Ocean Ridge Paddleboard Adventures
Bath Time, not impressed
You would think a wolf would love water….? He does but ONLY on HIS terms: it can not be deeper than wolf chest deep and it has to be his decision to get wet. That last clause rules bathes right out! LOL.
I have spent a long time gingerly coaxing him into rivers and lakes. He will sometimes go in at the beach but when we first went to the beach together he went right in and got pretty walloped by strong shore break and has not trusted the ocean since.
Roan and I are visiting my parents in Ocean Ridge, Florida for the holiday season. I brought the paddle board out two days ago for some ankle biter swell and he seemed very interested. He paced on the shore and jumped around in the shore break as I surfed. When ever I brought the board into shore to try and get him on he would play ‘keep away’ and prance around inches from my grasp. There were small waves that day and it would have been difficult to get him on the board, keep him on the board, and then get us past the shore break. So he just paced and chased birds on the shore as I continued to surf.
Today the wind was off shore and smoothed out the Atlantic Ocean so that it looked like a sheet of glass. Even though it is December, the weather is delightful and I can wear just my bikini. I brought the board down to the beach and Roan excitedly followed. Laying the board down flat on the beach, the first thing we did was just got on it together on dry land. He sat on it with and laid down as I pet him and gave him a pep talk.
Then my mother and I held the board in the water and tried to coax him out. He was not impressed and did not trust the over all integrity of the paddle board. I ended up having to go pick him up and carry him to the board but once he was on it he just sat down and relaxed. Accepting his fate he settled into a lounge position and we paddled out together slowly. Our first paddle lasted about ten minutes until he decided that he was over it and jumped off to swim to shore. ‘Bye Falicia’ … I couldn’t even catch him… he is a quick little wolf-fish.
We gave it a second try and he stayed laying down for about 15 to 20 minutes and I was able to drop him back off at the beach. I am not entirely sure he was enjoying it at all, but he was also pretty relaxed. He does very much prefer to be with me instead of be left, so over all he is happy and I have never given him a reason not to trust me. I carry him around regularly like a kitten in my arms, all 50 pounds of him. He is may lap wolf.
