I keep a bowl of water for him in the barn but often have to remind him to “get some water Scout!” and then reacts like - oh! I forgot and does a U turn to the barn or the house to get a drink.

We also have a creek that flows through the property a short distance from the house and if I take a step or two toward it he runs down to it and the last thing I see is his hind end flying over the cat tails followed by a splash.

He comes back out a minute or two later wet and dirty and grinning like an idiot.

Refreshed, he runs even harder than he did before.
Where he gets the energy, I dont know.
He looks skinny like a greyhound and I worry he is not eating enough but I feed him hot dogs and cheese burgers and left overs which he gobbles down. He looks even skinnier when he is wet, more like a drowned rat. ( a white one!)

He has lost all of his winter coat though and has only a thin layer left so I think his physical changes have more to do with that than loosing weight. That, and he constant running…

When I cant take him to the farm I take him to the Lake Michigan shore where he chases tennis balls and seaguls with largely the same effect.

We tried joining the local dog hiking club, but almost all the other dogs were retrievers — when we walked by the creek — even though it was November, all the retrievers immediately ran into the creek and started rolling around in the water.

Pepper stood on the bank in absolute horror and refused to put so much as a paw in the water. I think her utter contempt for retrievers began at that moment!

No matter how hot it is, she will run if she sees me with the hose — I think she’s better with a quick wet-down, but she does NOT like it at all.

If it’s really bad, my husband will take her down to the creek and she’ll wade in quickly just to wet her belly — but that’s it — no water on her back EVER!