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.