Big Jake’s first water retrieves

I haven’t been happy with the bank-side environments that Jake has pussyfooted to in recent days. Specifically, they featured either too steep banks, or tangly vegetation, or mucky footing. One bad experience might have set his swimming days back unnecessarily, and I accordingly called him away.

But I finally found the right spot today. After running him for 30 minutes in 78°F and light cover appropriate for a pup, I started walking near my release club’s pond. He apparently got tired of waiting for me to send him in, and just jumped in on his own. That worked out very well. Five minutes and several tosses later, he was a veteran, and I got a chance to shoot this clip of one last retrieve. You can see it here.