Hi! Roxy again

Hi its me again. I wanted to show off my life jacket. Even if I could swim, its a long way to the shore when we're out canoeing.

I used to be really afraid of the canoe, all that water everywhere and I just couldn't sit still - dad was afraid I would tip us over. So anyway I got this life jacket and as you can see, its a day glo orange so it was most likely designed for retrievers to wear hunting. It has 2 handles to help my dad lift me back into the boat if I go overboard, but more importantly if he has to swim to a place to get back into the canoe himself, he won't have the time to help me. At first he gave me treats to get me into the canoe, now hes not so thoughtful. Have you noticed how people only give you treats the first few times that you do something for them and after that they take advantage of my good nature and what they call "training" geez. ?

Roxy, I've noticed that, too--the treats stop as soon as we've performed the desired behavior once or twice. We're just going to have to be firm with these humans--no treats, no desired behavior! That'll show them!

I never have learned to swim. My Mom tried wading out into a lake to get me to swim to her. I did, but when I got to her (she was chest deep in the lake), I of course tried to climb on top of her to get out of the water. Since then, there's been no way I will go beyond wading! That gadget you're wearing, although stylish, doesn't look like something I would trust!

Best wishes,
Hysson

EDIT: PS: Mom thinks I'm a disgrace to my Labrador Retriever heritage! Now if she'd just let me climb on her head in Lake Superior, this wouldn't have happened!

Hi hysson,
Oh you know the life jacket was unzipped in the photo, it fits much snugger through the chest when zipped, but it was a really hot day so it was open. You can see the mesh over my chest in this photo. If you can't swim a life jacket is a good idea. This makes me wonder Hysson, do most people get their dogs a life jacket to wear canoeing? I know some sailor dogs and they always wear life jackets.

I don't really swim but a friend of mine, a chocolate lab taught me to play in the surf in San Francisco. Anyway I've learned to sit still in the canoe now.
Roxy

Hysson:

I'm not a dog, but I wanted you to know that the one time I waded out into Lake Superior (from Isle Royale), I tried to climb up on someone's head, too. That's some cold water!

Glenn