Surf Dogs

We have been here almost 3 years, and we have finally taken our kids (Chewie and the Bear)to the beach. On Sunday, we decided to drive down to Del Mar, where they have an off-leash dog beach. This is going to have to become a monthly family outing - it was a lot of fun.

Bear was a little hesitant of the waves at first. But once he got used to it and started seeing all the other dogs in the water, he really got into it. Scott was playing catch with him, throwing the ball out into the ocean and Bear would run after it, jump the waves, swim out to the ball, and bring it back. A couple of times the wave would catch the ball and start bringing it back to shore (now it's behind Bear), but Bear didn't realize it so he just kept on swimming out to where he thinks the ball is. I got a little freaked out, just imagining my dog continuing to swim out in the Pacific in search of the missing tennis ball. But Scott was able to call his name, throw another ball and get Bear to start swimming back.

I was a little hesitant of Bear taking a run for freedom and not being able to get him back. But he was great off leash. He didn't get too far away from us, and would turn around every now and then to make sure that we were still with him. It did take a bit of chasing to get him to put the leash back on and go home, but that's how kids are when you tell them they need to leave the park...

Chewie on the other hand kept us on our toes. I thought she would stay right by us, but she turned out to be the runner. She would head up to anyone and anything that caught her eye, with no regard of how far back she was leaving us. Fortunatley, she tires out quickly and we can catch up with her. At one point, she found a shady spot and dug a hole in the sand and lied down. I had to pick her up to get her back into the water to cool off. She is not a water lover - she saw a wave coming and would run away from it. I think I used to do that when I was little too.

Once we got home, both dogs passed out and remained stationary for the rest of the day. What a great way to tire them out! The 90 degree weather that we had this past weekend didn't help, either. Each year seems to get hotter and hotter, earlier and earlier...

Scott said that Bear was eyeing the kids with boogie boards - I'm sure he was thinking "That's a really big chew toy, I want it".
Next step - surfing lessons for theBear .