The life and times of an English Airedale Terrier puppy

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

Water Baby

As it was another beautiful spring day, & given my new found love of all things watery, mum & dad took me here for my walkies.

Keynes Country Park is part of the Cotswold Water Park. It has been created from the pits left from sand & gravel excavation. There are over 140 "lakes". Some are nature reserves, some are for water sports, some have luxury homes & holiday homes around them & some are for lucky dogs like me to go walking around & swimming in!

At Keynes Country Park there is a beach where the hoomans can go swimming. This is the only area us doggies aren't allowed. fair enough I say, we have the lions share after all!

The trees still look quite wintry, but there are lots of buds, shoots & baby leaves appearing.

Peekaboo! I found these funny wooden animals to befriend, but they didn't do a lot. If the squirrels in my garden would stay this still it would be happy days for Oscar!

Mr Owl looks a bit mean. Maybe he was worried I was going to do pee-pees up against him. He obviously doesn't know that I still squat like a girlie!

Close up of Mr Squirrel. He looks like he's going to do some boxing. He obviously heard I'm not the tree rat's biggest fan.

Once we had tired of talking to the wooden animals it was time to head off round the lakes. At the first opportunity I ran down to the water. It was pretty cold, but quite refreshing on the tootsies at the same time. It doesn't look it on this photo, but the water is crystal clear.

There were lots of bits of stick & rockies under the water so I enjoyed bobbing for them. There were also some duckies to spy on through the reeds.

Dad threw me some stickies to try and get me to venture further in. This photo better shows how lovely the water is.

It was fun running up & down the banking. I liked peering over the edge at mum & dad down below. I'm practicing my best "Airedale - King of the Terriers" pose. What do you think?

Mummy doesn't think there is much puppy-ness left in me when she looks at photos like this. I am getting very grown up looking. I still don't think I have quite grown into my paws though, so I guess I may still get a bit bigger. This photo also made mum think that maybe it's getting near to grooming time again. I heard her mention we might be going to stripping class later in the month. I thought that sounded a bit x-rated for a young pup like me, but apparently it's to groom me rather than using clippers so I keep my nice colour coat which can go quite grey/pale tan with lots of clipping. Plus, the stripping will keep my coat good & wiry.

Look! We met another Airedale after the excitement of my play date at the weekend! His name was Jack & he was 7. He had rheumatism in his back legs but he still came for a swim & a romp about. The black dog was his brother. Jack was a rescue dog. His owner was quite a frail looking elderly lady. She was asking mum is I was very willful (I think she meant was I a typical Airedale!) as Jack was a bit of a naughty boy. As mum & dad were telling her I was quite a good boy, I did a perfect recall & sat at mum's feet. Jack on the other hand ran further down the path every time his name was called. Naughty boy. Eventually dad went to get him for the poor lady. He was a cool guy, hopefully we'll see him again.

By now there was no stopping me & every time there was a gap where I could go in the water I was straight in there! It was so lovely & clear - well until my splashing about swirled it all up anyway!


I can't believe I never realised until recently how much fun water is! I missed out on months of fun splashing about & enjoying it. What a silly boy I am!



Dad was trying the Sunshade rockie tactic to lure me further in, but it wasn't really working! As all the lakes here are formed from old gravel pits, they get deep pretty quickly, and I wasn't too sure about having all 4 paws off the bottom. Have any of you swimmer doggies got any tips for me? I think I would like swimming a lot but I'm just not quite sure how to get started!



As we got back round to where we started we saw this great big structure. It's for humans to practice climbing on & looks pretty cool I have to say. You have to go on with an instructor wearing all the proper equipment. Those black tubes at the bottom are to stop people climbing on it unsupervised.

When we got back to the car park I had to have my lead put back on in case there were cars around. I didn't mind too much as I'd had 2 hours running & splashing, plus dad gave me treats. Also, just after mum took this photo a lady came dashing over squealing "Ooh, Airedale puppy!". See mum, I DO still look like a puppy! She told is she had an 11 year old Airedale called Alice at home who was a bit too frail to enjoy walks places like this any more. She made a huge fuss of me, and left muttering about wanting an Airedale puppy! Sunshade, Maggie - want me to give her your addresses?

I hope this Spring weather continues so I can come back here soon & try to do some proper swimming!

Licks

Oscar x

19 comments:

Marvin -The Hollow Hound said...

Oscar! Your water adventures look very exciting.

I love the water too, it is the Lab part of me Jeannie says! I don't really have any swimming tips because I just went in the water and swam from the very first time! But always get your Mum and Dad to make sure the water is safe, ie. no gravel pits, or sudden depths, and no currents which can carry you downstream.

The river here in Dunblane is very safe, although it looks frightening, the children all swim in it here in the summer, it is quite shallow.

Also tell your Mum and Dad never to try to rescue you, even though they love you, 'cos us Dogs are real survivors and many bad accidents have happened where people have tried to rescue their dog. The dog has survived and the people have not! Scary stuff!

