Down by the river....

I mentioned yesterday that Elka actually got into the "big girl creek".  Today, she very very much wanted to revisit this experience.  Now, it never mattered much to me whether Elka wanted to go into the water or not.  Really, not having a muddy dog is a bonus, but mud dries up and wipes off; Elka is very good about standing for me to have her paws wiped off.  Going into these creeks has been entirely on her initiative, and I don't mind it, so long as she isn't pulling like a sled dog.

We began our walk, per usual (we have to actually get to the creek, you see), and she completely ignored her customary little creek at the top part of the park.  We completed the loop, and I watched her time and again cross over to look at the big creek before coming to catch up to me, so we found a way down.

Elka sniffed around a bit, put her front paws in the water.  She looked at me.  I said "Good girl! Go on." That was all she needed.

I threw in a recall, just for the heck of it.  The reward, of course, was to go right back into the water.  She came, but not at a hard gallop, so I actually have the action shot.

We were out a little earlier than usual today, so there was no timeline on Elka's creek time.  I wasn't in a hurry to be done, and let her decide when she was finished.  When she got out, she ran up to me  and grinned up in my face the way she did yesterday, as if to say "Did you see me? Wasn't it great?"  Then she ran in a big happy circle, and then we headed for home.  On the way, she ignored a frantically fleeing squirrel after a quiet "leave it"; the leash never even pulled taut.