Water Bugs

I can swim, but I really don't love recreational activities that involve water. I'm not a stick in the mud. I will boat, swim and jet ski, but it's not my first choice of fun. My idea of enjoying the water is laying on a blow up raft, my drink secured in a koozie, a good book to read and suntan lotion on my skin.

On our recent vacation to Tampa we took the girls to Fort Desoto dog beach. This off-leash dog beach for well-mannered pups who like to swim is fantastic for dog lovers. The beach was clean. The sand was soft (not too shelly). And the people (and dogs) were really friendly. Of course we were the only greyhounds in sight, so we got a lot of attention, even when we were just watching all the other dogs swim as we lounged in the shade.

Despite the fact that we have a pool in our backyard, my girls have never had a swimming lesson. Seka fell in on the day we moved and has never been near the edge again. Roxy is way too cautious to even attempt to lean over into the wild blue yonder, either that or Seka told her horror stories of what happens when you do get too close. Both girls have been to the beach before and they really didn't like it. Seka has NOTHING to do with the water. In fact, she does everything she possibly can to get as far away from the foamy waves as she possibly can, which makes morning walks on the beach really not fun. Roxy would run in with me about ankle deep and spaz around, but that's about it.

I'm not sure if it was watching all the other dogs splashing around or if it was the 90+ degree temperatures at 10 a.m., but both girls wanted to get in the water. On our second outing, Roxy even went in deeper with Kev and actually got her doggie paddle on. She didn't like the waves getting water in her ears, but she kept going back out and trying it over and over again. I was very proud of her.  Next time I will bring her inflatable e-collar to help her keep her ears water-free, but then again, I don't want the other dogs to make fun of her.

Seka, on the other hand, takes after her mom. For the first time ever she braved the scary foam the waves made on the sand and submerged herself in the water! She had zero interest in moving her legs and attempting to swim, but she seemed to get over her fear of the ocean so that was a huge step for her.

The other great part about swimming with your greyhounds is that it totally wears them out. Sure they are all sandy and sticky from the salt, but they don't have the energy to track that stuff anywhere but to their beds! Now we can plan more beach vacations and I feel like they will enjoy it, but until then the plastic baby pool we purchased will have to serve as their personal doggie spa.