We have had a hot June here in Texas and also an extra humid June, due to quite a bit of rain. Chewie’s solution on these hot, sticky days is to go for a swim in the pond.
Recently, I’ve seen her go for a swim on two different days when I have been at the barn in the late morning. She generally starts on the edge of the pond, taking a drink and then splashing around a bit in the shallow water.
Then, she will wade in deeper and swim a lap or two around the middle of the pond. The pond is deeper than usual right now because of all the rain we’ve had. Still, Chewie can touch the bottom of the pond almost the whole time, and she only has to swim when she is in the very middle.
Last fall, when I first moved Chewie to this property, I know that she went swimming quite a bit, as she was sometimes wet when I showed up in the afternoon. And, the neighbor reported seeing her in the pond several times. But, this month is the first time I have actually seen her in the pond.
Chewie’s recent aquatic adventures have gotten me thinking a lot about reinforcers — how reinforcers are different for different individuals and also different for the same individual at different times or in different situations.
Chewie’s donkey buddy, Liberty, does not seem to like swimming. You can see him supervising from the bank in the photos in this post.
Also, Chewie seems to really enjoy swimming, but she certainly doesn’t want anyone to spray her with a hose! Perhaps, however, there may be some creative ways that I could incorporate swimming and the pond, as I continue to working this summer on teaching Chewie how to take baths.
(You can read here about the progress I made last summer on teaching Chewie how to take a bath.)
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