ownedbyamstaff Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 I know a lot of dogs can't swim. I believe staffys struggle at times as they are balls of muscle & muscle doesn't float. Throw on some fat & maybe they'll float In saying that all my amstaffs swim pretty well. Just need time to perfect the technique. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ons Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 Onslow raced in to the water at 12 weeks old and swam immediately - he is a retriever after all. Tilly - first time she went swimming she was probably 6 months old. She had no idea whatsoever and was about to drown, I was taking off my shoes to jump in when Onslow swam beside her and encouraged her to swim to the shore - it was the cutest thing ever she still was swimming vertically but made it. She is still a hopeless swimmer but was getting a bit better, we haven't been swimming this summer yet so I'll take her to the river and see how she is. - she also is a retreiver, you'd think they would know! Flash a coolie swam fine - he was one when he came to me so I don't know what experience he had before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolfgirl Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 Yes, I've been thinking about how to help her with this. I think I'll take her down to the dog beach at brighton and get in the water with her, she likes being close to me so I'd be surprised if she didn't follow me in.Life jackets for dogs too funny! I guess it's not only Stella that has had problems swimming then if someone has spent the time creating a life jacket for them You can take her to one of the doggie swimming pools like Kepala and use their life jackets so she feels safe and thus she will learn to swim with the aid then once she has mastered it take the jacket off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 We've altered dog's shapes a lot over the years. A dog with a head that's very large in proportion to its body is likelyto have floating/swimming issues. Bulldogs for example are notorious for swimmng like bricks although some can. Quite a few dogs of less obvious breeds also have difficulty, often because they don't have a good 'swim style'. A floatation vest can do wonders for a dog's confidence in water (and an owners pulse rate). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pom Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 Griffen needs a life jacket if he goes anywhere near water and even then he has trouble keeping his head out. I'll post a couple of pics when I get home from work, he looks pretty funny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
becandcharch Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 Our staffy pup (8 months) can swim ok but not great. Hes getting better with practice but his chunky little bum sinks! We started him in shallow water and now take him out a little further each time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 dogs are just like humans .where not natural swiimmers. Just because a breed is a "water retriever" also doesnt mean it can swim. All shapes & sizes,;ack of fitness formany,obesity & the list goes on that makes swimming just as hard for dogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FB Rescue_Adoption Posted January 23, 2009 Author Share Posted January 23, 2009 My keeshond knew how to swim immediately, so it was hilarious when we watched my lapphund try to swim for the first time... A 'vertical swimmer' is what you'd call it - trying to swim UP not FORWARD!! The splashing and the look of terror on her face... We were at the lake and Jedi has a life jacket for when he goes out on the boat with us and so I put it on her and I went out a few metres from shore with her and put her in the water. After about 5 goes of swimming to the shore her technique was just as good as Jedi's. I don't think she would have done it without the life jacket - it certainly built her confidence right up! http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=faKz2yQo5bA Loved the video! I'm glad to hear that your dog learnt to swim. I have now booked Stella into doggie 'swimming lessons' at Woof Pur Ney which is not too far from us. http://www.woofpurnay.com.au/dogpool.php We went there for the first time last night and although Stella had a life jacket on - she looked absolutely TERRIFIED the whole time, even being lowered into the pool she was making these wimpering noises and as soon as she felt nothing beneath her she was panicking badly! she got through two laps and we had another go after she had a rest (equally as bad). How long did it take your dog to get over the fear? I don't think Stella even realised she was buoyant with the vest on because she was too terrified to stop and feel that she wouldn't sink. I've committed to weekly lessons for 4 weeks, hopefully she will improve. :rolleyes: poor baby was soo terrified - I can't stop seeing her face panic stricken like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FB Rescue_Adoption Posted January 23, 2009 Author Share Posted January 23, 2009 Apparently a 15 second swim for a dog is equivalent to 4 minutes of running!! Because of the pressure on their lungs and air cavities in their bodies, no wonder they gasp like they do afterwards. I'm going to take some photo's next week when we go to our next swimming lessons so that you can all see how bad she is!! THEN I hope to post some photo's of a nice relaxed stella after a few weeks to hopefully show the improvement! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pom Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 This was griffens first and last swimming attempt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FB Rescue_Adoption Posted January 23, 2009 Author Share Posted January 23, 2009 Oh My God! Those photo's are amazing! He seemed to be doing really well!!Why is it his first and last time? They say that it can take up to 4 or 5 swims in a dog pool with a lifejacket to learn that they can actually do it and be confident to try it without the jacket. We just got back from the dog pool now for Stella's second lesson - she was marginally better. She keeps wanting to bite the lead and hold it in her mouth, it seems to help her relax a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerraNik Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 We went there for the first time last night and although Stella had a life jacket on - she looked absolutely TERRIFIED the whole time, even being lowered into the pool she was making these wimpering noises and as soon as she felt nothing beneath her she was panicking badly! she got through two laps and we had another go after she had a rest (equally as bad). How long did it take your dog to get over the fear? She learned in 5 swims from the jetty with the lifejacket on, each time getting better. But she had been watching Jedi earlier so I guess that might have helped?! I would imagine it could and would take longer for other dogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pom Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 Griffen was doing well to start with he did his first lap just fine, but on the second lap he got water in his ear and tried to shake (thats the third pic) unfortunatly he stoped moving his legs and his head went under. Now he's petrified of water and wont go near the pool. I'm thinking I might buy him his own life jacket and try him at the beach, at least try to get him over his fear, it's a nightmare trying to bath him. It's good to hear stella's doing well. You'll have to put up some photos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tilly Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 If it makes her feel better with something in her mouth ... you could try a toy such as the Kong Wubba (water version). It looks is a a bit like a kong shaped octopus (with only 4 legs ) My boy loves his when he goes to the hydrotherapy pool for some exercise ... after about 20 laps (15 metre pool) this morning he was totally exhausted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spotted Devil Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 Yep, got a vertical swimmer here I'm teaching Zig how to swim by wading out in fairly shallow, calm water at the dog beach with lots of treats. I have to put him on lead as, although he's not the least bit scared, he'd rather be on the beach cocking his leg My old ACD was the most wonderful swimmer - would spend all day every day in the water given the opportunity, whether I threw a tennis ball for her or not. She would also "duck-dive" to retrieve anything and almost swim backwards under water. The only problem was she would actually consume so much salt water it would go straight through her....literally. I had to stop her going in the ocean for at least an hour before we went home in order to 'clean' her system out and save my car! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fainty_girl Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 My old ACD was the most wonderful swimmer - would spend all day every day in the water given the opportunity, whether I threw a tennis ball for her or not. She would also "duck-dive" to retrieve anything and almost swim backwards under water. The only problem was she would actually consume so much salt water it would go straight through her....literally. I had to stop her going in the ocean for at least an hour before we went home in order to 'clean' her system out and save my car! Same with my dog Tilly... She loves swimming, but she also tends to swallow a lot of salt water too. On one car ride, when I got home and opened the back door of the car to let the dogs out, I got a lovely surprise and saw that Tilly and thrown up big time, but she must have intentionally done it all on one of the old towels I had used to dry her off after her swim. So luckily my clever little pup didn't make a mess of my car, I just took the towel and put it in the bin! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FB Rescue_Adoption Posted January 24, 2009 Author Share Posted January 24, 2009 If it makes her feel better with something in her mouth ... you could try a toy such as the Kong Wubba (water version). It looks is a a bit like a kong shaped octopus (with only 4 legs )My boy loves his when he goes to the hydrotherapy pool for some exercise ... after about 20 laps (15 metre pool) this morning he was totally exhausted. Thanks, she has a rubber chicken! so maybe I'll bring that along and see if that helps her! What a funny photo that would make - a staffy swimming with a lifejacket and a rubber chicken in her mouth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FB Rescue_Adoption Posted January 24, 2009 Author Share Posted January 24, 2009 Yep, got a vertical swimmer here I'm teaching Zig how to swim by wading out in fairly shallow, calm water at the dog beach with lots of treats. I have to put him on lead as, although he's not the least bit scared, he'd rather be on the beach cocking his leg My old ACD was the most wonderful swimmer - would spend all day every day in the water given the opportunity, whether I threw a tennis ball for her or not. She would also "duck-dive" to retrieve anything and almost swim backwards under water. The only problem was she would actually consume so much salt water it would go straight through her....literally. I had to stop her going in the ocean for at least an hour before we went home in order to 'clean' her system out and save my car! glad to hear there are some dogs that love it so much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FB Rescue_Adoption Posted January 24, 2009 Author Share Posted January 24, 2009 My old ACD was the most wonderful swimmer - would spend all day every day in the water given the opportunity, whether I threw a tennis ball for her or not. She would also "duck-dive" to retrieve anything and almost swim backwards under water. The only problem was she would actually consume so much salt water it would go straight through her....literally. I had to stop her going in the ocean for at least an hour before we went home in order to 'clean' her system out and save my car! Same with my dog Tilly... She loves swimming, but she also tends to swallow a lot of salt water too. On one car ride, when I got home and opened the back door of the car to let the dogs out, I got a lovely surprise and saw that Tilly and thrown up big time, but she must have intentionally done it all on one of the old towels I had used to dry her off after her swim. So luckily my clever little pup didn't make a mess of my car, I just took the towel and put it in the bin! oh blerrrrk! I know what that's like, Stella used to get car sick and one day spewed all over the backseat, the next day I had to take clients out and they kept sniffing in the end I told them it wasn't the car, just one car sick dog! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dianed Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 Hi, I always thought that every dog could swim, that it was a survival instinct but today we were at the Park and there's a lake close by. I threw the stick and stella went after it before realising it she'd jumped into the lake after the stick. I watched her grab the stick, then drop it as she realised she was in deep water for the first time. A look of sheer terror came over her and then she panicked and froze She started sinking before moving her arms and legs again but her body was vertical and she kept bobbing up and down, I was frantically calling her to me and was just about to jump in to get her when she lunged forward and made it onto a ledge where she was able to jump out. Can't every dog swim??? Is it just mine? She scared me half to death and now I feel nervous about it every time she goes near the lake I get worried. Any suggestions? Anyone else have problems with their puppies/young dogs (staffy 12 mths) not being able to swim? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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