My old dog swam really well, keeping her out of water was a problem as she wanted to swim as soon as she saw water.

I took Tilly out for a walk near a lake yesterday and she slipped off the bank and into the water. I expected her to swim but she sank like a stone! Hubby had to jump in and drag her out by the only thing her could reach - her tail! The lake is actually a flooded quarry so it goes down in steps so he could stand thigh deep but she was alot deeper. Once on the surface she paddled to the edge but she really did sink like a rock and I just dont know if she would have come up without help.

My old dog often lept in from banks (where I knew there were no under water obstructions), went under for a second and the carried on swimming so it really shocked me.

I am now nervous about walking near the lake again which is a shame as its a lovely walk. What do you think happened? Was she just so stunned that she didn't paddle until we got her to the surface or do Bullmastiffs normally swim like a brick? Makes me wonder how well any hydrotherapy I was planning would work!

Really not sure, but if you find that's scared her, maybe hydrotherapy will be the answer, introducing it to her gradually and with a flotation coat on, she might gain confidence and learn to swim naturally.

I have dogs that hate water, so I think that not all dogs are into synchronised swimming!   :-)

One of my Beardie girls will actually walk away from the sea when I take her on a beach.

> One of my Beardie girls will actually walk away from the sea when I take her on a beach.

Been on a beach with 2 dogs, both on flexi-leads..............both at full length with GSD in sea one side and cross-breed at full length the other side as far away from the water as he could get..........and the thought that 'that horrible boy might splash or shake near him' ........well.
Never found out if he could swim as it would have meant literally thowing him in and no way would we do that. He even carefully picked his way round puddles while giving 'the evil eye' to thug who would splash thru like a kid with new wellies :-D

>Never found out if he could swim as it would have meant literally thowing him in

I actually saw a man throw an elderly Springer into waves because he was frightened.  I was livid and couldn't help but speak out.,  I was told that it was about time he learned to get used to it!

my big gsd is a complete coward when it comes to water. When he was younger I tried to encourage him to paddle in a nearby stream but he was havingnone of it. Since then there has been acouple of occasions where unknown walks have necessitated walking through shallow water have you ever tried carring 46kg of dog across stepping stones ! I guess some are just not into swimming 

>have you ever tried carring 46kg of dog across stepping stones

   

Phewwww!!

If bullmastiffs are anything like Staffies then yes, they do sink like a stone lol. Spuds mum Celeste loved to swim but she just didn't float, I got her a life jacket and you couldn't keep her out of the water. I tried the jacket on Spud but the big jessy won't go in any further than chest high, despite swimming lessons at hydotherapy. Spuds brother Ted loves the water but again he doesn't float, Ted being Ted, walks under water blowing bubbles as he goes !.

Don't worry about her brick like tendencies and Hydrotherapy, my rotties all go to hydro and they wear a jacket. Dave goes for a fun session, he can't be let off lead due to his fear aggression, so it's the only proper exercise (other than lead walks) he gets, the girls go mainly due to the HD.

The boy can't wait to get in, and we throw toys which he leaps in and fetches - the girls have to be dragged in, and spend most of the time swimming really hard to get out. They all sleep for hours afterwards - it's great.

One of my Mali's was terrified of water and couldn't swim, she fell into a river a couple of times and just clung to the bank for dear life and had to be dragged out and always avoided water like the plague until this year when we decided to take her to hydrotherapy. She has been going fortnightly for about 4-5 months now and has been 'taught' how to swim, no flotation aids either and now she is totally water mad! She even swims better than my lab. At hydro she screams with excitement when we get there, she'll jump in off the ramp and swim quite happily (it did take a few sessions to get her swimming and her confidence has come over time).

I took them all to the beach a few weeks back and she swam in the sea too. Its the best thing we ever did for her and I don't have to be so worried now if she unexpectedly encounters water.