The latest article from The Labrador Site looks at a fun new hobby that's gaining in popularity. Dock Diving: Labradors Love It!
Hi I'm not too sure about it. it must be hard physically on a dog to hit the water time after time. I worry about the damage done to joints bone and muscle caused by these impacts. I know they probabley love it but I wouldn't risk my dog by doing it. S
I was wondering about it....there is no doubt my Charlie would love it. I might ask the physio and vet about whether it really is low impact. It's not like they hit the water from a very high height, it wouldn't hurt a human to jump from that height into water, I don't think, anyway. Charlie would absolutely adore it. Jumping into water after a ball is his idea of heaven....
So after a little while consulting google....there are different versions. Long jump (chasing a toy), jumping to fetch a toy that's already in the pool (the competition is on the jump and swimming time), and a vertical jump where the toy is suspended in the air. The vertical jump is the one which can be very hard on the dog because they land tail first - the pics of that do not look good at all. But chasing and fetching looks good. There is one that involves catching the toy - Charlie is brill at catch....
Can he give Shadow some lessons? He is so bad, it's embarrassing Honestly, the number of times I've thrown him a piece of kibble, it's bounced off his nose and ended up either in Willow's mouth or back in the treat bag... My two definitely aren't brave enough for this right now. Swimming has to involve a gradual slope into deepening water. Except for that one "incident" with the boy.
My son taught our Maggie when she was about 3, when we first moved here 10 years ago, to dive to the bottom of the pool to get a ball (punctured of course so it would sink) and she would do it over and over again and again, never tiring of the activity. The neighbors would come just to watch her ... she would continue the show endlessly, and it was really funny to watch with just the tip of her tail moving around in the water looking for her ball! It wasn't a deep or hard dive so no joint problems to worry about, but my husband swears it contributed to her many ear infections despite my drying and using ear cleanser on her all the time. The Vet didn't think it a problem, but after a while we had to stop it. God love her, she actually was quite annoying around the pool!! LOL!! As I have mentioned before, it really was 'her' pool, she just let us use it too! Maui on the other hand now, is just getting used to the pool, and likes the easy slope in as was mentioned. There will be no 'diving for the ball' lessons with her!!
Charlie will hurl himself into any water without a second thought, he'd love it. I'll check it out carefully with the physio and vet though. But fetch and catch in water will be fine. I can't find any active uk clubs though...
Hi julie I did check with my old dogs physio. He has treated my very disabled male lab douglas for 8 years and i trust him. He pointed out that the repeated shock of hitting the water probably would lead to some joint and muscle damage. I know my labs would love it but its not something I would do its like jogging with dogs and riding a bike with a dog its just a no no for me. Having a dog thats suffered because of walking difficulties i now do everything to ensure that my dogs dont do too much high impact exercise Since I have been doing all this dog massage and hydrotheraphy I have learned to see dog exercise very differently. My physio told me that he sees dogs walking round everyday that the owners think are fine but with major problems. Ranging form poor muscle development to lameness. I didn't used to see it but after all the years of studying gait and muscle for my dogs health, I do. It breaks my heart to see a dog which is clearly(to me) limping going out for a jog, or a dog which is having difficulties with proper hip movement galloping like a bunny (hopping back leg action) after a ball. They dont show pain but they can be in pain. My dogs all do or have done fun active lives but I am very careful. They've all do agility, dancing with dogs and just fun training, but I always now watch out for any developing problems. I'm careful not to over exercise and do thinks like slow walking to improve overall muscle development. I might sound a bit mad but my aim is to have happy healthy dogs who are going to enjoy long active lives. S
