Photos by Holly Leitner
We may be biased, but we think one of the best parts of fall is our annual Lake Dogs photo portfolio. Now in its 11th year, our feature of lake-loving pups is more popular than ever. This year, we received over 100 entries during the official, six-week submission period, a Lake Dogs record! The selection committee had an extremely difficult time narrowing the submissions down to the 23 dogs you see here.
This year’s Lake Dogs represent a wide range of breeds and sizes, from the hulking Dino to the teacup-sized Lucy Lu. We are also thrilled to announce the winner of our second annual People’s Choice poll. To all the dog lovers out there, here’s to another season … At The Lake!
Ollie, 3-year-old Cavapoo
Family: The O’Neill Family
Personality Traits: “Good trouble”
Favorite Lake Activities: Play dates at the Williams Bay dog park
Pet Peeve: Not stopping at Paws For Treats when we walk in downtown Lake Geneva
Naughtiest Deed: When left home alone, Ollie will search the house for a piece of our clothing, bring it to the front door and curl up in it until we get home
Wade, 3-year-old French Bulldog
Family: The Grant Family
Personality Traits: Loving, sleepy, cuddly
Favorite Lake Activities: Going on the boat, riding around the lake in his life jacket
Pet Peeve: Crying — he doesn’t like when people are sad
Naughtiest Deed: Pooping while on an escalator
Remington, 2 1⁄2-year-old American Labrador Retriever
Family: The Weiss Family
Personality Traits: Energetic; relentless and never-ending energy
Favorite Lake Activities: Jumping from the pier all day long to retrieve balls and sticks
Pet Peeves: Being ignored when he wants to play
Naughtiest Deed: Eating Mom’s shoes when he was a puppy
Coach & Penelope, 8-year-old & 2-year-old Old English Sheepdogs
Family: The Hertel Family
Personality Traits: Coach: The wise older brother — old soul, loving, loyal, protective and stubborn Penelope: The wild little sister — sweet, sassy, loving, devoted to her humans
Favorite Lake Activities: They both enjoy long walks along the Shore Path
Pet Peeve: When the other is getting more attention or when they are more than 2 feet away from their humans at any time
Naughtiest Deed: Ferociously barking at any UPS, FedEx, Amazon delivery truck and not letting them up the driveway
Rye Bread, 8-year-old Chibospin (1⁄2 Chihuahua, 1⁄4 Boston Terrier, 1⁄4 Miniature Pinscher)
Family: Kathy & Doug Jackson
Personality Traits: Chill
Favorite Lake Activities: Going fishing
Pet Peeves: Not being an only dog
Naughtiest Deed: Bark-begging for cheese and salami
Jazzy, 1 1⁄2-year-old Mini Bernedoodle – PEOPLE’S CHOICE WINNER
Family: Angela & Steve Green
Personality Traits: Miss Smarty-Paws who enjoys car rides and vacay vibes; always ready for a new adventure
Favorite Lake Activities: A social butterfly on the Shore Path — people, kids, dogs … bring ‘em on!
Pet Peeve: Loud noises: thunder, vacuums, leaf blowers. Although, Jazzy doesn’t mind loud cheering when her “paw-rents” and their friends are watching sports
Naughtiest Deed: A master sock and scrunchie thief
Nauti, 14-year-old Shih Tzu mix
Family: Joe & Monica Kroupa
Personality Traits: Loving, independent and loyal
Favorite Lake Activities: Hanging out on her water mat off the back of our boat!
Pet Peeve: Rain and thunder
Naughtiest Deed: Barking at strangers
Lucy Lu, 2-year-old Tea Cup Pomeranian
Family: Greg & Kimberley Cassa
Personality Traits: “Paws”-itively adorable little fluffball that is impossible to resist
Favorite Lake Activities: Lucy loves cruising around Fontana’s lakeside in her stroller, popping into Fontana Home for a quick visit before finishing off her ride at Kimkasi Pub for a ‘puppytini’ during happy hour!
Pet Peeve: When her puppy sisters steal her bones
Naughtiest Deed: Lucy loves to bark uncontrollably when she’s not invited for a day/night out on the town
Carl, 3-year-old English Cream Golden Retriever
Family: The Cotton Family
Personality Traits: Gentle, loving and very, very needy
Favorite Lake Activities: Walking the Shore Path
Pet Peeve: Fireworks
Naughtiest Deed: Stealing socks!
