I just saw an interesting article about dogs' ability to swim.
Many people might think all dogs can swim, since it seems dogs of all breeds can do the "dog paddling" in the water. The vets point out not all dogs are built for swimming. Some dogs with heavier chest and shorter legs are terrible swimmers. Bulldogs might have the worst of it, since they'd sink like rocks as soon as they are in the water.
The comments followed the article are also interesting to read. Many people had pointed out that even the same breed of dogs might or might not like the water. They have their own doggy personality. One dog can love to play in the water, while the other of the same breed won't even go near the water.
It is recommended for dog owners with swimming pool or pond to be aware of potential incident involving poor swimmers accidentally slip into the pool or pond.
To the dog owners on this forum, do your dogs like water?
I have 2 dogs, and neither of them like the water. My female taps the top of the water, as if she doesn't understand why it's not solid. They both will go up to the water, whether it be a pond, pool, or whatever, but they never get in. My male is part lab, which is a breed of dog known to love the water, but he hates it.
My Chipper can swim, but not for very far, and he does not really like to swim. When I had him in the water, he would swim to me, and then when I turned him around, he would swim back to my husband. Even though it was only a few feet in between us, Chipper was totally exhausted after going back and forth a few times. I imagine that if he were able to swim more often, he would soon be able to swim longer as his muscles developed; but he is a Yorkie-poo, so all that long, flowing hair really weighs him down.
We used to have Peke-a-poo, and she had the heavy chest and short little legs, and she really could not swim much at all. Her back and hind legs would just sink, and she would be almost upright in the water with just her little flat face sticking out. So, obviously, she was not able to swim, but did fine when I put my hand under her tummy so she didn't sink.
06-12-2014, 01:33 AM, (This post was last modified: 06-12-2014, 01:34 AM by FreeFlowingJoy.)
I have three dogs. They all love the water in their various ways.
My middle sized girl loves the water but only to wade. She must be able to see the bottom. But she simply loves to walk around in water. She also loves to 'fish' in that shallow water if there are small fish there. Many places have such types of water we go to. There is water often running in small creeks, etc.
My weenie girl also loves the water, but loves to swim if it's not moving really fast. Since I have her on an extended leash, she will be able to swim that way, but she doesn't chance it.
Because she is a weenie dog, it doesn't take much water for her to be able to swim obviously. She first swam in water that the other two could only wade around in. I'll never forget the look on her face when she felt the bottom leave her feet and realized she was swimming. She swam around a few feet, mostly in a circle very close to me. She was on the extended leash, so I believe she felt safe and appreciated it.
Now, my big guy is a mix of spaniel of some kind and Pyrenees. He LOVES to swim. The problem is that when we are around water enough for him to swim, it's in a leashed area only most of the time. The reason this is a problem is that he is double dog leashed to the middle girl on a leash coupler. The leash coupler is awesome, I highly recommend them to people, it frees up a whole hand and more. I'll save that for another post.
What is the problem is that you recall the middle size girl won't swim. They are in water, and he will pull like crazy to reach the water deep enough to swim, and she will yank him back saying I'm not going in there. Bless his heart, he does try to hold back now. There is only one river walk that we know of that is leash free and we can't go back there very often as it is a two hour drive because I don't live there anymore.
I have 3 dogs. The lab loves to swim, naturally. My bully seems to love the water but only if it's at the lake or beach where she can just walk in. When she is at a pool she runs around it like she wants to get in but she refuses to get in. If you try to coax her in she panics. She does have trouble with her ears and water only makes it worse so I'm not sure if that is a reason. I've showed her the steps numerous times at my friends pool but she just refuses to get in. Sometimes she will put her front paws in but that's it.When we are at the beach she runs right in, will swim out to get her ball and splash around. Bless her heart though, she can barely swim. She sinks like a rock. She will be paddling her heart out and getting lower and lower in the water. They say pitbulls are too dense and don't float well. Well my dog is a poster child for not floating well.
I have a part poodle/part cocker spaniel (or so I was told). She does not like the water at all. She will avoid puddles when we go for a walk. On days that the rain is pouring down she will stand on our porch when it is time to go out. I usually grab an umbrella and go out with her to make sure she goes to the bathroom. She isn't crazy about her baths either but after she is done she runs around the house with the energy of a puppy.
All puppies are born understanding the right way to swim. Most adult dog can still swim, whether or not they ever had ahead of or not. the one reason a dog would not be capable to swim would be if it was once too chilly within the water, or in all probability if he swallowed a variety of water when he jumped in. Or, he may not have been seeking to swim as much as the skin- canine dive underwater identical to people. They grasp their breath and swim down to try and catch things- regularly toys, but when he saw a fish, he may've tried to get it- and then swim up when they're ready. i feel something like that is more possible than a canine 'not knowing' methods to swim.
I think that it is probably true that all dogs will instinctively try to swim; just like any person will flounder around and try to swim if they are thrown into the water. How well they are actually able to swim is where the critical issue is at. Just as some people are more bouyant in the water than other people; so are some dogs able to swim easier than others because of either their body build or because of their coat length.
Any dog that has a long, thick coat is going to have trouble swimming because the coat will weight them down when it gets wet, just as we would, if we tried to swim with a heavy winter coat on that was waterladen.
Some dogs just have bodies that are more conducive to swimming, as well. My little Peke mix had a very strong chest and front end; but her hindquarters were short legged and not very strong at all, and most of her weight was in the frinthalf of her body. When she was in the water, she could not push with the hind legs enough to keep them floating or pushing her, and she would end up being upright in the water, and just her face sticking out. She was still trying to swim; so it was not that she did not have the instinct to swim, she just did not have the physical ability to do it.
