Wednesday-Bensday! Special Doggie Paddle Edition!

No, we didn’t paddle the doggie. We took the doggie up to a reservoir and taught him how to paddle around.

To truly appreciate the magnitude of this accomplishment, please take a moment to view Ben’s first attempt at swimming.

As you can see from the video, we had our work cut out for us. We were starting with zero use of back legs, which led to frantic flailing of front legs, which led to general circular movements as he desperately tried to keep his head above water just long enough to find out if the world was, in fact, ending.

This most recent swimming lesson started out no different. We put him in the water, his back end immediately sank, and the frantic front-leg flailing began. No surprises there.

The thing is, though, we could tell he really wanted to swim. He’d venture out from the shore a little ways into the water and would really really try to get a stick that was floating just beyond his reach. But since he didn’t know how to swim, he was just too afraid to risk it. (What? Ben was afraid of something? No way!)

So we braved the cold water and waded out into the reservoir with him so we could hold his back legs up to try to show him what he needed to do.

At first, he was still pretty sure he was going to die and was angrily gagging up water every time he made it to shore, regardless of whether or not he had swum successfully. But we were patient with him, letting him chase a stick and dry off a little between trips into the water. And on about the 5th attempt, he realized, “Hey! I’m not dying! This is pretty fun!”

And just like that, we had our own little Star Swimmer.

We couldn’t be more proud.

This weekend’s project: Teaching him how to start swimming from shore instead of having us carry him out a ways and letting him swim back to shore. But the ability is there. And I think he’s just as excited as we are for his next swim lesson.

And because I couldn’t possibly post swimming dog pictures without hilarious wet dog pictures, I’ll leave you to contemplate the following images on this fine Wednesday evening.

July 11, 2007 | Filed Under Photos & Videos, Puppies, Wednesday-Bensday 

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11 Responses to “Wednesday-Bensday! Special Doggie Paddle Edition!”

  1. Marmite Breath on July 11th, 2007

    Oh he’s hilarious! We took Spot swimming for the first time this weekend at the lake. He, too, was unsure, but then got the hang of it. It was too hot to just lay on the beach–he knew it was swim or fry.

    Wet Ben is adorable!

  2. Laurel on July 12th, 2007

    Ben’s wet hairstyle is awesome! I think Tim should totally try it for himself!

  3. Dave S. on July 12th, 2007

    Very Cute.
    Now ya’ll can start a dog-swim academy. Do I detect a second career ?

  4. Cat on July 12th, 2007

    Seriously. Cutest dog EVER. What kind of dog is he?

  5. Stacey on July 12th, 2007

    HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! This totally made me laugh out loud … in my office … by myself.

    Ok, so how much do you charge for eskimo swimming lessons? Mystic would like to sign up.

  6. Erin on July 12th, 2007

    Awesome! I love the swimming photos….and how can you not laugh at wet Ben?

  7. Nancy on July 14th, 2007

    I love that second wet-dog picture. Look at all that fur sticking up!

  8. Nancy on July 14th, 2007

    p.s., love the new look too!

  9. the real real jessie but secretly kat on July 14th, 2007

    how the heck did i miss this post!?

    this is awesome. poor ben with his first traumatic lesson, but i’m glad you guys stuck to it and got him back in the water. he’s such a sweetie head!

  10. Lindsey on July 19th, 2007

    DO you think Ben would teach Bugs how to swim?

  11. SJ on July 19th, 2007

    Is it just me or….

    I thought all dogs just knew how to swim?

    No?

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