Can she swim without a lifejacket?

Uhh... I can tell you for certain that Bailey DOES need a lifejacket. Without it, she's practically swimming vertically because her back legs aren't strong enough to keep her afloat. Plus it's only her second time swimming, so she's still getting used to using her paws to move around in the water. But as long as we keep taking Bailey to these swimming classes, her back legs are getting stronger with every swim! One day she won't need the lifejacket anymore!

If you want to take your pet for a swim, check out K9H2O for more details!

Correction

According to my sisters, the first video of my last post did not quite show how frantic Bailey was in the pool. And in agreement, here is the correct video I should have posted...

Lets Go Swimming!

We've procrastinated long enough and finally brought Bailey to the K9H2O pool in Burnaby for her first swimming lesson!

Here she is sporting a life jacket and an expression of excitement. After a small chat with the swimming instructor of how Bailey plays in the water at the beach, we've found out that Bailey is bottom heavy (meaning her bum is too heavy and will start to sink bum first...).

This video pretty much sums up how Bailey was swimming in the first half of the lesson. She was so frantic and nervous that she kept drinking the pool water as well as refusing to step off the ledge. There was so much splashing that if you stood on the other side of the room, you'd still get hit by the water! By the end of the class I was half drenched...

As Bailey warms up to the deep water, we throw in a squeaky pig for her to enjoy. Watch as she tires to navigate her way around to find the toy! Apparently the splashing is just an indication that Bailey is trying to gain some height so that she can see farther ahead, but when she finds the toy the splashing stops.

As the swimming lesson comes to an end, Bailey shows us how she has improved in 30 minutes! What a big difference compared to the first video! Barely any splashing and it seems as though she didn't need us to cheer her on or walk in front of her as encouragement! By this time, she's figured out how to turn in the water as well as step off the ledge without any anxiety.

One happy and tired puppy is ready to go home and take a nap! Surprisingly, when we got home she didn't take a nap right away... Apparently after such an excitement and a sense of accomplishment, Bailey had the case of the zoomies.

As Summer Ends

The remaining days of summer means lots of fun in the sun! This is the beautiful view we enjoyed during a quick rest on our hike. :)