Chessie in the lake

Question
Does my Chessie think he is rescuing me when I am in the water or is he exhibiting guarding behavior? I don't believe he is guarding, he allows me to freely take his toys, stick my hand in his food dish while he is eating, etc. You do bring up an interesting thought about rescuing me though. I would love to send video of what happens because if he is trying to rescue me I would like to be able to recognize the behavior and work with him on it. Thanks for the thought provoking response, I am finding my Chessie a difficult personality to understand and any help I can get is worth its weight in gold. Thanks again.

Answer
If you do get a chance to video, feel free to send to me directly - barb@distinctivedogtraining.com or send me a link if you upload it somewhere.  I'd love to take a look.  

Get him used to seeing you go in and out of the water gradually - ankle deep, knee deep, waist deep and see if you can tell when he begins to get anxious.  I'll guess that it's when most of your torso disappears.