Toby Prefers to Freestyle

We've often talked and wondered aloud about what exactly Toby would do if he encountered a large body of water (ocean, river, pond, etc...) -- would those labrador genes just kick in and tell him to go ahead, jump in and start paddling, or would he be uncertain and fearful of the concept of a swim??? Well, we got our answer last weekend. We visited Newport News, and finally got to introduce our lab to water. And the verdict was...............(drum roll, please)..........................................he dove right in like it was what he was born to do. I think it helped that his new friends Breeze and Bear were there to show him how it was done. But, while he had great confidence for the initial dive into the water, he quickly realized that he had no idea what he was doing. Something in his little doggy brain told him he was supposed to paddle, but the doggy paddle (i.e. underwater paddling) just didn't seem like enough for Toby. The risk of his head going underwater was just too great, so he felt the need to do more of a freestyle swim -- with his front legs coming out of the water and splashing (read: flailing) about as he swam along the edge of the shore at the York River. He managed to be quite the little freestyler -- and he seemed to love every minute of it -- especially the part where he pooped in the river (sorry, environment), just along the edge of the beach. And he also LOVED drinking the tasty blend of salt/fresh water that is the York. Just so you know -- this sort of water wrecks havoc on a dog's insides. And may lead to diarrhea in front of poor unsuspecting picnicers while you are walking your dog back to your car. And also may lead to lots of vomiting of water inside your car while driving home from the river. It just might. Overall, though, Toby did have a lot of fun. He dove right into another pond the next morning and went for another swim. Now, if we could just teach him not to drink the water?????