The second evolution of the whirlpool effect takes some imagination.
Imagine all along that leaf was actually a frog egg (could also be a fish egg, but I like frogs.) After being laid in a clutch safely attached to algae, your frog egg is swept away, separated, and freely floating in their destined pond or creek. They’ve been swept up into your whirlpool and many other whirlpools before. And now they’re a tadpole with sprouting legs. With experience and skill, you will be able to assess which whirlpools are appropriate for your metamorphosing frog(dog) to swim in. You assess your dog’s threshold and current boundaries and decide whether a given situation will benefit them. Will they sink or swim in this situation? Can they become a better swimmer from this situation? If they will surely sink in a given situation, don’t let them swim in that whirlpool. Keep them in your whirlpool. If you think, “well this whirlpool is a little faster than they’re used to but they may be ready”, let them swim, ONLY if you are confident that if that whirlpool sweeps them up and starts to sink them, the moment they ask for help, you can make your own whirlpool large enough to swallow them up into safety.
The more you prove to your dog that you trust them and can make good decisions for them, the more they can trust you. And truly, an obedient dog needs to trust you and you need to be trustworthy. There aren’t enough snacks in the world to bribe a dog into believing in you. Sometimes polluting your whirlpool with hotdogs, takes away from learning how to swim. It’s no longer about swimming, it’s about getting the most hot dogs. Swim out into the pond and look after your whirlpools.