I like the look of your park.....very nice indeed!

oh and I have put your poem on my Blog today! love and licks Marv xxxxx Take care Oscar!

Boo Casanova said...

oscar, that's one adventure you have there.

that's a huge squirrel. i bet you won't like it when a real squirrel gets this big!

wet wet licks

Boo

Suki & Joey said...

Man, Oscar, you guys have some great parks in England! I'm not sure if I like the idea of swimming very much, but I do enjoy jumping into the bathtub when mom's taking a bath! I like it...she doesn't, apparently.

Puggy kisses
Suki

Faya said...

Salut Oscar, Ici Véronique la maman de Faya. Je vois que tu as fais une très jolie promenade. Faya elle n'aime pas tellement l'eau mais bon elle a peur d'a peu près tout... Est-ce-que tu pourrais m'aider ? Faya a eu un petit accident et j'ai mis un petit texte pour ses amis de langue anglaise. Tu pourrais me dire si c'est juste ? Je te fais une grosse grosse bise sur ta truffe.

Duke said...

Hey Oscar!
You look like you had a super fine time! So now you want to swim! I don't have any pointers to give, sorry - oh, BTW, I think I'm going to let Mitch stay here. He's really is a lot of fun to play with when things get dull!

Love ya lots,
Maggie

Rachel said...

OMG Oscar - I am soooo getting my mum to take me there - all that water! That is like my heaven! Being a lab I can't really give much tips - the water and swimming thing is in my blood! I've got my own paddling pool in the garden and everything! I was a scardy pup when I was very little but now I'm a big boy I just dive straight for the water whenever I see it. I don't do a lot of full on swimming and even labs like me are sometimes not happy with proper swimming until we are older. I'm sure you'll get the hang of it in time - just enjoy the splashing for now! It is sooo much fun!

licks,
Toby

Buster the Wired Fox Terror said...

I am a swimmin terrier! Nothing stops me once I get going - I yelp and bark when anybody tries to touch me cuz I never want to get out of the water!

Bussie Kissies
Buster

Liberty Doo Dah said...

Hi Oscar!
Mum think that I'd like the water bunches too! I won't even dip my paws in it! Mum doesn't know what to do with me! I like barking at water though!
AireFLOAT!
Liberty

Bogart H. Devil said...

Hi Oscar!

I still haven't ventured into water so don't feel bad my friend! The only time I was in it was when I was a little baby and well, I ran away like a little baby. Hope I enjoy it as much as you do!!!

Love,
Bogart

Cash said...

Oscar,
WOW...I am glad you have figured out how fun the water is....and it looks like you had a great time.
Those are fantastic photos.
I would have barked at those large statues of the squirrel and owl....and then prolly peed on them.
xoxo
Jasper

Rachael said...

AWE! Adorable soggy oscar! I remember when Moxie "discovered" water. There was no stopping her after that.

Oscar is looking very handsome. His king of the terriers pose is gorgeous!

Ah! He's growing up so fast!

Jackson's J1 and J2 said...

The wooden squirrel and owl were very scary. It must have seemed like being in "Land of the Giants" (does anyone else remember that programme?). I can't give you any swimming tips because I can't stand water! It's far too cold. Brrrr. J x

Sophie Brador said...

You have the best life! But that giant wooden kangasquirrel looks dangerous. Run away!

Loki said...

Hello brother.. yeah.. you're a water baby.. haHa.. hmmm... you are looking more and more like missy sunshade.. and growing healthier... yeah

Cheers
Loki

Amber-Mae said...

Hey Oscar!

Wow, you sure had a great fun running around off-leash & swimming in the river. I love having the freedom & swimming in the river! And errr...nice carvings. I think if only I had two huge goofy teeth, it would be easy for me to chomp the whole thing with just one huge bite! LOL...

Love licks,
Solid Gold Dancer

E-unit said...

Oh Oscar, I wonder when you will take the plunge!!!!! I took my plunge when I was 6 months old. Mum went in the water, and I wanted to follow mum so I swam to her. Ever since then, you can't keep me out of the water!!!

I would totally send STINKY to you to give the lady, but I think Marvin is ahead of you in line.... if I can just find the right postage you know... LOL.

ps. Yes, stripping Ralf would hurt him quite I bit I would imagine, plus coats like us, you can never strip to keep up with the undercoat growth, our coats grow WAY too fast LOL.

Love nibbles,
Miss Sunshade

Joe Stains said...

I am so very afraid of water but I am not big and tall like you. I also dont have a nice long nose that makes it easier to breathe in the water. I will be content to look at the photos of you!

Amber said...

Hey there, Oscar,that's really a beautiful park near your place. You really had some fun time in the park didn't you. Haha,I can see that you love the water.

luv Amber!!

wally said...

What a fun time. I wish our weather was that nice. It's too chilly here for swimming. I mostly like wading and cooling my belly which is conveniently close to the ground.

wally.