Do all dogs know how to swim instinctively?
Many people assume certain things about dogs. For example, dogs instinctively know how to swim, or if dogs were certain breeds, they would love swimming. Are they true?
Answer is, No. According to TODAYshow.com contributor Mike Celizic , there are some dogs that love water and swim as if they knew and they have been swimming for ages, and there are some dogs that can't swim.Some are afraid of water or hate to be wet. The article says, if the breed name include "water" such as Portuguese water dogs, chances are they would love water and good swimmer. I would imagine that there would be good chance that many so called water lover/good swimmer dog breed dogs would enjoy water but then there maybe some dogs with assumed water lover breed such as Labrador Retriever that are afraid of getting into water, or need to be taught how to swim from you.
You can read full article from todayshow.com site on dog and swimming here.
Water and our Corgi "Palette" is very interesting thing. Especially weather. When rainy day, since puppy hood, she had hard time going potty. She refuse to go out for potty once she knows it is rainy day even though she rang the potty bell and was excited to go potty. Rainy day brought difficult time for her potty business. To make it more interesting, when she starts hearing slight lightening sound, she hits the potty bell, go and do quick potty and runs to inside the house right away and plan her potty business ahead of times so that she does not have to feel the needs to go potty while loud lightening sound and flashes.
I figured she maybe does not like getting wet. When she sees the water paddle on ground on day after rainy day, she walks around the water puddle and not put paws in it and walk straight through the puddle. So, when rainy day, I take her to side of the house where hanged over roof prevent rain from falling and dry spot when rainy day and she is having much easier potty business on rainy day. If your dogs were in the same situation: having hard time potty on rainy day, you could make spot for them or take them to dry spot area so that they do not get wet. That may help your dogs to do their business much easier on rainy day.
Another occasion where water and Palette meet is when she gets bathed. She is 4 years old and she does great when I bath her and no problem. BUT, when she was puppy, she was handful when we tried to bath her. She was so afraid of water or hated to get wet, she does her "I wanna get out from here" dance and I had hard time bathing her.
I ended up leaving groomer to bath her while I clicker train her to get used to be bathed and, after a while, I started bathing her again. A little step at a time.. First step I did was to get her feel comfortable to come to the shower room, then once she got ok to come to the room, moved on to closer to the bath tub. Then once she got comfortable coming closer to tub, moved on to inside the tub without water. Then,once she was fine, a little bit of water in tub and gradually she was able to be standing up 4 paws on floor without any flinch. I think that putting her with bath restraint with non skid mat on bath tub floor helped her feel more secured. She does better with it. Also,it may sound silly, I sing a song or talk to her while I put shampoo/conditioner on her. And when I am working shampoo into her, I stop water running and massage her body around. She loves that a lot. Now she goes to shower room happily when I say "shower" and she is not afraid of her paws getting wet or being bathed or even going into the shower room. A little step at a time could have helped her feel confident about things with water in the shower room.
I have never took her to pool or bought kid pool for her to play with water, and I am not sure how she takes water for swimming. I think that since she has short legs and if she felt insecure on foot because she cannot feel bottom of the pool, I would imagine, she would go panic mode. Plus she has no tail and has short legs, and probably need to learn how to keep balance in water.
People tend to assume all dogs know how to swim but, with Palette, probably need to learn to love into water to swim first. Maybe touch water with paw or maybe closer to big puddle of water aka pool could be her first step. And learn to feel confident in it with me, and maybe needs to be taught how to swim with flotation jacket on.
Maybe dogs learn not to afraid of water through play involve water first and through the play,they learn how to swim. No matter what breeds your dogs are, if they showed fear of water, I think you should take time to get them used to water first. Or get them feel confident to get closer to the water area. It does not matter whether it was bathing time or when you took them to pool for fun.
Take a time, one little step at a time, be patient are some of the principals I learned through life with Palette.
Do your dogs love to swim?
Answer is, No. According to TODAYshow.com contributor Mike Celizic , there are some dogs that love water and swim as if they knew and they have been swimming for ages, and there are some dogs that can't swim.Some are afraid of water or hate to be wet. The article says, if the breed name include "water" such as Portuguese water dogs, chances are they would love water and good swimmer. I would imagine that there would be good chance that many so called water lover/good swimmer dog breed dogs would enjoy water but then there maybe some dogs with assumed water lover breed such as Labrador Retriever that are afraid of getting into water, or need to be taught how to swim from you.
You can read full article from todayshow.com site on dog and swimming here.
Water and our Corgi "Palette" is very interesting thing. Especially weather. When rainy day, since puppy hood, she had hard time going potty. She refuse to go out for potty once she knows it is rainy day even though she rang the potty bell and was excited to go potty. Rainy day brought difficult time for her potty business. To make it more interesting, when she starts hearing slight lightening sound, she hits the potty bell, go and do quick potty and runs to inside the house right away and plan her potty business ahead of times so that she does not have to feel the needs to go potty while loud lightening sound and flashes.
I figured she maybe does not like getting wet. When she sees the water paddle on ground on day after rainy day, she walks around the water puddle and not put paws in it and walk straight through the puddle. So, when rainy day, I take her to side of the house where hanged over roof prevent rain from falling and dry spot when rainy day and she is having much easier potty business on rainy day. If your dogs were in the same situation: having hard time potty on rainy day, you could make spot for them or take them to dry spot area so that they do not get wet. That may help your dogs to do their business much easier on rainy day.
Another occasion where water and Palette meet is when she gets bathed. She is 4 years old and she does great when I bath her and no problem. BUT, when she was puppy, she was handful when we tried to bath her. She was so afraid of water or hated to get wet, she does her "I wanna get out from here" dance and I had hard time bathing her.
I ended up leaving groomer to bath her while I clicker train her to get used to be bathed and, after a while, I started bathing her again. A little step at a time.. First step I did was to get her feel comfortable to come to the shower room, then once she got ok to come to the room, moved on to closer to the bath tub. Then once she got comfortable coming closer to tub, moved on to inside the tub without water. Then,once she was fine, a little bit of water in tub and gradually she was able to be standing up 4 paws on floor without any flinch. I think that putting her with bath restraint with non skid mat on bath tub floor helped her feel more secured. She does better with it. Also,it may sound silly, I sing a song or talk to her while I put shampoo/conditioner on her. And when I am working shampoo into her, I stop water running and massage her body around. She loves that a lot. Now she goes to shower room happily when I say "shower" and she is not afraid of her paws getting wet or being bathed or even going into the shower room. A little step at a time could have helped her feel confident about things with water in the shower room.
I have never took her to pool or bought kid pool for her to play with water, and I am not sure how she takes water for swimming. I think that since she has short legs and if she felt insecure on foot because she cannot feel bottom of the pool, I would imagine, she would go panic mode. Plus she has no tail and has short legs, and probably need to learn how to keep balance in water.
People tend to assume all dogs know how to swim but, with Palette, probably need to learn to love into water to swim first. Maybe touch water with paw or maybe closer to big puddle of water aka pool could be her first step. And learn to feel confident in it with me, and maybe needs to be taught how to swim with flotation jacket on.
Maybe dogs learn not to afraid of water through play involve water first and through the play,they learn how to swim. No matter what breeds your dogs are, if they showed fear of water, I think you should take time to get them used to water first. Or get them feel confident to get closer to the water area. It does not matter whether it was bathing time or when you took them to pool for fun.
Take a time, one little step at a time, be patient are some of the principals I learned through life with Palette.
Do your dogs love to swim?
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