Well I am happy to report that Edsel is quite a strong swimmer. But his determination to retrieve his stick while doing so leads to one mommy in the lake, IPhone in pants pocket, yelling like a mad woman while he paddles further and further away! He had swum past the stick and wasn't coming back without it. I retrieved the stick, finally got his attention and threw it on shore. Where he promptly fetched it and dropped it at my dripping wet feet. Looked up as if to say, "let's do it again!" Home now, IPhone sitting in a bowl of rice. Edsel napping andI've changed into dry clothes. ;D
Re: We're all wet! Oh dear , I can imagine your panic when he swam away from you , thank goodness he came back, hope your phone has survived the soaking
Re: We're all wet! I take Whisky to the river 2 or 3 times a week. However he does not swim - just a paddle to retrieve a stick. He is 15 weeks old - what age will he start to swim? Or is this just a confidence thing? So far, apart from shaking himself dry, I have remainded dry. Sounds like Edsel enjoyed the adventure!
Re: We're all wet! Well done Edsel! If Charlie missed his ball when he was younger, I used to throw a bit of dirt or a stone at it. The splash made him look in the right direction. They soon get used to you directing them to it though.
Re: We're all wet! [quote author=gordon link=topic=7455.msg103754#msg103754 date=1408689274] I take Whisky to the river 2 or 3 times a week. However he does not swim - just a paddle to retrieve a stick. He is 15 weeks old - what age will he start to swim? Or is this just a confidence thing? [/quote] Charlie started swimming at about 5 or 6 months. I think it's a confidence thing, yes - they swim when they feel ready, so don't be tempted to force him. There is an article here about getting a puppy (or older dog) swimming: http://www.thelabradorsite.com/my-labrador-wont-swim/
Re: We're all wet! Mr.Cautious Sam didn't swim until he was two years old , stood dithering up to his knees and no further : I recall one elderly ex gamekeeper telling me to " chuck him in " when he was about nine months old Well , firstly I couldn't have even picked him up ( think big pup ) but never would I have done that , he would have gone to pieces for sure and it would have broken the bond of trust . Eventually , one sunny warm day, he watched all the other dogs having fun at the river , I waded in and bless him , plucking up every inch of courage in he got and swam with joy, now I cant keep him out
Re: We're all wet! well done edsil,what a panic you must have went into,all worked out well in the end though, ;D
Re: We're all wet! Uhh what an experience! When Odin was young he had a tennis ball he loved. I used to throw it in our lokal lake for him to fetch but somehow he must have damaged the skin of the ball and i didn't notice that so when i threw it in the lake it SANK!! : : An of course Odin went deaf and paddeled in circles in the area the ball had disapeared and wouldn't come back! I was so scared he'd just pattle there till he gets to tired and drown : :
Re: We're all wet! That was nearly me a few weeks back. My nephew threw a stick a little too far out to where the water meets the river (where the wall is in the picture). The undercurrent made Lola go under so I whipped my coat off ready to jump in. Luckily it was only a split second and she came straight back to me for a treat and then back in again.
Re: We're all wet! Oh Edsel! Did make me laugh. I'm envious of you having a dog that likes to swim. I'm hanging on to the hope that Molly is like Kate's Sam and will eventually take her feet off the bottom.
Re: We're all wet! [quote author=JulieT link=topic=7455.msg103755#msg103755 date=1408689376] Well done Edsel! If Charlie missed his ball when he was younger, I used to throw a bit of dirt or a stone at it. The splash made him look in the right direction. They soon get used to you directing them to it though. [/quote] Oh Julie! How I wish I'd thought of that. From the looks of my phone, I might as well have chucked it in! Oh well...it's just a phone. And I'm certain we gave the fishermen on the opposite shoreline quite a show! This puppy is a hot mess!
Re: We're all wet! I'm not a good swimmer so I'd be terrified if Ash jumped in and swam away from the bank. I have my heart in my mouth every time I see owners throwing sticks into our local river. You must have been frantic about Edsel. If your phone is still wet and you have any silicone sachets (those things you always find in bags and product boxes) just seal the phone into a sandwich bag with some. That fixed my wet iPhone .
Re: We're all wet! Albert is a great swimmer too and has done that on a few occasions. Sticks are sometimes hard to see in various different light conditions. We bought him two different Kong toys that float and come with rope attached, one is bright orange the other neon yellow! He sees them much better, but on the odd occasion when he has gone in the opposite direction or swam past it, we do what Julie does and either throw the other toy in near the 1st one or throw a stone or stick, never fails! Albert started swimming at around 17 weeks and was very confident within a week. Jan
Re: We're all wet! Don't despair about your phone. My I pod went for a swim in the loo (luckily no one had used it recently). I dragged it out, put it in the rice, then in the airing cupboard, but it stayed dead. I researched getting it repaired. I was loth to spend the money as I had just bought and I pad and hoped to do without it. One afternoon I mindlessly picked it up from the mantlepiece and flicked the "On" button not expecting anything and it burst into life. That was a couple of years ago and it worked perfectly ever since. They are so slim and it is not easy for air to get in and evaporation to take place. But with luck it will eventually come back to life
Re: We're all wet! [quote author=teapot57 link=topic=7455.msg103871#msg103871 date=1408722516] We bought him two different Kong toys that float and come with rope attached, one is bright orange the other neon yellow! He sees them much better [/quote] Note though, that dogs cannot see orange! The easiest for them to see is two-tone black and white.
Re: We're all wet! This was a big green Kong stick. His problem is rushing headlong into the water before it even hits! He's just a wild man! We're working on some steady retrieves but he is a twitchy mess. Has to be the happiest guy I've ever seen though! Wouldn't trade him...not even for a new phone. ;D
Re: We're all wet! I used to have an Irish Setter who would just simply go swimming. At first, I worried, but he just calmly swam around in the middle of the lake, heading back to shore periodically, then striking out again. Maybe he liked the feel of the water through his coat? he was a great dog. He'd gallop after low-flying birds, not seeming to want to catch them but more just to go with them. Re the I-phone, try placing it on your clothes dryer when you dry a few loads. My Samsung Galaxy went through an entire wash and spin cycle before I noticed it at the bottom of the washer. I took it all apart (can't do that with an iPhone, right?) and let it dry on top of the dryer for the day. By nighttime when I reassembled it, it worked fine. I was so relieved! I've been told the key is to not turn it on till you've given it a lot of time to dry. Good luck!
Re: We're all wet! jasper was over 12 month old before he started swimming, he just loves water, sure he can smell a pond a mile away
