Took the 'kids' to the pool today....with pics

CorvusCorax

CorvusCorax

Deary me...
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I can't recommend it highly enough!
This is part of getting B fit again after his house arrest, and we took Bella too.
It is actually a pool for horses but the guy lets you take dogs in.
Their breeder recommended it as he is taking his bitch in preparation for showing in Germany and she has changed so much in just a matter of weeks, she looks fab.

But what a surprise - thought B would love it and Bella would be scared stiff...B whined and cried throughout, Bella swam like a champ and wanted to go back in everytime we took them out for a rest
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If anyone fancies taking their dog for a dip in NI, PM me, it is so reasonably priced, hardly anything at all really for as long as you like.

Pics....

I'm lovin' it
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I'm hatin' it
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RACE!
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I wanna go back in!
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I wanna go home...
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Huffing.
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Awww poor B, you cruel mummy!!
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My Mum used to take her little cocker swimming at one of the horse pools near us. He wouldn't retrieve from water, so she wanted him to build up confidence in a controlled environment. He swims like a champ now
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You are such a mean mummy!
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B sooo hates you now!

I looked up the hydrotherapy place for Beastie, but I think it's in Coleraine which is a bit far from me
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Love the last pic of Bodo
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Used to swim mine years ago at an equine pool nearby. More recently took the old lady to a purpose built canine pool, was great just like a proper indoor pool. Son went in swimming with Chaka, was lovely, but she was a real water baby. Buffy wasn't so keen (despite wearing a life jacket, I kid you not) she did frantic doggy paddle, trying to keep us much of her self out of the water as possible. If she could have done I think she would have held her nose
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I was actually quite worried about him at first...but as a lady at our club said last week, she's never seen one drown yet
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Don't think I will join them, although not without their want of trying...
 
We have rivers close by, but not so deep as they have to do any 'work'. I'd love one through the garden though, lucky boy!

He will LOVE the beach. Swimming really is brill exercise for them (and I don't have to do anything
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Most of ours he just paddles in with the occasional bit of swimming, but the current is quite fast so he has to work hard against it.

I would be interested to know how often it is actually recommended to do it though. I sent a horse swimming to help strengthen his pelvis, but a downside was he came back very overdeveloped under his neck and it doesn't actually help to strengthen the back (horses that is).

Having not looked into the canine side of swimming vs normal exercise I don't know how often is advisable. Often with the horses it is actually better to work them in deepish water where they are not actually swimming as they use same muscle groups as you need when riding.
 
I would only be going once a week, twice at most until he is fit again.

I know their breeder goes twice a week and I can honestly say the difference in his bitch in just a few weeks is amazing - she had a litter eight months ago and he was finding it very hard to get the weight off her and to get her firmed up, even bikework was doing nothing for her, now she looks fantastic.
Before this I would have said that bikework was the best form of intensive exercise for a GSD.
 
The lectures I have had on Swimming horses say that whilst it is great for fittening and havin no concussive impact on joints, it works the horse in an upside down shape, therefore is no use at building the muscles we want when trying to work the horse in an outline.
I know lots of Racehorse trainers use it when a horse may have an injury that prevents it going up the gallops, or a horse that may not stand up to all the galloping it would need to do to be got fit.
It can cause problems with Sacroiliac joint due to the strain put on it from the angle a horse swims a, therefore it is inadvisable to swim a horse with problems in that area already. Although I think I'm correct in saying some SJers swim their horses in the theory it increases flexibility through that joint and therefore helps them flick their backside out of the way of poles
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IMO Dogs and horses swim differently, a horse has a great long neck which forces it's shoulders down and creating a shallow V shape, whereas a dog swims far flatter so I shouldn't think it puts the same strains on it's back.

Of course this is all MO and from lectures from years ago, so could be complete tosh, and more than likely is!!
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Your text and the photos was great.
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I still remember the first times when I tried to swim with my first late Norwegian Buhund many years ago. The about three first times, she began with spending the first 5 to 10 minutes trying to act as if she was drowning, only splashing wildly around with her front legs. After those first minutes she always suddenly gave up and began swimming perfectly, using only the most minimal of leg movements to keep her well afloat.
About the fourth time she reluctantly went in and began her "I'm only doing what I have to do, to stay afloat"-swim from the start.
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She was a very stubborn lady but she didn't like to waste her energy either.





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She really made me feel evil though.
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Good luck with Bodo and Bella's swimming.
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PMSL FL
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she sounded like a real lady!

Bella licked herself dry on the way home, you could sort of hear her muttering 'that was awfully good fun, but I must make myself pretty again'
 
Finny, that description sounds just like Buffy swimming, sadly she never got beyond the frantic splashing with her front legs.
And can just hear Bella
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