Emma here reporting to you from our pool in Florida. Bailie and I both love to get wet and swim but we don’t like the pool much. We can get on the first step, but then we have to swim or sink, and that just isn’t much fun. Mom wanted us to do something in the pool, so she rigged up an air mattress with a floaty board for us to float on.
What does this have to do with FitDog Friday? We were working our core muscles like crazy. Have you tried to stand or sit on such a contraption? It is a true test of balance and strength. I did try it a few times but it really wasn’t my idea of a good time. Bailie, on the other paw, loved it. She did not want to get off. Bailie even fell completely in the pool a few times and had to dog paddle a bit until Mom saved her, but that did not deter her.
The way we worked it, is that Mom would lift us onto the board on the mat and set us down. She steadied the mattress until we had it under control, and then we would just float around the pool. Bailie would be really tired after doing it for a while…a tired puppy is a good puppy, giving Mom even more incentive to work with Bailie on this exercise. Katie doesn’t like water and wanted nothing to do with the nonsense!
Most of the time I was lying down as I did not want to fall in, but Bailie spent most of the time sitting and sometimes standing. No matter how we were positioned, we had to use our muscles all the time to keep our balance.
Once we were stable enough to float on our own for a bit, Mom took some short video to show how we do it.
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If you have a pool, give this a try. If we were going to be at a pool a lot we would get some flotation vests but since it was only two weeks, we did not want to buy any. Swim on over to the FitDog Friday blog hop sponsored by SlimDoggy, Peggy’s Pet Place and To Dog With Love Stop by and see what other dogs are doing to stay fit!
Lucky, lucky you. Have a fabulous Friday.
Best wishes Molly
That was lucky us a week ago, now we have below zero temps at home 😉
Slimdoggy says that this is a great core exercise! We don’t have a pool but if we did, this would be one of our go-to moves.
Of course, we would need to keep our nails trimmed else we risk popping the floatation device!
That is why Mom put that kickboard on the raft, so our claws wouldn’t kill the raft 😉 even if they are short, we extend them when we try to hold our balance.
Better hope Bailie doesn’t run away and join the circus!
If she is thinking of it, I think she will wait until spring. She isn’t enjoying the below zero weather and seems to be turning into a homebody for the winter.
Emma, what a great idea for a workout. Your mom is brilliant. When I watched the video of Bailie, all I could here is the song “Surfin’ USA”. BOL She looks like a little surfer dog.
Happy Friday.
Oz
Mom was singing that to her and said she should be a CA surfer girl! Mom loves the Beach Boys music.
That looks like so much fun!!
I liked it, but Bailie was super into it.
That exercise also has the benefit of being fun for us to watch!
Too bad Mom didn’t get Bailie’s dump off the mat into the pool on tape…I was laughing my furry behind off while she was dog paddling for her life! Mom saved her within a second or two but she was right back up on the mat with no fear.
I think we’re coming right over to lay on the mat….I mean exercise….with you!!
LOL!!!
The first thing the mom always taught us about the pool is where the stairs are located in case one of us should fall in. I did that once on a cold Florida February day…I was watching a noisy whirly think fly over the back yard as I was walking around the pool. I was so embarrassed when I fell into the water, but I tried to act cool about it. Panda the Boston and I used to love to float on the raft, and silly mom would always sing “Surfer Girl” to me. She changed the words for Panda since he is a boy. She even started humming that song when she saw Bailie standing on the raft. We have the shorter canvas type rafts – they work better for us poopers. If there was a water hose in the pool I used to LOVE to bite the water. I think I miss my younger days. Sigh! xOXO Maggie the PBGV
Bailie was definitely more into surfing than I was 🙂 We know where the stairs are too, but it is just so deep that it isn’t much fun to play in the pool.
I’m with Peggy… Seriously, wish it was still pool weather here. Great idea on the core workout too!
I love cold and snow but below zero days this early in the season are a bit much!
I love your Mom! She thinks of EVERYTHING! Barks and licks and love, Dakota
She just likes us to do lots of fun stuff and since swimming is not much fun in a deep pool, she had the balancing idea. Bailie slept really well after doing the raft for 15 mins or so.
Great core workout, girls! It’s so important to have a strong core!
Bailie wants to become a CA surfer girl, so she needed to really work out. Me, I’m happy splashing around in Minnesota.
Hey maybe you guys can go surfing next. That would be pawsome! I don’t think Shiner would be very good at this BOL. She likes to swim, but only to fetch sticks and rocks in the lake.
We don’t get into fetch but we love so splash around which is hard in a deep pool. Bailie may try some water sports with Mom in the summer. She is good at it and loves it.
What a fun way to keep fit for you girls! That was a good idea to give you something different since you didn’t have your yard to run and play in. Your Mom is always thinking!
She says we wear her out…we are super mellow dogs, but she likes us to be busy and doing new things all the time.
I love it! Definitely going to try out something like this for Kate at the beach! Always looking out for great ideas to improve core strength and stability! Thanks for sharing.
It was a fun idea that just popped into Mom’s head and it worked well. A different mat or a larger board would have been better, but we just used what we had.
Wow! Bailie looks like she was born to do that!!
Mom wants to take her to the lake in the summer and try some other stuff since she seems to be a surfer girl type!
That’s a great way to get some exercise! Ash is the only one that will get in our pool and she doesn’t do that anymore since Shiloh crossed over the Rainbow Bridge. They use to doggy paddle around the pool together and it was great exercise for the two of them. Looks like you are having a great time!
That dog paddle isn’t much fun, the raft idea was much more to our liking. Bailie did try out the dog paddle a couple times when she fell off the raft, though.
Well swimming is good exercise, but I am not sure that you guys were really thrilled about the raft thingy. Humans can be very silly with their pool floats. Be safe, and stay away from the alligators. – DogDaz
I wasn’t real into the raft but Bailie really like it when it was moving. Mom would pull her to the stairs and she wouldn’t get off because she wanted to keep going.
The girls won’t swim in a pool either, they both like to walk into the water to swim and they can’t just walk into the pool.
We need to put in a wading pool, that would be ideal.
That would gets deep enough for you to swim or just walk around and relax.
OMC – Baiie has a very smart mom! Beautiful pool, too.
Bailie wants to be a surfer girl when she grows up.
Very cool! Emma, you don’t look very happy, but Bailie looks like she might be very good at surfing! Love that video!
It wasn’t so much my thing. I love splashing and playing in the water but that deep pool and all that dog paddling isn’t as much fun. Bailie did absolutely love it.
That’s a good exercise tip. It’s one that never would have occurred to me. Too bad we don’t have a pool… or that we live in Florida where it’s warmer this time of year. 😉
It just popped into Mom’s head. It was fun when we were there, but at home we aren’t in Florida and don’t have a pool either.
That looks like so much fun and a good workout. I doubt brown dawgs would appreciate it and be in the pool swimming. 🙂
You have dogs that fetch and swim, so they would prefer that. We don’t fetch, so swimming isn’t much fun, splashing or floating is more our game.
I think the floating raft is cuter than splashing…lol.
That looks like brilliant fun – what a great idea!
Bailie really loved it, I was a bit scared of it all.
I think your brave for getting on!
My bipeds were always looking for ways of tiring me out when I was a pup! It is hard to stay on a board in the pool.
It is tough. Bailie fell in once big time but she didn’t mind and got right back on the board. I let her play on it most of the time while I watched from the pool deck.