Double Lab Love Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 I was hoping for some advice re taking my two Labs to the Beach for the first time. In a couple of months we are heading down south for two weeks hols where we will have access to a dog friendly beach for the whole time - which I know will send my two boofheads into deliriums of joy They have just turned one and are now great on lead and have a reasonably good whistle recall - thank dog for Labs and their love of treats ! I have been regularly swimming them in pools etc for the last four months - initially for extra excercise and now just for pure joy - and they have now become confident in the water and are very quick swimmers and seem to have NO FEAR whatsoever... One glance at the nearest body of water and the word "SWIM" and they are off - Tango I swear grins the whole time and they both sulk when it is time to come out My question is twofold and i would appreciate any advice on if i was going the right way about this....or I guess any alternatives... Firstly Tango LOVES water and being such a strong swimmer my fear is that once he is in the surf he will keep swimmng and that will be the last i see of him... I have seached for and read a couple of posts which have scared the beejesus out of me So my thought process that i should keep them both on long leads (K9Pro) whilst in the surf ? As my OH will be with me we will each have one dog each so hopefully that would work OK ? So if we do go this way then I am thinking that a harness would be safer than a flat collar (which they could slip out of) but as they are such strong swimmers the harnesses don't need to be bouyant as such.... So I was after any recs for suitable harnesses that would fill the brief... Their car restrains are padded with wool so probbaly not really preactical for this purpose... Many thanks in advance.... I know am a big worry wart but would never forgive myself if anything happened to either of them bc of my stupidity... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golden Rules Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 I am not a worrier at all so if it were me, I would just make sure of the surroundings (ie other people and other dogs) and when I was OK with that, I would just let them off lead and let them have a swim! It's no different to when they are off lead any other time, if they have good recall then you will be fine! It's great you can whistle to them because it is sometimes hard for them to hear at the beach, and I find whistling to my dogs is easier to hear than me calling out to them. Lucky dogs! Have a great holiday!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missmoo Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 you could try a supatuff harness, they are really tuff and are ideal for water as they do not rot or mildew..i use one for my Lab boy when I want to put him back on lead at the beach but still let him swim. they retail for around $65....if you want something longlasting and waterproof this is ideal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dee lee Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 I second the whistling! I took my GR on our annual beach holiday recently and she found it hard to hear me over the surf. I worry more about seagulls. Honey LOVES to chase them... When she didnt hear me, she ran for about a kilometre before remembering to come back! Luckily the beach was deserted and about 5kms. With the surf, I just leave her to it. She starts off all brave and excited (ooh there are seagulls out there too!!!) then invariably gets dumped and becomes a bit more respectful. She doesnt ever try to swim out too far, but I dont swim with her as she has to be right next to me and I worry she wont be able to get out. I take her early in the morning to avoid the sun and other people- its my favourite part of the day when we are away. Its a magic thing to do- enjoy. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golden Rules Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 I worry more about seagulls. Honey LOVES to chase them... When she didnt hear me, she ran for about a kilometre before remembering to come back! :D Luckily the beach was deserted and about 5kms. Ooooh yes, I have one that loves to chase seagulls as well, in fact anything in the sky .... including the rescue helicopter that flies by low and frequently! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Double Lab Love Posted January 21, 2011 Author Share Posted January 21, 2011 Thanks for the replies.... we are sooooo looking forward to it - our first "family " holiday Golden Rules - I wish I wasn't such a worry wart - I annoy myself ! My thinking re the leads was that since we are there for two weeks we can try with the lead initially and then see how things go.... deoending on who/what is at the beach or if Tango decides to try and swim to the next continent :D The whistle recall came about from our consult with Steve at K9Pro - he is SUCH a legend when we were finding our two Labs a bit of handful 6 mnths ago... Actually I should say OH and I needed the training not Tippi and Tango ! Our thinking was that as they hear their names so often in day to day commands - plus I do make up the stupidest songs sometimes with their names - they tend to get overexposed to their names so the whistle is used purely for recall and they come at a gallop when they hear it and are getting really good under distraction. That to me was probably the most important thing I wanted them to be be reliably trained in and Steve was such a big help.. missmo - thay sound perfect - Runs off to google supastuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dee lee Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 I worry more about seagulls. Honey LOVES to chase them... When she didnt hear me, she ran for about a kilometre before remembering to come back! Luckily the beach was deserted and about 5kms. Ooooh yes, I have one that loves to chase seagulls as well, in fact anything in the sky .... including the rescue helicopter that flies by low and frequently! Bloody crazy dogs- Honey would do that too! Have I mentioned