Dinner Cruise Part II...Westitude!

There is nothing like a Westie to provide you with a life full of joy and entertainment.  Although the breed is not for everyone, those of us who can "cope" with their westitude will be provided with years of unexpected rewards.  Westies are stubborn, to say the least, which is both positive and negative any way you look at it.  When they want to do something, and you don't, there's a good chance they will get their way 100% of the time.  They just don't give up, ever.  This can be frustrating to us Westie moms, especially when the standoff takes place in front of strangers who look in amazement at a grown woman being controlled by a little white dog. But then there is the joy of watching them turn this stubbornness into a positive experience, something that happened with ours this summer on the lake.

Lucy is not afraid of the water, she is just afraid of jumping into the water.  While we lived in Florida, she was happy to go in and out of the water as long as she was in control and her little legs could touch the sand.  Once we moved to the lake, the situation became dicey.  She no longer had a path of return and if she wanted to swim, she had to jump off the dock just like the other big dogs.  That dark water looked awfully ominous to her.  No way Jose, she said, this is not for me. She would run up and down the dock and bark and agonize when she saw everyone,  including her sister Lily the lab, in the water having fun.  It was pitiful to see her feeling so left out.  My inclination was to give it time and let her work it out for herself.

We put on the life jacket and carried her down to the water but that was not good, either.  Finally, we thought she would enjoy being on a raft with us and that worked.  One day we docked the boat on an island and she tested her swimming skills.  Back and forth she swam to us, just like a toddler, every time swimming a little farther out.  One day my daughter got her a little raft, all to herself, and that seemed to do the trick.  Now she gets on all by herself and will spend hours in the water.  I know it will be no time before she feels confident to jump off the dock, just like the big dogs.  But all in good Westie time!

A couple of nights ago we took her out on the boat, without her sister Lily, just the three of us girls. We passed two boats with Westies in them, one on a catamaran, no less.  We had never seen a Westie before on the lake, especially one on a boat!  A good omen....maybe that gave her courage, just a little bit...

Here she is, westitude at its best!!

There's another Westie on that catamaran

Really! No joke!

This looks just like the dock, except the water is clear, hmmm...

And there's my sister, waiting..

Okay, let's get this over with, so where's my float?!

Bring it closer!

Here I come!

Phew!

Where to, sister?

I think this thing is sinking...not now!

Where did everyone go?

Wait..what's that?!

Ducks!!!, my dream come true!

No, wait, was that a mirage?!!!

yeah, sister, take me to them!

Oh boy, I must be dreaming...Westie heaven!

psst, closer...!

All this pressure is sooo exhausting...hope that settles it!