Jade~Harley~Bella Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 My Mums GSDxRotty can't swim. He went into their fairly shallow dam once chasing a toy and didn't pop back up, her OH had to jump in and pull him out! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rilla-My-Rilla Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 The Staffy x we had as kids couldn't swim. Our grandma put her in the water when she was just a pup, and she nearly drowned. She always hated water after that, she would howl if she saw us in water, obviously thought we would drown too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pollywaffle Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 (edited) I'm afraid that swimming would have to involve water (!!) ..my two wouldn't approve of that! Edited August 17, 2012 by Pollywaffle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W Sibs Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 Not all dogs can. Charlie can swim but he gets tired and then stop swimming.. even though he is in the middle of the fricking lake. We have a life jacket on him and I still have to go out and pull him into shore. He kills me that dog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancinbcs Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 Dogs with no tail or very short tails have trouble swimming unless carefully introduced and conditioned to it. With no tail for a rudder they have to work a lot harder. I have found with my BCs that some seem to panic and thrash around but they don't sink and others just take to it straight away. The earlier they get to swim the quicker they adapt to it. I used to take 4 dogs to a greyhound pool and while three of them would get in and out several times the 4th one stayed in the whole half hour, only getting out if I really yelled at him. He swam like an otter and never seemed to tire. I was never game to take him to the beach figuring he might end up in NZ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Rusty Bucket Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 (edited) My dog can swim just fine - she even has webbed feet - and loves the water. My brother's dog sinks like a stone, and yet will still take a flying leap into the water and disappear under the surface. Never seen my brother get wet so fast - fully dressed... So he's pretty careful with her around water. She's an SBT - zero bouyancy or almost no body fat. I imagine an Amstaff could also have all muscle and almost no body fat too (sinks). Paddling helps a bit but imagine how you'd do paddling with 10kg of lead around your waist (and no wetsuit to add bouyancy) - I made that mistake once - doing rehab in the shallow end of the pool with a weight belt - and went a bit too far into the deep end. Fortunately I could jump off the bottom and catch the side and drag myself back 1 step to the shallow end... pS you can get buoyancy vests for dogs. Good for the sinkers or poor swimmers. Edited August 17, 2012 by Mrs Rusty Bucket Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pie Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 (edited) I have two dogs, one is a brilliant swimmer, he is fast and like a little speed boat! He also treads water. His tail is not like a rudder though - it curl upwards out of the water. He has little body fat but is less muscled compared to my other dog. Sinky dog has very very little body fat and is very muscley and has a very thin tail like a rat. She has finally got the hang of swimming and because of her structure has to do more of a breast stroke action than a doggy paddle (or her paws come out of the water and she sinks) but does still forget at times. I have bought her a life jacket to help her a bit. Here's a crappy video showing an example of her swimming, this is after about two years of practice, she used to be much worse :laugh: As you can see she splashes, then lifts her head back to get away from the splashing, which makes her splash more Funnily enough - the one who can swim brilliantly doesn't really like to, yet the one who is terrible at swimming is the first to leap off the edge and do bombies into the water :laugh: Edited August 17, 2012 by amypie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Podengo Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 OMG Amypie that is adorable! Love her trying to avoid the splashing! :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polecatty Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 My whippet has absolutely minimal body fat and she swims like a champ! She loves water and if there is a dam, river, creek, puddle or ditch then she is in it. Hates baths more than anything, though. *eyeroll* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff'n'Toller Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 There are lots of SBT's who swim perfectly fine. I guess with them and all stockier dogs it's about whether they can learn to manage their weight in the water and stay afloat. Mine wears a float coat but only recently, so she can do more laps for her arthritis before she tires. She has swum very well independently since she was a baby though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dianed Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 I got a gsd who can,t swim. I found out the hard way :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemelo Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 Pugs and Frenchies can't - they are too top heavy! LOL Yes they can :) My girl used to swim and my mum and dads pugs can swim too.. This is my girl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sydoo Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 Billie is an excellent swimmer but she likes to chase any water splash so deliberately raises a paw to make her own splash. Strangers often smile politely at what they think is her swimming style then laugh when the realise she is doing it for fun. She will also ride the current if there is one. OH played hero the first time he saw her do this, sprinting along the bank and jumping in to save her...only to then watch her run back up the bank and jump in for another turn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dotdashdot Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 I had to buy Cleo a lifejacket as she is a very poor swimmer (and after all the dogs i had growing up with - this was a shock). She literally freezes if her ears get wet - even just the very tips! Which leads to her sinking. Luckily though, she's learnt since getting the lifejacket, how to swim a little. She accidentally jumped into the river a while ago (why, I don't know!) and it was a bit deep. We panicked coz she didn;t have her lifejacket on, but she started to swim after momentary paraylsis. She loves running through the waves at the beach though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salukifan Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 (edited) Bulldog breeds and pugs can struggle to keep their large heads above water. Quite a few swim like bricks. Poorly conformed dogs can also struggle. One of my poodles needs a float vest to swim. Edited August 17, 2012 by Haredown Whippets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noisymina Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 We got our first Dobe as a pup and she swam from day 1. We would throw sticks into the dam for her to retrieve. She would sprint to the top of the dam wall, and fly in without a pause, go under water, bob up, grab the stick and swim to shore - ready to repeat, repeat, repeat! :laugh: We got Kaisie as a 4 year old and it took quite a bit to get her into the water at all. She would never go out of her depth and actually swim, tho. She did, however, one very hot summer, help with the cooling of the horses by refusing the let them out of the dam! :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheena Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 I had to buy Cleo a lifejacket as she is a very poor swimmer (and after all the dogs i had growing up with - this was a shock). She literally freezes if her ears get wet - even just the very tips! Which leads to her sinking. Luckily though, she's learnt since getting the lifejacket, how to swim a little. She accidentally jumped into the river a while ago (why, I don't know!) and it was a bit deep. We panicked coz she didn;t have her lifejacket on, but she started to swim after momentary paraylsis. She loves running through the waves at the beach though! I have just bought my two, lifejackets. Clean run have them on Free shipping at the moment. They are both great swimmers & swim every day in the family pool or at the beach, but we are going to be soon taking them out boating & I am worried they might jump into the water & get hit by the outboard I have never had a dog that couldn't swim or that didn't love the water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salukifan Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 (edited) I have never had a dog that couldn't swim or that didn't love the water. I have one that can't swim and loves the water. It's a scary combination. Edited August 17, 2012 by Haredown Whippets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chequeredblackdog Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 My kelpie is a torpedo in the water, he is very streamlined and uses his ears as power steering! :laugh: My BCx swims like he's going to drown, he is very fluffy so at first all his coat acts like a big 'floaty', unfortunately as it gets wet it starts to drag him down after a while all you can see of him is his head. Luckily he is decent at swimming, it only looks like he's drowning! The little terrier mix swims well, she just looks like a drowned rat when she gets out! The BC is a princess when it comes to water (mud is a totally different matter!) and looks disgusted at the others who dain to get wet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ash1 Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 I can remember ages ago someone recounting a story to me about her (half-witted) brother throwing their dog off the end of their canal pier to "teach it to swim". Can't remember what breed she said the dog was, I know it was a smallish breed, but glub, glub, glub, sunk to the bottom like a piece of lead. Stoopid brother had to jump in, fully clothed, brand new leather shoes, to save it. I do love instant Karma :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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