Swimming

No one kicks off summer quite like my sister's lounge hound, Peanut.  She loves nothing more than relaxing by the pool and cannot wait for it to open each summer.

Since Riley is on a modified lay up for her mild toe sprain, swimming was an excellent way to exercise her.  She has been in the pool numerous times over the last several summers so this is not new to her.  She does not love it, but she knows the drill and swims for her treats.  As always, I used the inflatable e-collar to keep ears and nose above water (click here to buy one).  It is a terrible e-collar, but it works great for keeping your dog's head above water, but does not provide as much support as a life jacket.  This encourages them to swim more and to use their hind legs.

Riley was not impressed.

Thanks for letting us swim in your pool, Parkers!

Floating Peanut

This is Peanut, my sister's greyhound. She adopted her nearly 2 years ago. Peanut is a greyhound of extremes. Obviously very laid back, but has a very anxious side of her as well.

Peanut was not the racing trainer's favorite. Although she was a solid runner at the dead end track, she had broken numerous teeth gnawing at the crate and could be very vocal when upset. No doubt she was trouble in the kennel. The trainer apologized for giving her to the adoption group, but said the owner had insisted she go to an adoption group when space was available (see, some racing owners are good people).

Peanut sat in the adoption kennel for a few months. She was already 5 years old, not very flashy, and she was labeled too high prey to mingle with small dogs. My sister began fostering several months after her heart greyhound, Spooky, had passed away and Peanut was Denise's third foster greyhound, I believe.

Peanut proved to be a great farm dog. She has no problem with flies, horses, or napping on concrete barn isles. When she is hot, she stands in the wash rack waiting for someone to hose her off.

My sister, Denise, was looking mostly for two traits. Number one, the greyhound had to get along with her mixed breed dog, Limo (being chased in picture above). Peanut and Limo got along great. They wrestle, play, nip at each others ankles, and Limo makes a great lure. Obviously, Peanut can keep her prey drive in check. Number two, Denise prefers a greyhound that will stick close and not disappear on the 60 acre horse farm. Well, Peanut rarely lets Denise out of sight.

Long-time readers have seen Peanut in the pool before. She is so relaxed and really seems to enjoy just staying cool on a hot day. We had a lot of fun with her last weekend.

Swimming

Riley got to swim for the first time in 2010. Riley is not a big fan of the water, but I was pleased to see that she was willing to get off the step and swim after a treat. She obviously remembers her swimming lessons from last year. The inflatable E-collar keeps her ears above water so swimming is not uncomfortable.

Pool Fun

We also enjoyed the pool during our weekend at the farm. If you follow my sister's blog or are on Facebook, you may have seen this clip already. It is too funny not to share with the rest of you though. This is Denise's greyhound, Peanut. Peanut is very easy going as you can see.

This was the first time I have been able to swim with Reagan and Riley. I paid the price though. :-) I had lots of scrapes and bruises from the dog paddling.

I was pleased by their willingness to swim though.

Tails From The Deep

The girls all had swimming again this weekend. We had to torture Katie with a van ride. The swimming is just so good for her. Its such a safe way to tire her out without the risk of injury.
The weather was perfect.... clear and 70 degrees F. Eva had removed the plastic bubble that surrounds the heated pool in winter. Great for swimming and picture taking (thanks, Stephen).

Both Reagan and Riley swim with a lot of force. It reminds me of Travis. He would swim so hard to get to his bumper as fast as he could. I don't think Reagan and Riley realize that they can relax and swim.

Sometimes Reagan just can't look :-). So dramatic!

Both are rough with my fingers. I have to be careful not to lose any.

Swimming is hard work.... taking a break with Eva.

All in all, I'm very pleased with how well all of the girls are swimming.

Tadpoles

The last three times Katie has gone to swimming rehab, I have also had Riley and Reagan swim. Katie swims for 30 minutes and the youngsters each swim for 15 minutes.


I would love to have another greyhound that loves swimming as much as Travis did. It would be so cool to have another one that would retrieve and dock jump, but I will settle for just swimming. Travis was probably far too special to have a repeat.

Katie has gotten very comfortable with swimming as you can see below. At times, it appears that Katie avoids getting within Eva's reach. She will turn and swim away from Eva who forces her to rest periodically. I would love for Riley and Reagan to be as comfortable.

Last summer, we tried to teach Reagan to swim with no success. She did not enjoy it at all. She has not enjoyed the swimming sessions either and at times appears to be clinging to Eva for dear life.

I figured that forcing Reagan to swim would either teach her that swimming is fun or scar her for life. Sessions 1 and 2, I would have told you we were scarring her for life.

Session 3 had a major break through. She started out as expected. Clinging to Eva or trying to get out of the pool when released. However, she started to swim along the side of the pool for treats. Even turning herself around like Katie does to follow me. I could not have been more pleased. It was a huge turning point.

Riley started out shell shocked as well. During Session 1, she would only accept salmon burger bites and refused all other treats. During the second Session, Riley had a little break through and started to swim for treats rather than trying to climb out of the pool. She did even better the third time.

I am really hoping that this summer, Riley and Reagan will swim along the dock like Katie does. Its such great exercise especially when it is hot.