking out. It's a struggle to continue paddling in a straight line while keeping Charlie in the boat.

Within a few minutes Jake decided that if Charlie is panicking, he should probably panic too. So then there's both me and Alan trying to paddle in a straight line while keeping both of our dogs in the boats.

We quickly decided to head over to a shallow area by an island to let the dogs out and play for a bit, hopefully release some of their pent-up energy, and then resume kayaking.

As we got near the islands, Charlie jumped out and then Jake jumped out. But Jake isn't as graceful at it as Charlie and ended up going in head first, fully submerged, only to pop up and start paddling toward me to get back in the boat!

By the time we got to a shallow spot to let the dogs out, we were all completely soaked.

And then the real fun began.

Jake scooping up water in his mouth and spitting it out. Goofball.

Jake learning to romp through the shallows.

Charlie and Jake began running around in the shallow water, finding sunken tree roots and logs around the islands to bring to us for playing fetch.

They jumped in our boats, over our boats and all over us. Charlie ran toward me with a log and nearly whacked my camera-phone out of my hand. Our boats were covered in mud and debris from the rotting wood.

And Alan and I were laughing so hard that we could barely breathe. We both had tears in our eyes from laughing so hard. It was the best time!

VIDEO #1:

VIDEO #2:

The look on Alan's face in the following sequence of photos is priceless... from enjoying the moment to realizing that his kayak has just been doused with mud-water as Charlie jumps over it and then the final photo where it almost looks like Jake knows what Charlie just did!

We didn't get a lot of kayaking done with the dogs, but they had a great time and Jake had his first taste of being on a boat. He did well and overall we'll probably give it another try some time.

Luckily, we had two VERY sleepy dogs by the time we drove home, so we dropped them off to take a nap and headed back out (just the two of us) to have some quiet kayaking time WITHOUT dogs. It was a perfect day.

Sleepy dog #1 (left)

Sleepy dog #2 (right)

Jake Goes Swimming!

So Jake had already "accidentally" gone swimming during his first hike when he fell off a thin sheet of ice on a thawing lake. He's also played in his little baby pool many times in the backyard and has romped along the river's edge in the shallows, but hasn't actually gone swimming on purpose yet.

I had hoped his first experience falling in freezing water and splashing wildly to shore hadn't scared him to the idea of swimming, so Alan and I took him and Charlie to an easy swimming spot - Sunnyvale County Park.

Sunnyvale is a man-made lake and is open to everyone to use for whatever purpose - swimming, kayaking, paddleboarding, fishing and of course dogs are allowed. There's a designated "beach" area for humans but also several other sandy shallow areas on the opposite side where dogs are allowed.

As soon as we threw a stick in the water for Charlie to fetch, Jake was quickly in the water too. He watched Charlie and took off swimming on his own, although he still doesn't understand the whole "fetch" thing.

I was super excited that he was swimming so well and so quickly!
(You can tell by my ridiculous excited voice in the videos below):

VIDEO #1 - JAKE SWIMMING

VIDEO #2 - JAKE SWIMMING

Having Jake wear his Ruffwear Float Coat was only to help him build confidence in case he tired out too quickly. Also, I wanted him to start getting used to it so he'd be okay wearing it when we go kayaking. But we took it off after a little bit to allow him freedom of movement and to see if he could handle swimming without it.

I'm really happy that Jake is so willing to do whatever Charlie does. It helps immensely with his training progress and will allow us to try kayaking soon!

Also, this picture of Charlie is hilarious! The level of concentration on her face as Alan throws her stick! I just can't. It's too much.

Joy Times Two

I haven't been hiking much lately and I hate it when people are constantly saying they're "too busy" for this or that, so I'm not going to make excuses. Truth is, lately I just want to be home. I'm enjoying being in our little "nest" and doing stuff around the house.

Jake and Charlie are enjoying our quiet 5am weekday walks and then Jake gets another sunset walk by himself in the evenings. We hang out in our backyard a lot and spend time out at Alan's house where there's more space to run.

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But I've really missed being immersed in the woods; surrounded by green and uncluttered quiet.

So we woke up really early on Sunday morning, made some coffee for my thermos and took a 20-minute drive to the Dells of the Eau Claire County Park.

I figured with it being so early, we wouldn't have to deal with any other hikers and most of the campers would be busy packing up since it was the end of the weekend.

I was right. We had the place to ourselves. And it was sublime.

The skies were a swirl of gray clouds, making the green of the ferns and trees even more vibrant. Bird-song filled the woods and a light breeze ruffled the canopy above us.

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO

I kept Jake and Charlie on-leash for the first part of the hike, but quickly realized this was going to be too difficult to keep up for long. I eventually let them off-leash and it worked out great. Jake stuck by Charlie's side and even though they'd trot ahead, they always came back to check on me.

Jake takes his time smelling everything; experiencing everything for the first time. Charlie can sometimes be impatient, but I think having to wait for Jake helps remind her to slow down too.

I think we could all take a life lesson from puppies and treat everything as if it were new and worthy of taking our time to experience all over again.

At one point, I think Jake became intoxicated with all the sights, smells and sounds (as well as his freedom to roam) and got a serious case of the zoomies! He was running like crazy through the shallows of the river edge, up the riverbank, through the woods, and down the trail, and then turning in a tight circle with his tail tucked to do the whole loop again. Charlie and I just stood there watching him, in awe of his speed and maneuverability. He's really beginning to grow out of his puppy clumsiness and becoming quite athletic!

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Eventually I had to make him stop for fear that he'd crash into a tree! We took a few minutes to catch our breath before back-tracking our steps to the parking lot.

It was a magical morning watching these two pups experiencing nature and reminding me why I love hiking so much. I missed the forest and the river and it was good to be back.

Tribute to BB ~ A Very Good Dog

Last Friday night, I was informed that my step-mom's dog, BB, had crossed the Rainbow Bridge.

Before Jake came into our lives, BB was the only dog that I could trust Charlie with 100%, no questions asked. I knew they would get along and/or work out their issues in a non-aggressive manor, or rather, BB was such a wet noodle that Charlie would get her way and no one got hurt. He filled a very important and special void in Charlie's life and I will forever be grateful to him for this.

From the time that I began reconnecting with my dad after my divorce and spending more time at the family homestead, BB has been there. He was my dad's dog and almost always by his side. He was there throughout my dad's battle with cancer and stood by my side as we watched my dad take his last breath. I'll always remember looking over at BB and knowing that he knew what was happening at that moment. Afterwards, he became the companion that my step-mom needed during her early stages of grief, providing requirements of daily routine to keep her going.

And it breaks my heart that I won't see him again. The sadness is so deep. There will be no more visits for him and Charlie to romp around and chase each other. He'll never get to meet Jake.

It's moments like these that really slap you in the face and make you realize how precious life is and how suddenly it can be taken away.

I'd like to think that BB and my dad have reunited on the other side of the Rainbow Bridge and are playing in fields of green grass, sitting under a shade tree and enjoying each other's company again.

I hope all the dogs we've loved and lost are waiting for us on the other side.
Until then, goodbye sweet BB.

You were a good dog and you will be missed.

VIDEO:

Pool Party

The dogs had a busy day yesterday, so we opted to stay home today and play in the backyard for some easy fun.

Setting up the baby pool is the best option because both of these guys love playing in water! Jake will sometimes even lay down in the pool and just chill out. 

But his favorite game is to take all the toys out of the pool and then get Charlie to chase him around the yard with one of her favorites in his mouth.

Bossy!

She was asking for it!

And then, of course, I get to put all the toys back in the pool so the game can start over.

Cutie pies.