Dogs That Love To Swim

[JaxD]

Hi DOL'ers

All of you who have dogs that love to swim.. Have they always loved water or did you need to introduce them to it in a special way? What age did your dog/ puppy first start swimming? Do they love swimming in a pool or only where they can stand i.e beach, dams etc.

[Snout Girl]

Both my dogs love anything to do with water. from a young age we have exposed them to it and they see it as a positive thing: something that is fun and cools them down.

bert is particulary fond of swimming, very odd for a pug, he doesnt know his own limitations unfortunately. we solved that by buying him a life jacket. we still dont take our eyes off him, but at least this way he doesnt exhaust himself trying to keep his squashed face out of the water

[Serket]

Gypsy loves swimming. I was (am) worried that the noise/movement of waves might be scary for her and so I first took her to the beach at a place that is dead calm, no waves. Each time we ventured deeper and she just followed me out. Now she takes herself in, although we haven't yet been to a place with real waves.

As for teaching her to actually swim - she just did that herself, once her feet couldn't touch the bottom, but at first I only went out that far for a few seconds, and then back into shallower water as I think it's quite exhausting at first, and that could be scary when the dog feels that it's getting tired but can't reach the bottom.

[webby]

Both my dogs love to swim but i can't remember how they were at the start. My only advice would be to get in with your pup and make sure you don't panic and stay as relaxed as possible whatever happens.

[sandgrubber]

Some of both. I have six Labbies at the moment. One swims in the fish pond at least six times a day. Most take the occasional dip, especially when it's hot. One pup, who had a scary experience with water when she was 8 weeks old, is cautious and only goes in up to her belly. My first Labbie in Australia did not like water, nor did her sire.

[jata]

Winnie loves water! First time I took her to the beach as soon as we hit the sand she took off and ran straight into the water , no encouragment or anything! I was worried she was going to sink like a lead balloon

[Sam&Saki]

Saki loves running around in the water, just came naturally.

She didn't actually swim - ie, go out beyond where her feet could touch the ground - until she saw another dog do so - I think that's how they learn a lot of the time, just by copying other dogs

[JaxD]

Thanks for the all the replies, everyone..

bertandsally - Do you have a pic of Bert in his lifejacket? I'm trying to imagine what he'd look like and I just can't...

Edited February 17, 2010 by JaxD

[Guest belgian.blue]

Ivy loves to paddle in the ocean, though isn't keen on swimming.

I take her to a very calm beach and she stands up to her belly whinging for me to come back in. She will sometimes swim out but quickly turns back to shore. Though the first time we went she swam with no problemss but now she isn't overly keen. Doesn't bother me as I know she can actually swim but would be good for her to enjoy a swim for exercise.

Would me standing in the water with treats help her fears?

[blacklabrador]

I thought every dog knew how to swim instinctively until I got Dash.

A few DOLers got to witness his vertical "OMG I'm drowning" episodes at the beach the other day. It happens every time he gets out of his depth. Imagine the buoyancy of a vertical pointer...

My labs just got in and swam, like every other dog/rescue etc that I've had. I have one lab that loves swimming and one that loves water but doesn't like being out of her depth. She knows how to though.

Edited February 17, 2010 by Pointeeblab

[PAX]

My BC Pup is not a swimmer but loves water.

I live next door to a dog swimming pool.

My pups breeder came down for a visit and tossed all her own dogs in, they had a blast.

After watching her dogs, I decided to toss my own dogs in the pool, my puppy, the pup she bred, swims like a fish, the others swim great too, they would of never gone in with my gentle tactics, so who knows?

My past dogs, I have gone swimming and they followed me, that is the way I prefer but now don't have that choice.

[dianed]

I thought swimming came natural to all dogs until I got my girl. The day after I got her she meet my pet cow, it chased her and she ran into the dam and she went under. I was going into rescue her when she did a paddle of sorts and made it back to the bank. Nearly two years later she still only goes in water up to her belly unless I go in as well. This year at the ripe age of 4 she has managed to progress from being a vertical swimmer to a horizontal swimmer

[huga]

Both my dogs love anything to do with water. from a young age we have exposed them to it and they see it as a positive thing: something that is fun and cools them down.

bert is particulary fond of swimming, very odd for a pug, he doesnt know his own limitations unfortunately. we solved that by buying him a life jacket. we still dont take our eyes off him, but at least this way he doesnt exhaust himself trying to keep his squashed face out of the water

My pug also loves to swim and has from a very young age. She has a lifejacket too. My other dog isn't as keen on swimming, but he is pretty good at it.

ETA:

Edited February 17, 2010 by huga

[Loraine]

Our terriers used to dash off at the mere scent of water and dive right in. Mum dogs would encourage their pups to do the same thing and all pups left home being able to swim

[pie]

Kyzer has always disliked water but is an excellent swimmer, he's like a little jet boat when he gets going! We did get him retrieving his ball from the pool, which was a big step for him!

ETA Kyzer was taught to swim properly with a life jacket:

Trixie is the opposite, loves water, will jump in and has fallen in many times trying to jump in and out of the inflatable boat, but she's a bit of a failure and does the big high front legs splashing --> vertical dog --> sinking!!! thing I'm always close by to hold her up, I'm sure she'll learn soon, from memory Kyzer was a bit unco at the start too. I wouldn't mind getting her a life jacket to help teach her but can think of better ways to spend $50

Trixie chilling on the floaty boat:

I should note that the only times my dogs go in water is when I'm in there too supervising very closely.

Edited February 17, 2010 by amypie

[JaxD]

My pug also loves to swim and has from a very young age. She has a lifejacket too. My other dog isn't as keen on swimming, but he is pretty good at it.

ETA:

Too cute!

Thanks so much for sharing your pics..

[voloclydes]

like pointee... our dally leo

does vertical drowning... it's so funny we have encouraged him heaps... just for the entertainment value. :laugh:

what i found at the beach was if i held the tail up he could swim. when you let go of the tail he drowns. i thought they could all swim.

[jata]

Huga those pictures are gorgeous! So so cute, only a dog could look that cute in a lifejacket

[Paulp]

The first time I took my lab down the creek when he was a pup he went head down butt up for so long I was just about to go in after him when he popped to the surface with an enormous stick off the bottom. He has been an avid and very strong swimmer ever since. My second lab needed some encouragement to go in the first time I took her swimming but after that she too was a natural.

[TerraNik]

Both of my dogs LOVE the water. Jedi really enjoys swimming and Ahsoka just likes to go up to her chest.

My parents live on waterfront (lake) so as puppies they were both able to go into the lake for a swim when we visited. We started taking them to the beach at about 4-5 months. We never forced the dogs into the water - it was always their choice.

Ahsoka couldn't swim when we got her - she learned with a life jacket.