Ellie learned to swim!

[Carolinasmom]

Ellie had a busy weekend. She went on her first camping trip AND learned how to swim! She had so much fun. I didn't know how she would react at bedtime, (I remember when we took our first Cairn, Carolina camping for the first time. We were tenting and when it was bedtime she ran all around the tent, unsure of what to do. She was also very aware of all the sounds and couldn't settle down for the longest time.)

So now we have a 21 ft. 5th wheel. Ellie was sooo tired that she just sacked out on our bed at bedtime, HOWEVER she awoke at 5:30, ready to get up! Before bed, no one could get her to go potty...she was just too excited to explore! So at 6:30 I took her out and after what seemed like forever she went potty. Back into the camper we went and she finally settled down and we all slept in until 8:00. Whew!

Later we went to a lake where there were quite a few dogs. Ellie was right in the water but had never been in deep water. Her breeder told us that we must teach her to swim so my brother took her in deeper water, lowered her in and away she went!

There was a German Shorthair Pointer whose owner was tossing a ball with one of those "ball flingers". Once Ellie noticed what was going on, every time he threw it SHE would try to run after it, at least until her leash ran out. Finally the guy asked me what would happen if I let her off leash so I tried it. She ran after that ball/dog everytime and it was far! The guy was impressed with her. She wore herself out and slept for hours after we got back to our campsite. Here she is later:

The only thing she didn't get to experience was a campfire. There are/were over 10 fires burning here in Colorado so we have a campfire and charcoal grill ban. Maybe next summer!

[bradl]

What a great weekend. Love the Queen of the Cooler pic. Camping with the dogs is a lot of fun and it does tire them out, but they sure are distractable at potty time. Some times it seems like they want to snuffle around all day and all night rather than go potty.

[Carolinasmom]

Brad, our term is "potty time" but I kept remembering your term, "hurry up!"

[hheldorfer]

Congrats to Ellie on her first big camping adventure. She looks like one very happy Cairn!

[Hillscreek]

Way to go Ellie!

[Dempsy's Mom]

Thanks for sharing your weekend - sounds wonderful. So I think Ellie give camping a paws up. You have a camping cairn on your hands - good luck sneaking away without her.

She's beautiful by the way.

[Kathryn]

What a cute dog! Love her long hair and her color. Glad she is showing herself to be a happy camper!

[DemiSheep]

What a neat time for you guys. Thanks for sharing, enjoyed reading this.

[tlwtheq]

Love getting the details of what sounds like it was was a fun trip. You'll find if a Cairn really, really likes

the water it's hard to keep them out! Holdsworth was the water fanatic in his generation,

Teddy's the avid swimmer now.

B.t.w., are some of those objects in the water minnows? My gang gets

a little uneasy when they detect stuff zipping by their feet.

[Islander]

Ha ha! Mine goes after those minnows - and salmon spry too! He'll stick his whole head under water to nab them - I don't know how many he's actually eaten. He's another one who loves the water but he will only go swimming for sticks or with humans.

Don't think anybody had to teach him how to swim!

Ellie looks very happy in the water and atop the cooler. Happy camping!

[Idaho Cairns]

Cairns are pretty natural swimmers and if you introduce them to water properly, most of them seem to enjoy swimming.

[jodi0553]

what a life! great stories, great pictures!

[_whits_]

Thanks for sharing! Loved hearing about Ellie's adventures!

[Lynn in TN]

I love those pictures. She is beautiful.

I would love to go camping with my family as it has been a long, long time. I believe Kelly would love to swim, she seems to love water unless shampoo is involved.

[Autumn & Lola]

Great photos! Ellie is adorable. Way to go, Ellie!

[Hawkeye]

Great job Ellie!! What a little cutie!