Japanese Beach Babies
Loki loves his little taste of the beach (note the sand all over his face!).
Soggy puppy after diving into the ocean
Moogie at the Beach
All three of us—after Loki’s rescue attempt!
July 6, 2009 -
Living in the desert in Phoenix, Arizona, it’s rare to find the opportunity to enjoy a day at the beach. This weekend, my mission was to give my desert dogs a “taste” of the ocean. I wanted them to feel the sand beneath their paws and the ocean breeze blowing through their puppy fur. We loaded the car and drove to our family’s condo in Puerto Penasco, Mexico, for a weekend of fun in the sun.
Shortly after arriving at the beach, Loki showed off some of his new-found courage! We grabbed our bathing suits, clipped on the dog’s leashes, and eagerly ran into the surf. The soft sand and warm waves were a new experience that Loki happily explored.
While Evan (aka: Papa) stood on the beach with the dogs’ leashes in hand, I dove right in to catch some waves. Neither of the dogs have ever been swimming (stay tuned for their first real lesson), but you never would have known it by Loki’s reaction to my disappearance into the water. He likes to keep his “pack” together, so his little 7-pound self jumped right in after me and started to doggy-paddle out into the ocean! He was clearly in over his head as the waves washed over him. Luckily, his Papa was on the other end of the retractable leash and reeled him in like a fish. He was quite shocked by the whole ordeal, as you can see in the image of the soggy pup.
Moogie was reluctant to go too close to the water, but he snuffled his muzzle into the sand and ran up and down the beach with us. He wasn’t very intrigued by the ocean, and probably would have rather taken a nap on his beach towel. He did like eating the sand, even though we discouraged him.
All in all, it was a great experience. Loki proved he would follow his mama anywhere, even into the big waves! We learned that dogs intuitively know how to doggy-paddle even when the waves are over their heads! More important, we learned to always keep our dogs leashed on the beach as one leap into the waves could mean trouble for a tiny dog.
Do you take your dogs on vacation with you? What are your favorite activities? Share your stories about traveling adventures with your four-legged companions!
Comments
08 Jul 2009 12:30 pm
cooll said:
I do not have any pictures right now.
08 Jul 2009 10:58 am
mdinchak said:
cooll-Moose and Carmal sound like such great dogs! Thank you for sharing your comments about them. I bet Carmal keeps Moose on his toes, even though he's getting older. Do you have any pictures you could post of them? I would love to see them!
08 Jul 2009 10:26 am
cooll said:
Dogs are really good pets. My dog Moose he`s getting old and he can`t run and play with my 2 dog to hard. My 2 dog wants to play but Moose mite play but not very hard. But he still gets exsercize and he`s a very good dog and so is my 2 dog carmal.
07 Jul 2009 2:51 pm
mdinchak said:
I couldn't agree more with cooll and petlover12345! Our pets need our love and attention--and there's no better time than the summer! Including your pets on your vacation plans is fun and a great way to provide your dogs with new and exciting experiences.
07 Jul 2009 2:48 pm
mdinchak said:
z1mom - Loki enjoyed his swim, indeed! I did not intend on his first lesson to be in the ocean! Because of this, I actually gave him his first lesson in our backyard swimming pool the following weekend. Stay tuned for pictures and a blog entry of Mogwai and Loki's first "real" swimming lesson!
Hint: Mogwai sunk and Loki walked on water!
I agree with your comment about harnesses vs collars. For a small, flat-nosed dog, a harness is a must to protect their delicate tracheas. That's so cool that you have 12 years of assistant obedience training experience! That must be such a rewarding job!
06 Jul 2009 11:31 pm
cooll said:
I have 2 dogs named Moose and Carmal. Moose is a big dog he is old but he still plays around also he is the best dog and he lisens to me.Carmal is a hipper dog but she dose not come when she is called and dose things she shoulden do.pets need love and atenchen. any kind of pet people have they just need them to be there and never stop.
06 Jul 2009 8:59 pm
petlover12345 said:
It's good to spend time with our pets these days.You can find another personality from your pets over the summer and as they grow.I have a Chihuahua,and a baby Pitbill.I love them very much and they mean everything to me!*Pets Need LOve!!!!
06 Jul 2009 7:45 pm
z1mom said:
Not all dogs swim. True, most do but in my 12 years of assistant obedience training I have met 2 dogs who sink when in water & need to wear life vests. I would suggest a little more placid experience before introducing them to the ocean, such as a lake or someones pool. I'm delighted your Loki enjoyed his swim and I noticed his leash was hooked to a harness which is smart as collars have been known to slip over heads.
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