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I decided to take advantage of the nice warm weather to introduce some youngsters to water today.  We got up early this morning to visit the local lake before the general public were about. 

There is a place I use with a small shallow area which is a nice shelving introduction.  Tess however,  did not want to get in the water.  I had forgotten Tess's puppy dummy and only had my white plastic ones with me,  which she had not yet retrieved.  I decided to give it a go anyway and  threw a dummy into the shallows. Tess was not keen to get wet for this new object,  so I sent Meg in for the dummy. 

Not to be outdone,  Tess immediately decided to join her.  Unfortunately she also decided to run along the bank a little way and jump into slightly deeper water

oops... not quite the introduction I had planned

she couldn't get out quick enough...

As Meg did some more demonstrations, Tess  recovered her courage and entered the water again. She was  soon swimming alongside the cocker and growing rapidly in confidence. 

A few minutes later and she was retrieving all by herself.

She swims nicely,  quite low in the water without too much puppy splashing.    We also introduced Meg's pup Phoebe,  a one year old cocker,  to the water.    She seems to be a real natural like her Mum.   So a very successful morning.

This week I have also been working on Tess's stay,  making sure she sits absolutely still whilst I walk in circles around her.  We now do most  exercises off lead, including a few steps at heel.

this is the most recent instalment of 'Training Tess'

Check back soon for more adventures!

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