Puppy & Charlie learn to relax!

It’s all or nothing around here!

Both dogs have always loved the beach and the sea.  Our first day here Charlie started wagging her tail, when we got up the first morning her tail was still wagging!  This is a BIG DEAL from Charlie, she isn't a tail wagger normally.  So to see her so happy, so excited to be here, just melted my heart!  I spent a lot of time our first day recording the dogs running and playing on the beach.  So much time, that when I started catching fish my GoPro battery had gone flat already. DUH!

Dogs on the beach: YouTube clip to follow ;)

Once we started catching fish, and I started to get my fish eye’s back (ability to see the fish in the water), I started wading out into the waves.  A sand bar started to appear, so John and I followed it out, fishing as we walked, but always thigh deep in water.  Our ever faithful dogs following us all the way!  Um, they were starting to get tired already obviously, because they normally just run off and do there own thing, not worried about what we are doing!  
We had lost track of time, and how far from the beach we were.  I’d seen schools of good sized fish, so just kept walking out, further and further.  

Dogs wading the flats with us!

I’d seen the big fish again and was ready to follow them further, when Charlie made it very clear that enough was enough!  She swum in front of me and started clawing for me to pick her up, she wasn't going to swim any further!!!  Oh my poor darling, I hadn't realised she had been swimming that whole time!!  Because Pup’s legs are that little bit longer, he was still standing on the bottom while following me, but Charlie couldn't reach the bottom!  The big fish would have to wait I couldn't ignore my baby girl.

I turned to walk back to shore, realising how far out we were, and how long she had been swimming for.

The sand bar we walked: You can JUST see Johnno, the dot in the distance!

I took this photo when back on the beach, you can just see Johnno, the little dot at the end of the sand bar.

But that was only half way home!
Still had to get over the hot dry sand!

Dogs both seemed happy to be back on dry land, rolling in the sand like it was the best feeling ever!  I walked them back to camp, they slept all afternoon.

We went for a walk down to the water that evening, all that excitement of being at the beach had faded, they both looked warn out.

Day 2:  Charlie is not a happy camper!  Her tail was not wagging this morning, she was Not running down the beach egging Pup on to play chase with her.  She didn’t want to swim when we went for out morning dip.  Her legs are stiff, her walk is slow.  

Recovery day for Charlie Girl!

We are having a recovery day today!  Sleeping and letting tired legs heal, so hopefully she will be back to her bouncy self again my morning.
Lucky for her it’s windy today, was the sea is wavy and murky, not that desirable for me to fish.  Neap tides so Johnno is happy to read his book all day, he has almost finished his first book already!!!

Funny thing is, we thought it would be Pup who would be sore and not able to walk the first week of running around.  He has had trouble with his left back leg for ever.  When ever he runs a lot he ends up limping the next day.  Well he has been limping, and I’ve been giving him his medication, then he is running again.  He doesn't seem worried about his leg, I'm not even sure if it’s sore any more, or just so used to not using it.  He is up and running as soon as we say ‘Fishing’ he is off beating us to the water looking for the fish.   The excitement of catching fish the first day was all he needed.  We were catching little Queenie and Tervalley, which we would release just in front of the dogs.  They went straight into ‘hunting’ mode, ears up, straight body, ready….but too late, the fish had always swum off before the dogs even had time to think about it.  It did get them excited about fishing however….now we just need Charlie to recover so we can do it all again!!

2 days later: Charlie is still healing!  They both jump up as soon as we say 'Fishing', and Pup is mad obsessed when he see's the bait jumping!!!