Hi Everyone,

I took my new puppy newfoundland for his very first swim yesterday as the weather was so warm and he loved it.
He was very wary at first but i sent my other two in first and he just ran in behind them and before we knew it he was swimming.
Although when he came out he did look like a drowned very skinny rat as newfs do at this age (17weeks).
He's all feet , legs and ears at the moment and has just started to get the shinny patch of real fur on his tail which means that his puppy fur will go before to long and i hate it when that happens because he wont look like a puppy anymore.

Aaahhh sounds lovely :)

My puppyboys breed doesn't swim, well, they will but you have to watch them like hawks so they don't sink !!
Such a shame as he adores having a bath ( him in the bath on my avatar ). Have seen pics of them wearing lifevests though and if we lived nearer the coast, would definately get one.  We are getting him a paddling pool for summer - that should keep him amused :)

It's so funny when they first get in over their heads.  My puppyboy, a six month Lab, had his first swim last week too.  He leaped in after a big black female Lab who was doing some good retrieves.  He got out over his head and had a bit of a panic, made it back to shore and refused to go near the bank after that.  At the shallow end of the pond he did do two nice short little retrieves.  There was still ice on the pond two weeks ago so I'm happy to keep him out of the cold water for now.  However, he is quite happy to get in my bath water and splash around, something he is now forbidden to do as the last time he got in he pee'd in my bath.

> as the last time he got in he pee'd in my bath

LOL thats why I haven't let Louis in mine plus he's been moulting his puppy fur off. Thats finished now so I might just risk it :) I've already asked hubby to have him in with him but all I got was a resounding 'NO' he doesn't want to be trodden on :0 hee hee

Sorry to steal the thread a little but what can i do to encourage my dog to swim (Without paying for hydro pools etc). We go to the beach and i can see he's intrigued and would probably love the water but he sees the water lapping up and runs away....then runs back to have another look :-)
I've tried paddling in with him but he stays in the dry and im in the water up to my knees getting soaked. Unfortunately dogs arent allowed on the beach in summer so i did this at winter when the water was freezing!!! :-)
Its the one thing i'd love to see him do but we havent got round to it yet. If i took my friends dog who swims would Fred be more likely to follow him in???

i dont know about your breed but my pup only went in after his brother went and he shot in like a bullet after that so you could try a play mate going with him or try to find a lake or stream where the waters not moving in waves for a first try and try again with the sea after he's been in a few times.

Haha FredsMum Polo does that too; he jumped in after another dog once at the beach but stood there shocked!!! I'm glad though that he isn't keen, because the water at the local beach has untreatded sewage in it and I'd hate to be dragging him out every time he has a run. Yes I do reckon Fred will follow his friend though :-).

Waves can be a little scary for a dog who is not used to swimming.  Our spaniel was never very keen on the sea until she had got her confidence up in streams and lakes.  Now she loves it.  Is your dog keen on retrieving?  We got Molly used to water by getting her to retrieve sticks, which is her favorite thing in the world.

Mine did the same yesterday, he hates the water but was playing with anther pup, my pup accidently jumped straight into a pool on the beach, he didnt realise how deap it was, I dont know who was more shocked/scared me or him!!!

I went to the beach yesterday with 2 of my bred by 4 month old pups a friends older girl and my nearly 11 year old boy who is the sire of the pups.
Piglet is a swimming fool at home she runs in the dam and swims like there is no tomorrow here. Fly had decided that the dam at his home is scary now as it is covered in duckweed.
Happy surfs, she runs in then comes back on a wave all by herself. Zac my old boy loves water so he was no problem at all.
Fly was the funniest tho he decided to be scared of the waves for a while and then the light clicked on and he was having a ball playing snapping sharks at the waves as they passed him. I thought he was going to be sick with the amount of water he was swallowing. Piglet was fine in the water but didnt like the waves at all.
Needless to say it was a lovely day with 4 Border Collies having a very enjoyable day out with lots of socialisation with other dogs and people and lots of new experiences.

Thanks for the advice. He is min.poodle. He doesnt mind retrieving but not great at it. I have tried that tactic....was quite comical to watch. I threw a stick in the water, he went bounding in after it and as soon as he got to the waters edge he stopped and turned round and gave me a filthy look (you know the look they give you):-) Maybe he's just one of those dogs that wont enjoy the water but i'd really like him to trry.
Possibly a silly question but what about if i filled up the bath and put him in to get him used to the weightless feeling and paddling his legs.....or am i being ridiculous now???!!!:-)

My Weimaraner pup HATES water (clean, dirty, salty or fresh) - He won`t even get out of bed if it`s raining !

If I take him to our local stream I get the old four pawed plant and I have to drag him - so we turn and walk another way.

God help him when I take him to the beach this weekend !!

I must have the only hunting dog who hates getting wet. Pretty boy, but not very bright.

:-)

Aah bless. Think people probably thought i wasnt very bright when i had my jeans rolled up and acting the fool splashing in the sea (in winter) while my dog sat happily on the beach looking on :-)

that's the good thing about this site.
Nobody thinks your stupid for doing this sort of thing as you do most of them with a dog and that's just normal for us dog people.

Misty just loves to swim, keeping her out of the water is the problem.  Unfortunately, Foxy really does not like deep water and is a hopeless swimmer, absolutely no grace, front paws splashing and thrashing around but the daft girl always jumps in after Misty if its a new spot, but only the once!  Both of them love water.  It's getting them dry but that is another issue altogether - neither like the hairdryer.