It finally came! Holly’s first trip to the cabin! Anywhere Rainie is, she loves to be but I think the cabin brings that to a whole new level. At first, Holly was tied to whatever was sturdy enough to support her as we moved around the property, eventually we left the 10 foot lead on her and let her freely roam along side Rainie and us. She did awesome, staying in the yard and coming when she was called. This may be a honeymoon phase for her and she will test us during future visits but for today it was so fun, and impressive, to have her comply and respond so well.
The lake was high and waves were a tad rough, for newbies. Rainie jumped right in, happy and lighthearted that the day had finally come. I somehow got caught closer to the cabin than the lake and missed the show that DeeAnn describes. Holly followed Rainie to the shoreline then turned to the next furthest point of land, which was the bush hanging out over the lake. She took one too many steps and went directly into the lake! DeeAnn said her instincts took over with a high stepping dog paddle back to shore, with very wide eyes. By then I had joined the party and DeeAnn & I made it a true party. We praised and applauded Holly for her bravery and first swim in such convincing fashion that she herself got excited about having been in the water and now being all wet. She was not interested in going into the lake any more after that. The closest she got was wading in to her elbows and stretching her neck out to grab the floating toy. Her day will come, she will be standing in the water, looking in to shore and wanting just one more frisbee toss.
Aside from the lake, there was even more fun to be had. Rainie & Holly played chased and tug and just explored. Rainie gets the Teacher of the Year Award for teaching Holly to come when called, stay in the yard and to not bark. Holly is Rainie’s mimicing shadow. If Rainie would shake, Holly would shake. If Rainie laid down, Holly laid down. Holly drew the line with going into the lake to retrieve a stick. Maybe next time.
DeeAnn & I both had a good chuckle when we watched Holly strolling along edge of the yard and suddenly do about a 3 foot jump back wards and redirect her route. She saw the Moose statute!
Holly also had chance to meet DeeAnn’s cabin neighbor, Mike! Always a highlight for Holly to meet new people, and meeting Mike is a highlight in itself.
Holly is doing big dog things now, but never to big to enjoy her wingy-wingy time with DeeAnn! DeeAnn somehow needs to get longer legs soon!
Spring is such a great season, because it means the whole summer is yet ahead of you!