Water and Mud Galore ...

Today was a beautiful Spring day and so we toddled off for a walk in Bramshill Forest. The first photo has nothing whatsoever to do with the walk but I thought it was such an hilarious photo that I'd just include it in this post. Boo loves what she calls a 'bits n' pieces' lunch which basically consists of, well, bits and pieces. Cheese, carrot, stawberries, sandwiches etc.
I was sewing in my room and she called me into the lounge to where I faced this scene. The little monkey had made a cheese mask and thought it was just hilarious and so insisted I took a photo. So here it is ...

We are sure Boo is part 'Springer Spaniel' as she just loves water and mud. The little man hasn't been too partial to water so far but that all changed today. There is a lovely lake within the forest which looked really inviting. And so it proved to be true.
Boo was jumping into the shallow part of the lake from a mud mound - hence a sopping wet pair of pants, trousers, socks and wellies. Even though the photo looks quite scary in that she looks like she's jumping into VERY deep water, it was in fact just inches deep and I was right next to her.


As you can see ...


Ooh look, can you see the level of the water ? Yep, it's over the top of her wellies !

If it's not the lake, it was a puddle !


And a muddy one at that. Mud, mud, glorious mud ...


Dry land ... pah, a bit boring.


My bootiful Boo ...


And, here is the little man himself. What a star. Only 6 months old and he's a brave boy swimming out after his stick. I was terrified at first but he's a pretty strong swimmer for a littlun and my fears soon subsided. I'd have been straight in there if I thought he was in trouble. Believe me, the wellies would have flown off and I'd have been out there in a flash.

For a dog who hasn't shown any desire to get into or near water he suddenly decided today that 'today was the day'. We were just bumbling along the edge of the lake when Boo threw a pebble in and 'Whoosh' he was straight in there. We all stood there with our mouths open - totally astonished !
We were like a pair of proud parents and it was like watching Boo take her first steps all over again.
Archie loved it and wanted to keep going in so we'll have to get him a training dummy designed for water retrieval. I don't allow sticks to be thrown for him on dry land, DANGEROUS, DANGEROUS, DANGEROUS ....

" I like this Mum, more, more, more more please ... "


" Yay, I love it " ....

A bit bedraggled and cold ... but VERY HAPPY !

We are off to beginner Gundog training in a few weeks time and I'm really looking forward to it as he's a cracking little dog.
Springers are full of energy and spirit, they are tireless little dogs who love nothing better than to work all day. They are prone to mischief if their enthusiasm is not properly channelled and so the training courses will hopefully harness his natural instincts and give us lots of fun and reward.

I'll let you know how we get on. I've never done anything like it before but I am really, really scared but looking forward to it and I'm sure Archie will love it too.