Lady has always been a reluctant swimmer ever since she fell in a river when she was a pup. In reality the only times she has swum properly is to retrieve a bird. She won't really do a dummy or anything else. We're on holiday in Cornwall at the moment and sitting on a small beach in Helford Passage this afternoon with dead calm water just next to the beach and a gently sloping bottom I gave her another go with a tennis ball. First throw just far enough so she was still standing. Second throw she had to swim a couple of strokes. Third throw a bit further and she got the idea. Gave her a little rest but she had become quite eager so threw the ball a good distance and she swam out and got it woohoo! Well I kid you not that she was as pleased as punch with herself and was bouncing at the edge of the water for another go. By the time we'd done a few more she'd really got the hang of it and was making a real bow wave through the water and swimming much more strongly. I have to say I'm as pleased as punch too. Water dog at last. We'll do a bit more later in the week I hope.
Re: Small Black Dog Discovers SWIMMING! She says she was just waiting for her 4* spa holiday Well done SBD xxx
Re: Small Black Dog Discovers SWIMMING! Yes it's actually a huge step forward, bearing in mind that she's 5 yrs old now. Good boost to her confidence too. I think this sort of thing is all an important part of bring a dog to maturity and ideally should have been done earlier by me if I'd had more confidence myself. But reading about all your adventures with your dogs has given me a big boost to get Lady doing more..
Re: Small Black Dog Discovers SWIMMING! That is really super David, must have been a great feeling when she took to the water so confidently.
Re: Small Black Dog Discovers SWIMMING! That's really lovely. I've spent many days on a boat in Helford (sailing days are over - far too wet and cold). It's a lovely place for SBD to swim. It's a very clean river, too.
Re: Small Black Dog Discovers SWIMMING! That's great! I have been trying to tempt Nellie into water since she has been able to go out and about (she is now almost 21 weeks). She fell into my sisters water feature at 10 weeks so she has been a little apprehensive around water since! My last lab loved to swim and I loved to watch her so it's good to know that Lady has overcome her apprehension even after this time.
Re: Small Black Dog Discovers SWIMMING! Yay Lady!! I kinda failed on my swimming attempts with Simba this year. Part of the difficulty being there is nowhere that is a) easy to get to and b) close enough and c)safe, nearby. To get down to the river is really dicey with a minivan :. I can attempt it but I much prefer my OH to drive it. Otherwise I have to drive for 40 minutes, which basically means the whole day is shot by the time you get there and back and actually do something there. Sigh. I will keep plugging away at it....
Re: Small Black Dog Discovers SWIMMING! How lovely. It's amazing that they can go on developing new skills well past puppyhood.
