Look everybody, I really do love to swim

Another warm and sunny summer weekend in Seattle. A perfect time to introduce Lady to our favorite dog park on Mercer Island. There were about a dozen dogs there, most retrieving on the large grass lawn or in Lake Washington. This is our first adventure with Lady where she is exposed to many other dogs. She handled it as well as can be expected. We've seen that she is awkward with her dog greetings, but warms up quickly if offense is not taken. She immediately hooked up with two very balanced dogs belonging to one of the regulars, Chris. One of his dogs is a rescued Pit/Lab mix and the other is a Golden. They were fetching up tennis balls in the lake. There was an extra ball that we used for Lady. Her first dive in was quite funny. She splashed around with only her front paws as if she had forgotten how to swim. A minute later she righted the ship and swam off slowly but steady to retrieve her ball. After about 20 or so tosses into the lake, it was time to call it a day. I hated to stop, but I did not want to over-do it. I know what it's like being a weekend warrior! Lady was delighted to be swimming, playing and in the company of other dogs. I can't say enough about how socially at ease Chris' two dogs were. They really helped Lady make a smooth transition from "barky-face pain in the butt" to a "dog park diva". Can't wait for the next swimming and/or dog park adventure. Lady really loved this and badly needs the socialization practice. What a joy to be able to give her what she needs to be a complete, balanced girl.