Reilly turns around and swims back to shore.
JC and I took the brindles to Bowman today- and aside from meeting good pals Pete and Cooper on the way in for sniffs and wags, we met no other dogs. It is gorgeous out, cool and not buggy, warm in the sun. We took the path out to the peninsula and threw sticks for them- Sage was jazzed for this game and swam out 3x for a nice smooth stick I tossed. Reilly swam out once- but I gave her stick a good long throw. She doesn’t have as much coat to get weighed down in sogginess as Sage does. Sage was off leash when I knew the area was stranger-free, but after playing on the peninsula I was no longer sure we were still alone, so I leashed him up. He didn’t mind. We still stop and sniff everything Reilly sniffs, pee on everything Reilly pees on…We did one loop around the Pudding Side of the forest (no pudding though, luckily) and went out. I felt good- like we had a good time without risking Sage past his safety zone. We dont need to be out there for hours. A short walk together and a swim, play with a few known friends and we are good to go, happy.
How much is enough? I think today this was enough. I loved watching Sage swim, and seeing his joy upon bringing back his stick. He sits for a treat before shaking off all over me. His shake finishes off with his tail and his wooly pants- all the fur stands out in points and he repositions his back legs. The pups spent the rest of the morning hanging out in the sun in the yard, going between the warm sunny deck (drying off nicely!) and scraping a shallow cooling pit in the sandy Beach. Studio Dog Reilly is snoozing on her bed behind me as I work. Sage is on the cool slates in the hall, keeping watch out the front door.
