# Help with swimming



## bobframe (Sep 28, 2013)

I plan to begin taking Bella (5 yr old Golden) swimming as a way of fighting her arthritic knee and crummy hips. She is a retrieving fool and the vet thinks that swimming will be better for her than chasing a wiffle ball in the yard. Id love some advice regarding...

-She's a newbie swimmer...how do i get her started? Should i leverage her love of retrieving?

-I'll be driving a couple of miles to the lake and worry that a wet of will trash my SUV. Plan to buy a plastic dog crate. Any suggestions on how to best dry and lean her up before the ride home or after we get home?

-Any concerns about her getting wet frequently? Her breeder warned me that they were susceptible to skin disorders if they don't get dried off thoroughly. 

Appreciate your help.

Bob.


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## HeidiB (Feb 3, 2013)

We recently taught our three month old pup to swim by wading in ourselves just to the point she had to swim a little to reach us. It only took a couple of times calling her and swam right to us. After that we started throwing her ball a little farther in each time and she was hooked (she's also a very enthusiastic retriever). She loves swimming now and goes almost every day. 

As for drying off, we use chamois towels for dogs. It also helps to run around with her for a few minutes after to get her to shake a few times.

Good luck!


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## Vhuynh2 (Feb 13, 2012)

Molly learned how to swim by retrieving her ball thrown in the water. 

I used to use a water resistant hammock on the back seats of the car but now Molly is crated during car rides. The hammock was enough to keep everything dry. 

As for skin issues, I rarely towel Molly off and most of the time she air dries. She hasn't had any skin issues, even when she used to swim every day. Microfiber towels are great for drying dogs. 


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## Apesan (Aug 23, 2013)

We introduced Salty to swimming with me in the water making big splashes and calling her excitedly and she swam out. At first, she didn't quite get it but she picked it up quickly.

Drying off: I would use a regular old towel. It didn't dry her completely but it kept her from being soaked. As for putting her in the car, I'm fortunate that I live in a lake community so we just walked home and didn't have to deal with that issue.

Hot Spots: Salty did get a few of them throughout her life (maybe 3 times in 10 1/2 years) and medicine cleared them right up. All 3 times where when she was a younger pup (18m-2 years) and we were pretty diligent about drying her off. Not sure if something changed after that with her fur or what, but we didn't get them again and with time, we began letting her air dry more and more often.

If your pup prefers dummies, they are great to throw but if she prefers a tennis ball, I highly recommend one of those ball thrower things (sorry I dont' know the name of them?!) as you can get them pretty far out in the water!

Have fun!!


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## goldlover68 (Jun 17, 2013)

I currently have 3 Golden's and over the last 20 years have had others that have now passed. All of my dogs are field trained waterfowl dogs. So water retrieving including, icy cold water is what they do! 

Getting them ready for this is very simple but must be done carefully. If you scare them or force them it can take a long time getting them comfortable again. 

First do not start them in cold water. If you cannot swim in it, it is too cold to start them in. If you have solved this issue...

The start by walking into shallow water coaxing them to come with you, do not drag them, they must come in on their own. Using a favorite toy is good, dropping or throwing it just in front of them, so they have to come in further to retrieve. Use lots of clapping hands and encouragement. Usually, they will overcome their hesitation and they will come in. 

Continue this until they are actually swimming, they will have wide eyes and be a bit nervous as they first start swimming. Sometimes, they will splash the water with their front paws making them look unstable in the water, which will stop as they get more relaxed, but be assured they are great swimmers, so stay calm and let them figure it out. 

Shortly after that they will relax and you can start fetching them on sort retrieves. After that it is no big deal. Then play with them often in the water including cold water, they actually love it, but they have to adapt at their own pace. If they do not work through this as noted, go back a few steps and just keep trying, they will become comfortable. Good Luck!


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## Tayla's Mom (Apr 20, 2012)

We started Tayla off in a life jacket until she felt more comfortable in the water. Now when she gets in a pool you have to literally drag her furry self out. She is a swimming maniac. I've never worried about my SUV. It's the dog car so just put something down or put them in a crate. As you can see Tayla's coat is not overly heavy so I never dry her. She drys in a couple of hours and has never had any skin issues. If they have a heavy coat you may want to dry them a little more that towel drying, but I've never had to do that.


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## Mr. Bojangles (Sep 15, 2011)

+1 on the life jacket. When we started Bentley swimming, he couldn't figure out how to work his back legs to keep his body level in the water. His rear end would sink and he would panic. We got him a life vest so that he could easily maintain a level position in the water. That eliminated all his fears and he loved the water. It was cute because when he wanted to go swimming he would go wait by his vest. 

Chasing toys and balls in the pool gave him the practice to figure out how to swim. It didn't take long before he was a pretty strong swimmer and no longer needed the vest.


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## eleni (Oct 10, 2013)

They are water dogs! You don't have to do anything special to get them in the water! I would be more worried about getting them out! All my goldens started swimming on their own at around 3 months. I guess living in Greece does help, the beach is never too far away and it is warm enough for them most of the year. Anyway, the first time they saw the sea, they just walked up to the water, waded in and ... just started swimming as soon as they no longer had foot! You could literally not tell when they stopped walking and started swimming, the movement was so smooth and flowing. I agree you should never force them in the water or drag them in but they just love water! I have trouble keeping them out in the summer, because apart from everything else, they are persuaded that swimming humans are drowning and they will usually charge into the water and ...try to save them! I really do not understand this (!) but many people object to having a 70 pound wet golden monster charging at them in the sea, clawing at them in the effort to get them out!
As for drying them off, if it's warm enough I just leave them to shake it off, otherwise I wipe most of the water off with a towel first. If they swim in sea water, I always rinse them off once we get home to prevent allergies, and a good brushing might also be necessary to get rid of sand/dirt/twigs and tangles.
As for you car, an old blanket or oilcloth covering the back seat should be OK


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## ktkins7 (Jul 20, 2013)

I wish I could get Ella swimming. The only time we went near the lake it was already a little too cold and she only went up to her stomach. I didn't really work on getting her in because it was cold. When she did go in my friend was in the water and she went to go towards my friend. She ran in until her stomach hit the water and then froze. Didn't try to force her in any further. I'll have to wait until it warms up in the spring. Its already cold here in Connecticut, so she'll be probably around 9-10 months before its swimming time for her.

Ella does not like baths though. She tries to jump out of the tub. But she does like shoving her face and paws in the water to play in it. Just hope she like bath time soon. She needs to at least be rinsed off today because she was just digging in the dirt in the yard. She smells like dirt.


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