Will and Emma check the water at Stratton Brook

Pond at Town Forest Park

Fun in the water
Emma has finally conquered her fear of the water! She is now as much of a water-loving dog as Will is, chasing sticks and swimming as far out as she must to get the stick and bring it back. It all changed one day a couple of weeks ago when Jim took the two pups for a walk along the trails of Town Forest Park and they came across a wide stream that wasn’t too deep, but had to be crossed either by walking across a wide board or by wading across. Jim made the 20 foot crossing along the board, Will waded across, and Emma stood stranded and yelping on the far side. After a few calls from Jim, Will waded back to try to coax Emma into the water. Well, I guess Will made it look easy enough to Emma. She finally took one step, then two, then came all the way across the water! Success! No longer afraid of the water, and she now keeps up with Will on every water escapade.
So, since it is summer, and we have two decent size ponds within a good walking distance from our house, we have exchanged the frisbee walks for water walks. It’s about 20 minutes walk to either pond, the one at Town Forest or the one at Stratton Brook Park, and they both have sandy beach areas where they romp to their hearts content. We gather several sticks for throwing, and they can hardly wait to get wet and chase the sticks. It’s pretty competitive. Will is usually the faster swimmer, with his long legs, but Emma isn’t far behind. Will gets the stick first, and Emma usually grabs on to help bring it back. If it’s in shallower water, she can get a good stance on the ground and yanks the stick away from Will to bring it on shore. Will, as usual, doesn’t put up much of a fight. He’s ready to go retrieve the next one.

Joined at the hip!

Emma asks "How's the water?"

Jim watches the puppies

Will beats Emma to the stick

Emma and Will bring the stick

Emma gets the stick from Will

We’ve started to throw out two sticks now, in different directions, so they can both go fetch their own stick. Will is such a good swimmer, he’ll go after his own stick, then make a quick turn to chase down Emma’s stick if he sees it go in. What a great way to burn off some of their energy!

Can't we stay?

On the run on the frosty field

Will and Emma run the bases

All this running is hard work!

Emma, the circus dog

A few photos at Town Park

Even though we had an unseasonable frost overnight last week, we still enjoyed the morning run at Town Park. Here's a few photos of that frosty morning romp.

Emma greets Tommy Girl, her new friend

Emma and Tommy Girl

Emma, Tommy Girl and Will watching

Mornings at Town Park baseball diamond

Our latest routine is to take the puppies for a good run and play at the Town Park with the beautiful baseball diamond in the morning before Jim goes to work. They love it! We love it too, since it's a lot more fun for all of us than a walk around the neighborhood. They have even met a few new friends, but Emma especially loves her newest best friend, Tommy Girl, the miniature Australian shepherd. She comes with her 'dad' in the morning; he jogs and she runs. And she just loves playing and running with Emma. I'm sure this is a long-term friendship with the two of them. Will just watches the two girls run and play, and they barely know he's there.