I took Hank upstate to meet my folks this weekend and we took him for a walk in the woods to the lake. He had a fantastic time!

I took off his leash when we got to the water (not the most responsible thing, I know, but just as I expected he never went too far away from us). Since that area is not an official access point to the water, the “beach” is rocky and full of branches. Hank took a while to figure out a safe way to get into the water (he’s totally goofy-teenage-uncoordinated). Eventually my mother went in and coaxed him to come in and off he went! Or as my mother says in this video he was “off to the races!”

He swam like a pro! This is my favorite photo from the day when I caught Hank in the process of shaking off the water.

After the swim, on the hike back home, Hank lead the way. He remembered the path we took through the woods better than we did and he made sure we were all coming with him. I’m totally psyched that he likes at all the “Retriever” stuff that I love to do with my dogs!