Carolina in the "Almost Winter" = More Dock Diving!

Today dawned clear and in the 50s, so the dogs and I met up with a friend and her dog for some dock diving practice. Both Aeri and Kes are entered in their first national level event at the South Eastern Wildlife Expo in Charleston, SC in February, so the more practice we can get on the dock before the big day, the better!

We just practiced Big Air and Speed Retrieve since that's what they are both entered in, no EV this time around.

Notes:

• My throwing is in need of polishing after a break.
• Kes' jumps look very similar to those before our recent break, even with crappy throws, once he got back into his groove.
• Aeri is getting better about holding her stay for the Chase method I would like to use in Big Air.
• Aeri appears to not be watching the toy as she hits the end of the dock, which may explain her flat jumping style in Big Air.
• For Speed Retrieve, Aeri does better if I pull her back, allowing her to maintain eye contact on the spot where the toy went in vs. turning her around and walking her back, breaking eye contact.
• Aeri's swimming is much stronger and faster and she's much better about keeping an eye on the toy even during splashdown - I'm VERY glad I decided to enter her in SR as it'll be fun to see how fast she is!

Snipe was able to play in the lake a couple of times and, with the help of our friend's dog as a role model, she's starting to venture further out. She swam on her own (tho wearing a vest) several times! I'm hoping once the water warms up I can wade out with her and help her gain confidence in the water and when jumping off the dock. It'll be a while for that though, so we'll keep playing in the shallows until then! Light and fun is the way to go!