Swimmy Shasta 9/6/99

Swimmy Shasta

9/6/99
Copyright © 2001 Ray Hebert

Howdy All,

Yes you read the subject right, Swimmy Shasta. After a year of hanging out with Shaq, Shasta has decided to try her paw at swimming.

For the last year Shasta had not wanted to swim at all. This is very odd for a Labrador, but I was not going to force the subject. When she was good and ready she would swim. Well that day has come.

The weather in Sioux City has been very good for much of the last month. So I took the kids to McCook lake to let Shaq swim and to let Shasta play in the nearby woods and wade out into the water. At least that is what I thought would happen.

I forgot to pack Shaq's favorite retrieving dummies, so we stopped and got a new ball for Shaq to retrieve when out swimming. This one has a squeak in it, which just captivated Shasta. She would go a bit crazy when I picked it up and squeezed it a couple of times. She would jump up trying to grab it out of my hand, very playful.

I threw it a few times for Shaq, then saw that Shasta was really interested in it, so I tossed it out in the shallow water where I knew she could wade out and get it. She cautiously waded out and got it. Next I threw it really far out for Shaq, Shasta waded in and waited till Shaq got back then she berated him for not getting it back quickly enough.

So this time I held Shaq and squeezed the ball a few times to get Shasta really excited, then threw it just far enough out that I knew she would have to swim a couple of strokes. She was so into the ball that she did not realize that she had swam out and got it until she got back. She dropped the ball and looked back at the lake. I held the ball up and squeezed it a few times, she jumped up and really wanted to get it. So I held Shaq again and threw it really far out. She wadded in and cautiously started swimming, after a few splashing strokes she settled down to a nice efficient stroke and retrieved the ball. After that I could not keep her out of the water. When I threw the ball for Shaq she would wade out and try to grab it from him, as if hew as not bringing it back faster on purpose.

For a while I alternated between throwing the ball for Shaq then for Shasta. Then I decided to see if we could have a swimming contest. I gave Shasta a head start on retrieving the ball of about 10 yards, then release Shaq. Shaq would charge into the water and the race would be on to get the ball. Most of the time Shasta would win out, but one time Shaq just beat Shasta to the ball. She was visibly pissed. Shaq started to swim back with Shasta right in his wake. After a few strokes she tried climbing on his back to get the ball. Shaq just stopped and gave her a dirty look, she never tried that again.

One thing that Shasta did not like was diving off the pier. Shaq loved it he would charge down the to the end and launch himself off. Shasta tried it and got to the end and sort of jumped in. I don't think she enjoyed having her face under water because she would pop up and panic for a few seconds and try to climb back on the pier. I would reach down and grab her by the scruff on her neck and pull her back up. I think after a few times of doing it she will see what Shaq is doing and try to launch her self off rather than just jump off the end.

Well that is the story of the Swimmy Shasta. Very proud of her and glad that she has decided to join in on the fun of swimming.

Cheers
Ray & Shaq & Shasta.