her obsession with skywriting? :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Double Lab Love Posted January 21, 2011 Author Share Posted January 21, 2011 OH NO - I had completly forgotten about seagulls Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golden Rules Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Thanks for the replies.... we are sooooo looking forward to it - our first "family " holiday Golden Rules - I wish I wasn't such a worry wart - I annoy myself ! My thinking re the leads was that since we are there for two weeks we can try with the lead initially and then see how things go.... deoending on who/what is at the beach or if Tango decides to try and swim to the next continent The whistle recall came about from our consult with Steve at K9Pro - he is SUCH a legend when we were finding our two Labs a bit of handful 6 mnths ago... Actually I should say OH and I needed the training not Tippi and Tango ! Our thinking was that as they hear their names so often in day to day commands - plus I do make up the stupidest songs sometimes with their names - they tend to get overexposed to their names so the whistle is used purely for recall and they come at a gallop when they hear it and are getting really good under distraction. That to me was probably the most important thing I wanted them to be be reliably trained in and Steve was such a big help.. missmo - thay sound perfect - Runs off to google supastuff I have found most dogs don't go too far away from their owners or wherever the other dogs are. So unless you have a dog like one of my Golden Retrievers who is a free spirit and has no recall, then you will find they hang about fairly close to you. But for peace of mind when you are a waorrier, I would just slap a long lead on them (eg a lunge lead). Good on you for the great recall!! It's the single most important thing anyone can teach a dog I reckon! I worry more about seagulls. Honey LOVES to chase them... When she didnt hear me, she ran for about a kilometre before remembering to come back! ;) Luckily the beach was deserted and about 5kms. Ooooh yes, I have one that loves to chase seagulls as well, in fact anything in the sky .... including the rescue helicopter that flies by low and frequently! Bloody crazy dogs- Honey would do that too! Have I mentioned her obsession with skywriting? Oh yes, I recall reading that now! Very funny!! :D Dogs are such great entertainers aren't they??!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Double Lab Love Posted January 21, 2011 Author Share Posted January 21, 2011 Thanks for the replies.... we are sooooo looking forward to it - our first "family " holiday Golden Rules - I wish I wasn't such a worry wart - I annoy myself ! My thinking re the leads was that since we are there for two weeks we can try with the lead initially and then see how things go.... deoending on who/what is at the beach or if Tango decides to try and swim to the next continent The whistle recall came about from our consult with Steve at K9Pro - he is SUCH a legend when we were finding our two Labs a bit of handful 6 mnths ago... Actually I should say OH and I needed the training not Tippi and Tango ! Our thinking was that as they hear their names so often in day to day commands - plus I do make up the stupidest songs sometimes with their names - they tend to get overexposed to their names so the whistle is used purely for recall and they come at a gallop when they hear it and are getting really good under distraction. That to me was probably the most important thing I wanted them to be be reliably trained in and Steve was such a big help.. missmo - thay sound perfect - Runs off to google supastuff I have found most dogs don't go too far away from their owners or wherever the other dogs are. So unless you have a dog like one of my Golden Retrievers who is a free spirit and has no recall, then you will find they hang about fairly close to you. But for peace of mind when you are a waorrier, I would just slap a long lead on them (eg a lunge lead). Good on you for the great recall!! It's the single most important thing anyone can teach a dog I reckon! I worry more about seagulls. Honey LOVES to chase them... When she didnt hear me, she ran for about a kilometre before remembering to come back! ;) Luckily the beach was deserted and about 5kms. Ooooh yes, I have one that loves to chase seagulls as well, in fact anything in the sky .... including the rescue helicopter that flies by low and frequently! Bloody crazy dogs- Honey would do that too! Have I mentioned her obsession with skywriting? Oh yes, I recall reading that now! Very funny!! :D Dogs are such great entertainers aren't they??!! I am so with you on the recall - I think it is essential and soooo important..... nb 1 on the training schedule... Love it - rescue helicopters and skywriting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jr_inoz Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 I know what you mean about scary stories though.... Was down the beach one evening and a girl was swimming her dog on a lead. She explained that her lab loves to swim and swim straight out from shore. He would, literally, keep going and not stop. She reckoned he would swim the gulf to Ardrossan if given the chance. She had to have him rescued (luckily people on hand with boat who could help) so she doesn't let him swim off lead anymore. I love watching the retrievers down the beach, swimming and playing. My girl won't go near the water. Didn't help that she fell into a pond when she was a puppy. (She only loves the water from the hose). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mason_Gibbs Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 I worries about my lab coming back but he has his swim and comes back to shore, remember they wont be used to the ocean anyway and they will tire so they wont keep swimming even if they wanted to. The only time I have an issue with my lab and he still comes back to shore when he is tired, is that he follows people swimming parallel to the beach Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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