When our daughter got married in 2005 she was living in Florida. To make it easier on us, we rented a house on a canal for two weeks. The house was lovely with a master suite and bath and it also had an in ground pool. I made sure dogs were allowed in the pool before I rented it.
The drive down took less time than we expected so we arrived mid-afternoon on Saturday. The first thing I did after dropping my luggage in the bedroom was to open the slider and jump in the pool.
Sampson was about 15 months old at the time and had never been in a pool. He had only been exposed to ponds and streams.
Poor baby, he stepped into the pool expecting that there would be earth underneath him and there wasn’t. He was panicked but luckily we were both there and helped him to the stairs.
It took more than a few days to coax him back in, which my brother-in-law eventually did. At first he only wanted to be in the pool when one of us was with him.
But by the end of the two weeks, he would go in the pool by himself, swim around and climb back out.
The only pool Delilah has been exposed to is my sister’s above ground pool. It is accessed by a deck attached to the back of their house. We were there for the 4th of July a few years back and the dogs had a fine time swimming for toys.
Our walking buddy has an in ground pool that the dogs can swim in. She recently had a major landscaping overhaul done to her back yard and invited us up to see it during one of our walks.
Sampson jumped right in the pool and swam around.
I was quite surprised that Delilah refused to go in. She stood on the edge of the pool but she just couldn’t bring herself to do it.
I tried to show her where the steps were but I was in full hiking gear and couldn’t get in the pool. She ran around and around the edge of the pool but couldn’t bring herself to jump in.
Have you seen the video of the dog pawing the water for the toy, because it wants the toy but is afraid to jump in?
She was doing the same thing.
It made me feel sad, because Delilah is the bravest dog I know and I’ve never seen fear hold her back.
But at the same time, I think a little fear can be a good thing. It might stop you from jumping in feet first and finding out there is no earth under your feet.
Don’t let your fear hold you back, stick your toe in and test the waters, BEFORE you jump in. 🙂
Just Be The Dog.
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