Getting a bit repetitive

 Life is getting slightly repetitive for the crew lately.  Somehow, though, I don't think they mind.  With temperatures in the mid 90's for several days now, the only activity the dogs really get each day is swimming.  If I look closely, I think I can see gills forming under their fur.  Maybe a fin or scale here and there, too.

They pretty much live life in a perpetual state of wetness these days.  We play with the hose at home.  We go swimming.  We come home and get hosed off again.  This routine has been going on pretty much all summer and I do think it takes a toll on their skin after a while.  Secret in particular seems to have some dry skin and itchies lately.  Oh well, swimming is fun.  I should up her fish oil, I guess.  My biggest concern at this point is how I'm going to keep them out of the water for several days so that I can apply their next dose of flea & tick medication!

 I have a silly idea in my head.  While browsing around online late last week I happened to discover that Pier Pups is going to have their dock diving pool at an event in Janesville this coming Friday.  It sounds pretty fun and low key.  I'm completely mental because this is the same exact pool that Secret wouldn't jump into at the state fair last year, but in this set-up it's outdoors.  It's still a pool, though, which is totally different than the natural water that Secret is used to.  I think if I decide to go (it's about 2 1/2 hours) then I need to make the commitment to jump in the dang pool -- but do you have any idea how COLD that will be, having just been filled with a hose?  Brrrr....

So yeah, have to decide that in the next couple of days.  They have online entries with PayPal and the format is the same as it was at the fair -- Each wave is $10 and you get two jumps per wave (plus practice time).  I was already planning on taking the day off work.

Of course, Friday I was all over this and Secret had a horrible, horrible swim at the river.  I was getting really irritated with her for destroying all of her water toys and may have been a bit too stern with her (ie: yelling at her....) -- and then she accidentally bit my hand and got yelled at again.  She also managed to rip the top off her Kong bumper and without a handle she didn't want to tug and it wasn't fun anymore.  All of this added up to a meltdown and we had a fairly short swim that night.

I took her Wubba on Saturday and she was fine.  Tonight I decided to see if she would swim for a crappy old ball so that I wouldn't have to worry about destroying more toys -- it took a small amount of convincing, but she did happily go after the ball and I let her run off and chew on it all she wanted.  Typically she'd take it up on shore and go "nom, nom, nom" until she saw me throw Luke's ball again and then she'd come running.  I should probably adapt this method more often instead of chasing her down and yelling at her for ruining $15 toys in one trip to the river.  We can save those for jumping.

Speaking of jumping, I got good video from our "shore jumping" session tonight!  Wheee!  I love watching Secret catch air and I think she enjoys showing off.  :o)  Now if only she'd do it in a pool.....