That is really interesting to read. I didn't know that and just assumed all dogs have the same swimming skills. I suppose like you mentioned, the ones with large heavy chests probably have a tough time as well as the dogs with long legs who awkwardly walk. Maybe those dogs just don't have good coordination either. My golden doodle has always been a pretty great swimmer. She loves water and could spend all day in there chasing sticks, digging for rocks and just cooling off. I know they make doggy life jackets. I wonder if there are some dogs who enjoy water, but just aren't good at swimming and if they would feel more comfortable in life jacket.
It's funny you mention this, because we took our dog to the beach for the first time over the weekend that just passed. I was curious as to how he would like it -- and I guess that I naively thought that he would just run on in to the water and start swimming away, happy as a clam!
In reality though, it wasn't like that at all. I think he was actually quite frightened of the water. He doesn't even really like baths so I guess I should have figured! He ran up to the edge where the sand meets the water, and upon getting too close (and a little frightened, I think!) he ran away as if he'd seen a ghost! After that point, there was no convincing him to go into the water! I think perhaps we will have to take baby steps and try to introduce him to larger bodies of water more gradually, than quite literally throwing him in the deep end!
My smallest dog, Scrappy loved the water as a puppy. When he was young, he'd sneak into the bathroom when my niece was bathing and jump into the tub with her. He loved the water and would swim and play around. Now that he's older and about twice the size, he has no interest in swimming. We've tried taking him to pools and beaches, but he wants no part of it. I'm not sure what has changed, but we still giggle when we recall the story of the first time he hopped into the tub during G's bath.
Poodles are supposed to be able to swim and do it well. How about a poodle that was terrified of going into the water? I had one of those.
When I had my swimming pool, I had two poodles -- Prince and Jack. I got Prince when he was five weeks old and he loved the water. I have pictures of him swimming and the look of joy on his face was amazing.
Jack, on the other hand hated the water and the look on his face was that traditional 'deer in the headlights' look. I got him when he was 1 1/2 years old, and he had never been exposed to a body of water. I got him from a friend of mine and knew his history from the day he was born. So, there was no previous experience that traumatized him.
I wanted him to know he could get out of the water if he ever happened to accidentally fall in. So, I took him in with me to show him where and how to get to get from the deep end, to the shallow end where the steps were. It was a pathetic experience. We only did it one time. I felt badly for him, because it can be great exercise for a dog.
This explains so much about why I've never had a dog that enjoyed swimming. I have had numerous breads and all of them disliked the idea of getting in the pool. I felt terrible every time I tested it out. I feel like dogs, like people, have different interests.
Apparently, German Shepards are very fond of water, but with my luck my Shepard hated it. She will stay away from the hose like no other and absolutely refuses to get into a kiddie pool during the summer.
I have no opinion on this one because I have never given our dogs the opportunity to swim. Even when we go to the beach resort, the most I give them is a walk on the sand. But our first dog showed me that dogs can swim. We named her Jedi and she was about 5 months old when floodwaters entered our house. As my husband was gathering the furnitures in the living room which water is already past knee-high, Jedi was in the stairway and watching my husband. Without warning, she jumped into the water and swam to my husband. I was there in the stairway and was surprised with what happened. I was proud of our dog that she swam to my husband maybe a gesture of wanting to be of help.
It's very true that some dogs don't like to swim. Yes, mine does love swimming more than anything else, but my friends who have dogs don't have the same luck than I have. They hardly go near water and I've started to wonder is my dog the only one who actually enjoys swimming, haha! Apparently small dogs don't like water as much as larger breeds and it's no wonder. They usually seem to be more fearless than smaller dogs, probably since they know they're big and know how to protect themselves.
My Clio barely has any tolerance for baths, let alone swimming. I would like to see if she'll be able to swim though. She's a shih tzu and she has short legs. I think the bottom line is to never allow them to wander unsupervised especially if it's their first time around a pool or a pond. It's actually the same with kids.
I have owned various breeds of dogs over time. Some like the Spaniel have an affinity and adaptation for swimming testimony of their shiny coat which enables them to be waterproof. Most dogs instinctively know how to swim as most animals are won't to do. I usually go out with my dogs to a riverine area especially during hot weather and have realized that they cherish a cold plunge at this time. Dogs sweat through the mouth since they don't have sweat glands in their bodies. At other times, my dogs in to swim in an attempt to shake off nagging parasites. When I observe this, I make sure they go for grooming to get rid of fleas, mites and ticks. Swimming is a good pastime for dogs as it unleashes the puppy in them and its one of the few treats they learn to appreciate. Dogs should be introduced to swimming as puppies for them to appreciate it. Care should be taken as puppies can easily drown and should not be taken to deep water bodies.
Every dog that I've ever owned as been able to swim, as from my understanding that's just a natural ability or instinct that they are born with. That doesn't necessarily mean that they all like the water though and while most if the dogs I've owned have, there as been a couple that wouldn't go near.
Some owners try and train their dogs to go into water as puppies, a bit like we do to our children when they're at an early age, but I'm not sure that I agree with doing that. Try them with water a few times, but if they don't like it I certainly wouldn't force them to go in, as that's bordering on cruelty. We can justify teaching our children to swim, and getting them used to water even if they don't like it because one day it might save their lives, but with animals it's totally different as they obviously won't understand.
