Happy birthday Matilda the Cocker, lunch together, GSDs swimming and Bandit doesn’t want to go home

Today we celebrated Matilda the Cocker Spaniel’s birthday. Matilda was super fast at chomping down her chicken cake! Everyone was excited to share some too. Happy happy birthday Matilda!

At lunch time, we sat together and had prawn rolls, thank you again Koda and Bella!

In the pool there was lots of fun. Lots of wonderful toys. The GSD puppies got in too. For those wondering why they wear life jackets?

There’s many reasons we put a life jacket on any dog. Sometimes it is a dog that is very keen but does not have the ability to swim for the duration of the session or the ability to swim with a pack. An example of this reason would be a dog like Zeus the Mini Dachshund. He needs one all the time because his body shape does not hold him up when he’s in a big pack although he tries anyway. His diving also goes below the surface, so if he doesn’t wear one, he struggles to make it to the surface in a reasonable timeframe that would ensure he still felt positive about diving. We’ve seen him dive without one and we all hold our breath watching.

Another reason is a dog that is keen but doesn’t have the confidence in their own ability yet. Zac was a good example of this. He needed his super cape for the confidence boost to get in. The desire was always there though.

Little dogs in big packs, like Cutie Pie or the puppies so they don’t get pushed under and the whole experience continues to be positive.

It’s used in lots of scenarios. It doesn’t mean the dog cannot swim, but it is used for safety. In our experience though, it won’t make a dog love water that simply doesn’t. A desire to swim does need to be there deep down, even if they haven’t mastered it yet.

At the end of the day, Bandit stood up on the hill and refused to get on the bus. Yes he still does this each week. And I know I’ve said it so many times before but for those that may be new … he has an awesome family he loves dearly, it’s just Bandit loves to live in the moment.