06/17/2026
🏄♂️ Hemlock’s first day on the surfboard. The end vision is that he might eventually want to surf with me, but we are moving strictly at his pace. First steps are simply building comfort around the water and getting used to the unstable surface of the board, ensuring every association remains neutral or positive. Fortunately, Hemlock already loves the water—unlike our other dog Juniper, who thinks water is lava, skips all aquatic activities, and strictly chills on the boat. On this day, we started with him standing on the board while it was still inside the boat, paired with plenty of treats, before transitioning the board into the water. That was the extent of the session; he didn’t actually get into the water because he didn’t feel like it, and I won’t push him. We are slowly working toward this, but we may never reach that final end state depending entirely on his interest. ⠀⠀⠀
📸 Photo ⠀⠀
🦺 Link to his life jacket is in bio (affiliate). He’s 10lb and at the upper end of an XS
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