And do all dogs swim?
Mine hates the water and I'm just curious if it's just her or not
Answer:
Dogs usually know how to swim naturally.
Some are better at it than others.
Some require CLOSE supervision because they are not too good at swimming or can they tire very quickly.
(Although all dogs should be under close supervision when swimming)
Generally speaking:
Some dogs naturally LOVE the water, like the Lab.
Some dogs are known to HATE water, like a lot of toy breeds.
I have a rat-terrier and she DISPICES water.
What kind of dog do you have?
Answer:
No. Not all dogs know how to swim. My lab hates swimming (since he's a service dog and the retrieving gene is bred out of him) and probably never will enjoy swimming!!! But it's not something you can really FORCE them to do. So no, it's not just your dog..
Answer:
Awww your lab hates water? It was bred out of him
Its for the greater good though......You are so good for doing what you do!
Answer:
Tova my little peke must have some lab in her She just loves playing in the water. I have to barracade her from the bathroom when I bathe as she has jumped in too many times and also loves to chase the garden hose water when I am watering my plants. so funny.
Answer:
The retrieving instinct is bred out of them (imagine how hard it would be to train a dog who only wants to retrieve!!! ) The water thing comes with it, I guess. Some of the puppies-in-training still love water, but the majority don't...
Answer:
My dog neither loves nor hates the water, she is indifferent. I have taken her to the lake with me to go swimming and she did great! I noticed as we walked out into the water, as the water got deeper she continued lifting her paws out when she walked, as if she was trying to step up onto the top of the water, I think this may be where the natural swimming motion comes from as the further out we went the more this motion became a doggy paddle. My am staff and pit mixes used to go to the beach with me all the time, they would do the same thing except we couldn't go too far out as they tended to sink despite their doggy paddling. I've heard that the broader chested breeds don't swim as well, mine certaily didn't .
Answer:
Dogs naturally know how to swim just like people naturally know how to breath. Some dogs just don't like to swim.
Answer:
I have a Miniature Bulldog - she is fairly broad chested but has both Pug and Boston terrier in her as well as the Bulldog. My assumption is none of these breeds are big on swimming.
But it's not that she hates ALL water - she has been known to jump in the shower although more when she was younger and I can't get her out of a sprinkler - she runs around in it like she was a 5 year old.
Brought her to the beach and she would chase and bark at the waves but wouldn't go in. I also brought her to a lake and when I went swimming she sat at the end of the dock crying so I picked her up and held her close to my chest and just walked around - she was ok, not overly excited or happy about it but ok. I held her out in my hands trying to teach her the doggie paddle but she try's to climb of the water rather then swim through it. She lifts her front paws out of the water and try's to pull herself out.
She will chase sticks into the water but once her belly touch's the water - forget it, she is sooo out of there.
Thanks for all the replies!
Answer:
We got our 3 year oldregistered lab(Buddy) when he was 8 weeks old. We have an acre pond directly behind our house, but this dog never wanted to get in it. (Our previous dogs LOVED having a pond in the back yard...we couldn't keep them out!) When Buddy was a puppy, my husbandtriedputting himat the edge of the pond (thinking he would go in and start swimming), but he never liked it.My husbandwill throw sticks to him in the water to fetch, but unless it is at the edge of the pondBuddy won't go after it. Now that he is older, he does like to walk on the edge of thepond, but he has never swam in it.
Answer:
Our dog hates the water too. Tubs, pools, sprinklers, everything. I thought that beagles were supposed to LIKE water?
Answer:
A lab I know will sit in the water all day untill we call it up lol no matter what she'll stay down in the water swimming and running on the rock's it pretty funny to watch actualy although her ears do stink after a while from the water getting in them
Answer:
Yeah, there are exceptions to every rule, Leah. My lab difinitley is!!!