When I first introduced Kip to the pool at about five months of age, he was not very enthusiastic about it. He swam when I put him in, and I even clickered him to get onto the second step with me, but he refused to actually get into the water completely by himself.
With Polly, teaching her to swim took exactly 5 minutes. I went to the Baylands, found a place where the water entry was shallow, and thew BALL into the water. Polly proceeded to pitch a 5 minute screaming fit (her solution to most problems in those days) on the bank, and when it became clear that I am not going to get BALL for her, she finally went in herself, swam out and brought it back. Swim education done.
Kip does not have that strong of a ball drive, so this method ended up in him giving me a look of utter disappointment ("how could you possibly be so careless as to throw the ball somewhere I cannot get it") and walking away from the water to go sniff stuff. So I let it go for a while and decided to deal with it later. I don't know if it's age, or the fact that he does underwater treadmill for his rehab, but suddenly he decided that swimming is the best thing ever, and retrieving bumpers from the pool is his life's work.
Today I let him swim for 15 minutes and then took him home, since we are still working on building his fitness and I don't want to let him overdo it. Walking back to the car, I had a whining and pulling (backwards) maniac that tried to do everything to get me to turn around and let him back into the water. Swim education done with this one too. Now let's work on impulse control and loose leash walking, yes?
Swim video. The horrible snorting seems to be a family trait. As is the mouthing.
With Polly, teaching her to swim took exactly 5 minutes. I went to the Baylands, found a place where the water entry was shallow, and thew BALL into the water. Polly proceeded to pitch a 5 minute screaming fit (her solution to most problems in those days) on the bank, and when it became clear that I am not going to get BALL for her, she finally went in herself, swam out and brought it back. Swim education done.
Kip does not have that strong of a ball drive, so this method ended up in him giving me a look of utter disappointment ("how could you possibly be so careless as to throw the ball somewhere I cannot get it") and walking away from the water to go sniff stuff. So I let it go for a while and decided to deal with it later. I don't know if it's age, or the fact that he does underwater treadmill for his rehab, but suddenly he decided that swimming is the best thing ever, and retrieving bumpers from the pool is his life's work.
Today I let him swim for 15 minutes and then took him home, since we are still working on building his fitness and I don't want to let him overdo it. Walking back to the car, I had a whining and pulling (backwards) maniac that tried to do everything to get me to turn around and let him back into the water. Swim education done with this one too. Now let's work on impulse control and loose leash walking, yes?
 |
| Stop taking pictures of me. My bumper is in the pool. I need to get it. |
No comments:
Post a Comment