Dylan’s great day of accomplishments!

I don’t know if I have ever been more proud of my boy. He’s accomplished a lot of great things in his life and has learned so much but yesterday was just a fantastic day for him. What he seemed to accomplish didn’t look like much on the surface but I know how difficult it probably was for him! 

Yesterday we tried out Splash Dogs. Well I should probably say that we worked toward trying out splash dogs.

Dylan was never a natural swimmer. When he was young I actually took him to the lake and clicker trained him to swim to me out in the water. It was a difficult thing for him to learn but he has learned to love swimming in the lake to retrieve his frisbee.

I new jumping into swimming pool was a whole different ball game and I figured he would need some work. I didn’t think he had it in him so I haven’t taken him before (I’ve been dying to take Marley but the vet said it was too dangerous for her). Anyway, when we went to Goblin Valley a few months ago, Dylan was jumping in and out of these pockets of water in the rock. I couldn’t beleive how much more confidence he has in the water now! So we opted to “practice” at splash dogs this go around.

We got a sneak preview of how he might do last week. They had a practice pool set up at Strut Your Mutt and we got to try it out the night before. He didn’t have a frisbee or a life jacket since I didn’t know they would be there but he reached in to get his ball. The life jacket gives him more confidence in the water.

Yesterday, we tried and tried to get him into the pool. He’d run up the ramp and down to where he could touch and then bark and bark and bark at his frisbee.

By afternoon, I was pretty sure I was going to have to get into the pool with him. I wasn’t fond of that plan but I didn’t see any other way to get him going any further. Each time we practiced he would get a little further and a little further and then stop. He would not leave the ramp. A couple times I pulled him off the ramp with his life jacket and he about had a panic attack. Some Treats were there and ready but he didn’t care and he didn’t dare go get the frisbee.

Finally, I pulled him off the side of the ramp. It sounds harsh but he was already mostly in the water and he knows how to swim and he has a life jacket on. He really just needed to know that all we was doing in that pool was the same as he was doing in the lake the past few years. He just has to kick his little legs to get over to the frisbee. This time, he swam and got the frisbee which was almost on the ramp anyway. A couple more times of repeating that and I knew he was going to pick it up!

Next round of practice, his old buddy from Flyball was around. He loves her so much and she stood on the other side of the pool and called him. I threw his frisbee out toward her. This time, he ran down the ramp and jumped off into the water! SUCCESS!! Finally!!! Each time we repeated he got more and more confident! YAY for Dylan!!

We decided it was time to graduate to the big pool with the dock on it. We took him up the exit ramp the next practice round and he was a bit confused. I helped him off the dock with a bit of force but this time no panic. He swam over, got the frisbee and life was grand. Each time we repeated, he swam all around the big pool and got his toy to bring back to me.

So we decided to take him up on the dock. He wasn’t ready. I threw the frisbee and he was too afraid to even look and it and bark at it. I think he was also getting tired. We went back down to the exit ramp and had a few good push offs so that we ended on a good note.

Dylan has been injured since the run in with the fence post. He was starting to show signs that he was sore so I called it good for the day. He was SO brave and overcame a huge fear of getting in the pool for sure. I only wish we could go back today and work some more but we will have to wait til next time. Hopefully he will remember the pool and we won’t have to start again from scratch. I know one day he will learn to do this. He just takes a bit more time than some other dogs to overcome his fears of things.  He was freaking out when watching the other dogs jump in.  He really wants to do it!!

In addition to  his huge accomplishment in the pool, Dylan had another.  We have been having a hard time at Course A Lure.  He gets going soo fast that he jumps out of course.  He needs to learn to control his speed around corners.  I ran him twice before we left for the day.  His leg was bugging and I didn’t want him running but I knew I wasn’t getting out of there without letting him get the lure!!  Both times he ran straight into the catch box instead of going off course (although one time he plowed into a tunnel and tore up the course a bit!).  He wasn’t the fastest by far but Sneek and Jake were there and they always outrun him.  He did bring home a silver metal to hang on the wall though!  And completing the course was all I cared about.  If we are going to continue doing Course a’Lure he needs to start staying on course.  He did great and I was waiting in the catch box with handfuls of hotdogs to reward him!!

Here some some pics from the Day!

Dylan trying to swim:

We had to hide during a big rain storm.  I ended up just leaving for a bit and visiting my grandparents while we were drying off. 

Our friend Sneek was also trying to learn how to swim:

Jake was a natural swimmer but not a natural jumper!

Zoe learned to jump!!!  Look how happy her Mom is!  It makes me smile seeing that Grin on Ann’s Face!

Lucy is a 13 year old cancer survivor.  What a girl!  She still plays flyball and runs pretty dang fast for a little dog (let alone a little 13 year old cancer survivor!)…

Chase Me is our flyball teammate.  He is the third fastest Jack in U-Fli.  He’s a fast little guy with lots of spirit.  He’s running in the Jack Russell Races (by invitation only) at the Purina Incredible Dog Challenge!