Swim Date

Thank You for all the amazing suggestions on outings!! They are all on my bucket list to accomplish before Haddie returns to California. I realized rather quickly of my excuse about living in a rainy/cold state and tailoring my training to that reality when I read a Blogger friend's post here. Yes, they work in 7 degree weather. Done with excuse making with this topic.

But not before I took Haddie to a public indoor swimming pool where it was very humid and warm as the rain twisted sideways outside the one lone window.

This was a chance to get Haddie's feet wet (not literally) with the smells and echoes of a Public Swimming Pool. Only toddlers with their Momma's, and serious lap swimmers, use the pool from noon to one during the work week. Eventually I will take her to the evening Public Swim time where it is littered with youngsters to teens complete with the diving board and slide in use.

Haddie did great on holding a Sit, Down, Stand, and Under command, and not licking the stained cement floor. The area that we worked the most on was Walking the bleachers. I finally got the hang of leading Haddie with her directly behind me. It would have been handy to have practiced this before the crowded hockey game in January. It hadn't even crossed my mind beforehand. Granted, the bleachers were empty today, but it was a new experience for her to follow me in tight quarters.

I walked the entire length of the bleachers and when there was a stair-opening, sometimes Haddie would take a left and go up one row, instead of continuing to follow. It was great practice. We also tried a Turn, which she immediately jumped up on the bleacher to get to the next row, instead of turning. We practiced that one too.

The noise, the smells, the splashing did not phase Haddie, so it was a great working environment from the start. She especially enjoyed watching this one little tyke jump into the water. She gave her totally cute face with the wrinkled head and perked ears at the boy who was standing just feet away from her ready to jump, and then when the jump occurred with the Splash, she looked right at me with a "Whaaaat?!" expression. Good Girl for checking in with me when things were new!

She also enjoyed watching this athletic lap swimmer go back and forth in front of us. It was like watching a tennis match with her. She'd check with me about every eight strokes. What a cutie ~ it is so fun observing the world with her.

By the time it was over she was panting from the humidity and I was getting a headache from the chlorine smell and humidity too. She is now crashed out in her bed, hopefully dreaming of being a future Service Dog.

Happy Valentine's Day!!