Wordless Wednesday

2012 Doggie Paddle Best Fetch Winner

Kirby has dabbled in rally and agility with pretty good results.  He's very smart and picks up quickly.  He enjoys agility which he can do pretty fast but he's not fast enough to seriously compete.

Swimming is where he excells.  He absolutely loves the water, spending every second he can in the water.  He swims, jumps, and dives with full abandonment.  Sadly it's not something he can compete in simply because there aren't any avenues open to him where we live.  However, once a year, he gets to play and compete at the Annual OCHS Doggie Paddle held in a real swimming pool.

Last year he won the Best Doggie Paddle.  This year he won the Best Fetch Game.  The first competition was for the small dogs.  Alas, Kirby was the only small dog who wanted to play which meant he would win by default.  That just didn't seem like much fun so we asked if he could compete with the big dogs.  We honestly didn't think he could win, we just wanted to see how well he could do.

He was amazing!  When they took off he was a few seconds behind jumping in but reached his toy about the same time as the other dogs.  It was the swim back to the finish that got exciting for us!  Inch by inch, Kirby began gaining on the other dogs as he passed one, then another, and then another.  In the last stretch he was neck to neck with another dog right up until the end where he won by a nose! Talk about proud pawrents!

On land the larger dogs can outrun him.  On land the larger dogs can outjump him.  Water gives him his edge.  His sheer joy is so evident as he seems to effortlessly glide through the water.  I think from all the events and experiences he has tried, being in water is paws down his favorite. Watch for my recap of this great annual event later this week.  Today we get to brag!

Here's the video of the race:

Does your dog love the water? 

2nd Annual Dog Paddle

We are so excited because today is the 2nd Annual Dog Paddle event sponsored by the Oktibbeha County Humane Society.  Kirby loves to swim at the lake every chance he gets but this is the one and only time he gets to swim in a real pool with other dogs.  He had a blast last year and even won the Best Doggie Paddle Award - probably because he literally spent the entire time jumping into the pool and swimming!

Kirby will not fetch EXCEPT when we toss one of his toys into the water at the lake. Actually he still doesn't fetch since he will swim out for the toy and then bring it back to land, not us.  Last year we were the only ones who thought to bring a toy to the pool party so Kirby was determined to get HIS toy before any of the other dogs got it. Whenever one did he would swim or run to them and begin barking at them as if to say "It's mine!".

There is a large pool and a kiddie pool. We took him to the kiddie pool first where most of the little dogs were.  He stopped and looked at it then took off in the direction of the big pool. Apparently he thought he was a big boy because he only wanted to swim in the big pool with the big dogs. I stayed in the pool just in case he needed my help which he never did.

We did have one scare with a large beautiful pit bull. I was sitting on the side of the pool and tossed Kirby's toy into the pool. Kirby jumped in and so did the other dog. They both got to the toy at the same time but the larger dog pushed Kirby under water with her paw and grabbed the toy. My heart stopped for a second but then Kirby popped back up and raced after the dog and HIS toy. Kirby did get his toy back and all was well.

Kirby was a little super star that day!  He made the news video not once but three times!  I can't upload the video but you can watch it HERE.