A Morning Swim...

Its been WAY TOO HOT around here, and I can only imagine how uncomfortable it must be for Rivet who has all of that gorgeous poofy fur. Last Saturday, on my way to the warehouse (normally I don't go on Saturday, but whatever) Rivet and I stopped in at Petsmart to buy treats for her and an ice cold soda for me. Then we both noticed the cute little wading pools, and I figured it was worth the $9 to see if she would like to cool off in one. Given the fact that I grew up in a "behaviorist household" I am prone to do experiments finding the most effective ways to train, and how to instill happy doggie associations with things. This was a prime opportunity. I knew that other papillons seem to enjoy water, and I wanted to make sure there were no associations with the dreaded "bath time". There is a rule, Rivet never gets in the pool unless its because she wants to - I have never placed her in there, if she is in the pool, its because she's jumped in. Now, that being said, at first I had to build up some nice associations with being in the pool - I lured her in with a favorite treat - after that happened a few times, I noticed she wanted to go out on the patio more and more to hop in the pool and just walk around, chase a ball in there, or "dig" in the water for fun or to cool off. This morning, she has asked to "swim" about 3 times - I guess she likes it now!!! Have you ever seen someone have so much fun in 1" of water in the bottom of a plastic wading pool??