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An early spring swim... in Massachusetts
I have been taking Buster to a field nearby my house which has a lake next to it and is surrounded by woods. People let their dogs frolic with each other in the field. Buster typically just wants to chase his Kong or a ball or stick or whatever else I decide to throw.
Over the past few days it's reached the mid 40s to low 50s here, so the lake thawed somewhat, and then we had 40 mph winds that blew the ice away from the shore. However, there was and is still ice over 1/2 of the lake.
Apparently Buster is familiar with the water, as he made a bee-line for the lake as soon as I released him from his leash. He wouldn't come out. It was incredible- two other dogs went in to their ankles (dog ankles?) and promptly evacuated, but he swam and swam and swam, chasing a ball (that he found floating! and brought to me) and wanting to retrieve anything from the water. When I finally got him to come out of the lake, he shook a few times and acted as though the freezing water and cold wind was nothing. I'm glad I decided to get a dog with a heavier coat than the Weimaraner I formerly had (who would have been shivering for an hour). This guy has webbed feet and a double coat built for just this job.
Being as it is that I live on a lake (my lake is frozen still), I think I got the right dog! He was so excited.
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