Roman's First Ever Swim!

Roman swam for the first time ever and, I have to tell you, it was quite an amusing experience! He was by the side of the lake and I threw a stone in so he went bounding after it and threw himself in the lake. Panic soon set in, pretty much as soon as he realised he couldn’t touch the floor! The expression on his face was hilarious – he was trying his best to keep his head above the water and was flapping almost uncontrollably! He did alright to be fair but he was a little more hesitant after that!

I got changed and got into the lake for a swim in the hope that Roman might follow me back in but he wasn’t having any of it! I kept on calling him to come in but, as soon as he got to the edge, he changed his mind and turned around and ran off again! It’s strange to think of a Rottweiler being scared of something but they’re not quite the fearless, mindless brutes that a lot of people try to portray them as!

If you’re wondering where we went then it was a little Welsh village called Hope. There is a disused quarry there that is now a lake. Jen, my friend who I used to work with, picked us up at about 1pm and drove us up there to meet Warren, her boyfriend, and his two Rottweilers, Bodi and Marley. Roman has met a few other Rottweilers recently but they have been mostly at training classes.

They got on really well despite an initial face off and a bit of growling and barking. Dogs aren’t really like us, they have to establish a pecking order from the off so they know where they fit in with each other. I let Roman into the garden and took his lead off and they all had a good sniff of each other. Within minutes it was as if they had known each other for years. I am really pleased how well they got on as it is not easy to find people that don’t mind socialising their dogs with Roman.

Once we got down to the lake and let them all off the lead they all ran around with each other and played really nicely. We threw a few sticks and they all chased them. Roman was definitely the dominant one out of the bunch – he was constantly taking the sticks off Bodi and Marley every time they managed to get there first! There was no malice in any of it though and they never squared up at any time.

Meeting a couple of 3 year old Rottweilers helped me to realise just how big Roman really is. I always think of him as the little puppy that I picked up on 1^st April 2007. To me, he is still my little puppy but to others he is a really big dog. I know he is big but I just don’t see it that way to be honest. I would say he was slightly taller than Marley (the male) and, although he was not quite as stocky, he certainly has more depth to his body.

I managed to get the opportunity to show off once we got back to Warren’s house – as Roman was a little tired after the walk (and swim) he was a bit more subdued than when we first got there. I showed Jen and Warren how he can sit, give each of his paws on command, lie down, roll over, sit back up and then stand! He did really well – usually he mucks about a little bit but he did everything straightaway today. Jen and Warren were impressed!

I managed to get a workout in tonight. Nathan came round but he had a headache and ended up falling asleep on my sofa so I did it on my own. Once I had finished he woke up and realised he had been asleep for two hours! I decided to have a chicken tikka masala for tea – it’s been a while since I have had one and it is certainly one of my favourite meals. You can’t beat a freshly home cooked curry!