It's Dog Or Nothing - fur, slobber, and dirty floors
“Let’s take the dogs to the river!”
That was my brilliant exclamation that lead to a morning long adventure.
We got changed, grabbed the leashes, poop bags, water, and every other essential needed for a trip with your dogs. We had driven 20 minutes across town when Nick realized that we forgot to record the World Cup game.
Crap! It was the France v. Germany game and we did NOT want to miss it! We didn’t want to drive back across town, so Nick had the idea to run into Barnes and Noble, download some app, and use it to set our DVR to record (I really have no idea how all that works). I sat in the car with the pups while he ran in and attempted to work his magic. About 15 minutes later, we were back on the road.
“Wait! We only have one 30 ft lead. We should run to Petco quickly and grab another one.”
No one ever runs to Petco quickly. It was the Fourth of July so sales were everywhere! Every time I walked through an aisle I found something else that I wanted to try out and pass on to all of you.
Focus, Kelsie.
I found the leashes, grabbed a 30 ft lead, and headed to the cash register. Now, I typically have a lot of patience for situations that aren’t necessarily the most polite. The woman in front of me was friends with the cashier and they just stood there talking for what felt like forever. She wasn’t buying anything; just chatting. I was ready to get to the river!
Finally, we made it to the parking area by the river and the ground was covered in glass. It was like a maze getting the dogs through it without stepping on any glass.
There’s a beautiful trail by the river and I thought it would be nice to go for a walk before we let the dogs in the water. Then I realized, I forgot the bug spray.My legs, arms, and shirt were covered in mosquitoes. For some reason, they prefer to snack on me rather than Nick. I looked at the dogs and saw Atka was covered as well! We ran back to the car and I soaked myself in bug repellent. That helped to keep the mosquitoes away from Atka. I do need to get something specific for dogs though. Recommendations?
“Okay, NOW let’s walk.”
The weather was beautiful, we weren’t being eaten, and the dogs were being lovely. People were stopping to pet and ask questions about the dogs. Mauja and Atka were loving the attention! We turned a corner and walked right into a mass of people. Being the curious ones we are, we decided to walk around and see what all the people were there for.
Duh, its Independence Day. There’s a parade.
Thankfully, they hadn’t started, but they were getting very close. Mauja is terrified of sirens so we made a bee line back in the other direction. Now we were all hot, gross, and wanting to cool off. After a nice water break, we decided it was river time!
We took off the dogs’ normal leashes and put on their 30 ft leads. Since they had never been in swimming depth water and there can be currents on the river, I wanted to be extra safe. Plus, I’ve told you before how wonderful a pyr recall is… 
I grabbed Atka’s leash and we ran down toward the water.
Splash!
He jumped into the water, ran as far as he could, and then immediately started swimming! I could not believe it! This was his first time in the water and he was swimming like he’s been doing it his entire life. He had a blast!
Mauja hasn’t decided to try swimming yet. She loves wading and splashing in the water, but her paws need to be able to touch the ground. That is more of what I expected from Atka since pyrs aren’t typically water dogs. Who would have known!
Mauja, Atka, Nick, and I all swam around in the water until we were nice and tired.
I don’t think you will be surprised to know that we all fell asleep before the fireworks started at 10:30.
How did you spend your Independence Day? Do your dogs like to swim?
We are joining the Monday Mischief blog hop hosted by Snoopy’s Dog Blog, Alfie’s Blog, and My Brown Newfies. Grab the badge, find some friends, and join in on the mischief!
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