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Dogs That Love To Swim


JaxD
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My girl loves the water, it's probably her ultimate reward!! She just paddled as a puppy and as she got a bit bigger and braver she plunged in and was swimming. Last week she went into the lake and just swam up and down for about 20 mins while I walked up and down the shore. She wasn't going to come in until she was ready. People are often surprised at her as when she wants me to throw her toy she stands on her back legs in the water and barks at me!!

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I got my mally as an adult so I'm not sure if he got any sort of 'training' in regards to water as a pup, but then every mally I've met loves the stuff!

If my nutcase knows there is water around - even just a puddle - he will try his hardest to get to it, from sneaking off when he thinks I'm not looking, to just outright charge, towing me along too! He is SUCH a pain in the arse about it :/

He is a good swimmer, but I use a lifejacket on him for my own peace of mind, he would drown himself from exhaustion as he loves the water and swimming in circles so much.

It's also good to know that when we go to the beach and he gets dunked by the waves that he'll pop back up again right way up much sooner, lol.

He swims well with the jacket on, but every so often I throw him in somewhere without it, and his bum will sink a bit to start with, but after a few mins he's remembered how it all goes again and swims just fine :)

My next pup (probably still a few years off yet) will definitely be introduced to water at an early age, swimming is such good excercise for them!

"Throw the frisbee... Throwwww the frisbee!"

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Katy our newfy pup was introduced to swimming by her "big Sisters"....they just took her to our dam in our garden at ten weeks.

we have always taken our pups to quiet waters and allowed them to do it slowly by themselves. We just allow them to make the choice in shallow water and we go on from there, until they choose to swim

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Katy following Annabelle in

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Annabelle stayed close all the time

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katy a couple of weeks ago

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Darcy first discovered water at 10 weeks of age when he fell into my parent's pool and had to be fished out.

When he was a bit older, I took him for his first trip to the beach. I went in and he just followed. He gets continuously dumped by big waves but will still run right back into the water. He doesn't seem to enjoy it much but I figure he must or he would stop coming in...

Now that we live in Richmond, he goes swimming in the river and seems to quite like it. Its nice and calm and easy for him to swim in.

He doesn't like having a bath but he will tolerate it. He just stands still and looks miserable :rolleyes:

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Hey T are they the pups?

My 3 hardly ever get to swim, not any water intown I would let them swim in.

They have never been to the sea.

But when we got out to my friends place, they all jump into the spring dam.

Especially Loulou and Gilly, they love it.

Gilly likes a good puddle to lay in.

Lilly, Clayton, Connor, Joshua, and Merlin are all pups I have fostered... I still have Lilly, but she's not up for adoption... the boys have all been adopted now...*grin*

The rescue property has a swimming pool - so every now and then we grab a dog or dozen and see if they like it...

T.

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As I want my dogs to work in water at Retrieving trials I am pretty particular with introducing pups to swimming. I do not want their first experiences to be bad, as that can put a pup off for life. I am asking my lean, smooth coated dogs to enter water in the middle of Winter during trials, so they have to have some drive to get in! Water introductions will be done in as warm weather as possible (why do I always get pups in Winter!!) in calm water and preferably with me wading in. They will be encouraged to retrieve a favourite item in the water. I find with the dogs that do the vertical swimming, that having a something in their mouth encourages a better swimming style, but it doesn't work for all dogs! A pup may be gently carried out of their depth and encouraged to swim to shore, however I prefer the pup to make that first step out of their depth themseleves. With my youngest dog, he was introduced to swimming as a pup one morning and by that afternoon was launching in for the retrieves. He has gone on to be my best water dog and my "Dock Diving" dog :laugh: However, he is also the dog most warey of waves at the beach which shocked me!

The Spinone I took on as a 5 year old had little, if any, exposure to swimming before I got her. She loved water from the day I brought her home, but wouldn't go out of her depth, and I tried everything! After about 12 months we were down at the river and a water rat swam across, and that was a big enough temptation for Bella and she was in and swimming after it in a flash. She never looked back after that, was swimming like a fish at every opportunity :confused:

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Great photos everyone :).

My guys are all swimmers, and have all been swimming since they were puppies. Harri decided at 4 weeks old to jump into the clam shell and go for a swim, and he has not looked back since then ;).

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Edited by Clover
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Marlin has always been a digger in the water bowl, took her to the beach at 9 weeks, she just followed us right into the water and swam like she always knew how to! I know her sire is a water nut so maybe its inherited! :laugh:

We are at the beach at least 3 times a week and she is never phased even when the surf bowls her over, not too keen on getting her head underwater tho, but loves watching us fishing and waits for the first fish to be caught claiming it is hers :rofl: . Take her out on the boat all the time too, we bought her a life jacket as she is prone to jump in if I am swimming and loves balancing on the sides of the boat, only a matter of time before she is a 'dog overboard'. She has also been known to join us (uninvited) in the spa, takes a flying leap and lands in the middle :rofl:

I only have a problem with the huge amounts of sand she brings home in her coat that doesnt come out until hours later, even with a fresh water wash, which, incidentaly, she barely tolerates go figure.

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I have German Shepherds, and they both love the water. It all started when they were young and it was hot. I bought one of those clam shells and filled it with water. They went from drinking to putting a paw in, and then the rest of themselves. One of the Shepherds had a litter late last year. When the pups were big enough, they were the same, and I have since had emails back from buyers of the puppies telling me how much they love the water. I have found that my dogs prefer a sloping entrance - they are a bit hesitant with steps in a swimming pool, but they did get used to it. Steps aren't much of an issue with my younger bitch however (the one that had the pups). She sees water, leaves the ground and splashes with a belly flop!

I guess if your dog is hesitant, take it slow. If it is a swimming pool, get in and hold the pup so that it is not getting wet. Once it has relaxed, dangle a back leg in the water, and slowly take it from there, with lots of praise each time it relaxes. When it is finally in the water completely, hold it under the belly til it finds its sea legs lol.

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I love all the photos guys.

I wish Edward liked water. I got him at 11 months so I'm not sure if something happened before then. I've tried everything even sitting in the middle of the clam shell pool I bought him surrounded by his toys.Even with no water in it he won't come near it. He stands at the water's edge at the dam or river watching other dogs swimming with a - quick save those dogs - look on his face :o

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He stands at the water's edge at the dam or river watching other dogs swimming with a - quick save those dogs - look on his face :D

Reminds me of the time I was at a workmate's place, they had a big black GSD and a property that backed onto a large river, with their own little pontoon. We took the dogs for a run and went out onto to the pontoon, my crazy malinois jumped straight in of course, and the workmate's GSD was running up and down the edge of the pontoon trying to grab hold of him to pull him out, before finally jumping in himself (though it was more like a half fall and crash landing, hehe)... I hauled my mal out, mate hauled his GSD out, my nutcase promptly leapt straight back in, followed closely by the GSD! So once again we dragged them out of the water and then kept them both on leads until we got away from the river again, crazy dogs LOL

Edited by Jake-K9
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I love that last pic, tdierikx! He (she?) has a look of such contentment... :thumbsup:

Oh yes... she does look pretty chuffed with herself there, doesn't she? Trouble the Lab is a total crack-up at times...

Here's one of Miss Prissy Pants Zeddy doing her "I'll just get my feet wet, OK" act...

T.

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