Matilda, 2-year-old Rescue
Family: The Furlo Family
Personality Traits: Playful and fun; lazy and food-motivated
Favorite Lake Activities: Boat rides with her people
Pet Peeve: Too much attention and plain kibble (without extras on top)
Naughtiest Deed: Escaping the fence and running around the neighborhood like it’s a game
Tilly & Winnie, 2 1⁄2-year-old Bichon Frise & 8-year-old Cairn Terrier
Family: The Hunter Family (Tilly); Randy & Libby Miller (Winnie)
Personality Traits: Tilly: Wise beyond her years and has never met a stranger; Winnie: Curious, friendly and loving
Favorite Lake Activities: Tilly: Loves a warm boat day and hunting for toads; Winnie: Loves to take walks and watch for wild turkeys
Pet Peeves: Tilly: Being told by her mom to not go near toads; Winnie: Cannot stand squirrels in her yard
Naughtiest Deed: Tilly: Cannot be trusted around flip flops — she loves to chew them up; Winnie: She loves to hunt voles in the yard
Pippin Everett Oliver Todd Krause, 8-year-old King Charles Cavalier Spaniel
Family: The Krause Family
Personality Traits: Lazy; high-maintenance; cautious, but cuddly
Favorite Lake Activities: Jumping in the lake to fetch a tennis ball his family tosses into the water
Pet Peeve: When he can’t catch his bunny friends
Naughtiest Deed: Eating paper — ANY type of paper
Ryder & Layla, 8-year-old English Cream Golden Retriever & 6-year-old Beagle/Boxer Mix (both are rescue dogs)
Family: Karen & David Rappaport
Personality Traits: Ryder: “Peace, Love and Understanding”; Layla: “Girls Just Want to Have Fun”
Favorite Lake Activities: Ryder: Frolicking on the beach without getting so much as a paw wet! Layla: Sunbathing — if her brother isn’t going in the water, neither is she
Pet Peeves: When their usual UPS delivery bestie sends a substitute who forgets to bring treats
Naughtiest Deed: Ryder: Hiding unapproved items in his mouth while his guilty eyes give him up; Layla: Constantly arguing with the deer and turkeys about who is the boss of the neighborhood. Layla prevails every time, at least in her mind.
Riva, 9-year-old German Shepherd
Family: Angie & Steve Mack
Personality Traits: Social; loves people
Favorite Lake Activities: Boating
Pet Peeve: People sitting in her chair
Naughtiest Deed: Whines
Dino, 7-year-old Dogo Argentino
Family: Justin Basler
Personality Traits: Chill
Favorite Lake Activities: Wading in the water by the west end pier dog park in Lake Geneva
Pet Peeve: People walking past the window: he’s a guard dog, so with anyone walking on his territory, Dino will intimidate and let them know whose property it is and not to come too close
Naughtiest Deed: Drooling
Scholaighe (pronounced “Scully”), 7-year-old Saint Bernard
Family: Michael & Colleen Stewart
Personality Traits: Sensitive and charming
Favorite Lake Activities: Boat rides
Pet Peeve: Strangers walking on his road
Naughtiest Deed: Drooling on everyone
Ollie & Beau,1 1⁄2-year-old Weimaraners
Family: Jake Buhmann & Veronica Kopec
Personality Traits: Ollie: Sweet and fun-loving; Beau: Energetic and cuddly
Favorite Lake Activities: Jumping off the back of the boat to see who gets the toy first
Pet Peeve: Ollie: Getting his bone stolen by Beau; Beau: Not getting all the attention
Naughtiest Deed: Ollie: Taking up too much room on the couch; Beau: Stealing shoes
Wrigley, 10-year-old Rescue
Family: Keith & Robin Nuzzo
Personality Traits: Persistent
Favorite Lake Activities: Kayaking
Pet Peeve: When her favorite ball is under the furniture
Naughtiest Deed: Pushing her favorite ball under the furniture!
Auggie Valentine,4 1⁄2-year-old Portuguese Water Dog
Family: Tom, Ellen, Molly, Maggie & Tommy Sullivan
Personality Traits: Thinks she’s human
Favorite Lake Activities: Riding on the golf cart in Abbey Springs and swimming in the lake
Pet Peeves: Not being asked daily to go to the Williams Bay Dog Park
Naughtiest Deed: Finding dead or smelly things to roll on
Can’t get enough of these lake pups? Check out the 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 Lake Dogs features!
