Pool Plunge at Cameron Park Lake

On Saturday we attended our favorite summer event, Pool Plunge! It is a fabulous event hosted by the El Dorado Dog Owners Guild as a dog park fundraiser. It seems every year the event is just better than the last and Marley has a great time, even if she doesn't swim.

This year we received a fun goodie bag with some flyers for local animal businesses and a few treats.

Yummy!

Nobody is looking, I can help myself, right?

Marley went swimming! 

Well, not actually swimming, she prefers to stalk the ripples in the water. It seems every year she wades further into the lake.  Maybe by next year she'll actually swim.

After wading in the water and running around we decided it was time for a snack.  We found our favorite vendor, Pups-n-Cups and we both had a tasty snack.  The donuts looked scrumptious and Marley thought they were fantastic.

After our snack / shopping break we went wading again.  Marley had a great time chasing the ripples in the water and running in the sand.

What, its time to go?

I am really impressed with the great job the El Dorado Dog Owners Guild did organizing such a fun event.  Every year they seem to make it better and bigger.  This year they added a Dog free 5k prior to the swimming event.  The raffle prizes were fantastic and there was a wide variety of prizes.  The volunteers are incredibly friendly and seem to have a great time hosting the event.  We look forward to next year!

Marley tried to stay awake for the ride home. 

Summer Heat

This summer has been unusually hot in our region.  Temperatures have been over 100 degrees for weeks and today was about 108 degrees.  Totally crazy weather.

Some of our tricks for staying safe in extreme heat are:

• I don't allow Marley to walk on asphalt or concrete if I'm not comfortable walking barefoot.  Her paws are sensitive and I don't want them to blister.  She walks on dirt or grass.
• We avoid the outdoors between 2-6 p.m., the hottest part of the day.
• I carry cool water with me on our walks.
• Marley receives  most of her meals from a treat ball, due to our restrictive schedule she needs additional mental stimulation.
• I brush her coat every evening to remove bits of dry brush or grass.  Foxtails are a huge problem and cling to her coat.
• We are working on our agility foundation exercises.
• Trick training is fantastic during the heat.

We have also started inventing  some fun indoor games, which I'll share with you soon.  This weekend we'll spend some time at the lake and the river, which should be refreshing.  I hope everybody is staying cool.

Here are some additional tips for surviving the summer weather.