Playing in the River

The weather has turned hot and it is hard to keep my dogs cool.

We head for the river every chance we get.  Rufus loves to chase a ball in the river but with the flood last year that reshaped the river in a lot of places it is shallower than it used to be.  We still go everyday and I still throw the ball, but it is harder to find a place that he can swim to get it.  I worry sometimes that the short leash that I have on him may get tangled but he is never that far out anymore that it will.  Most times he is able to just walk out to get the ball.

 There are times that another dog owner will throw a ball too and Rufus feels that he is helping the other dog by going to get it right away.  The problem with that is that he sometimes still has his own ball in his mouth and can not figure out how to get both in his mouth at the same time.

When that happens he is usually closer to shore and he will drop one ball and pick up the other.  Then he looks and discovers that there is one floating right beside him and it is getting away.  So he will drop the ball that is in his mouth and pick up the one that is floating.  He looks again and, wow there is another ball floating.  He looks for a second and drops the one in his mouth and picks up the other and now there is another ball floating.  He just keeps coming closer to shore and once he feels that the current will not take one ball he brings the one in his mouth to just the waters edge and then he goes back for the other.

We very rarely lose a ball.  Unless that is that he has not seen where it lands in the water.  He is always looking for the splash.  If another dog distracts him he sometimes loses sight of the ball and will have to be directed to the ball.  Most of the time if he is paying attention he will see where I am pointing with the chucker and will see the ball and go after it.

We sometimes have a crowd that will watch for a bit and when he sees it and takes off after the ball we hear cheers from the river bank.  I am focused on both dogs so I only turn around when I hear the noise.

Yesterday when we were at the river and it was quiet.  There were not a lot of dogs out walking at the same time as we were we had a good time just playing in the river.  Dexter was able to get a ball and chase it too.  Sometimes now because Rufus is a ball hog, poor Dexter chases rocks that I toss for him so that he can cool off too.  He talks to the rocks as if to say, "No. you're not the one I want" and he digs and brings the rocks closer to the edge of the river.  He doesn't like getting his head wet so he just moves the rocks with his feet until he is sure it won't "float away".

I got to thinking about Wilson and how he loved the river too.  Keep in mind that for all the time that I had him he was attached to me by a leash.  When the weather was hot and we found a place in the river to throw sticks, (Wilson did not chase balls) I would wade out into the water to give him the best advantage that I could so that he could enjoy the river too.

 There was more than once a day that I would have to toss my pack up to someone on the bank so that my phone would not get wet.

I would more often than to come home soaked to the waist or better.  If the day was really, really hot then it was not a bad thing.  If the day was overcast and cooler then it made for a soggy ride home.

I am glad that Rufus is not always attached to me but, I miss Wilson too.