Swimming - is there too much?? (a bit long)

[KrisK]

Yesterday, we finally found a decent place to take the dogs swimming. Jazz has been swimming since at our summer place since he was about two years old. Cricket, now three, has never been swimming. She's waded around in the water but I've never allowed her to swim at our summer place because it's a boulder beach, no sand, and with her hip surgery, I wouldn't take a chance.

Anyway, yesterday we took them swimming. I put a life vest on Cricket but it wasn't necessary. After the first dive into the water, it was evident, she's a natural!

It has been in the low 30's here all week so the dogs haven't been getting much exercise. I tossed balls for both dogs for maybe 10 minutes. They were swimming about 25-30 metres max at a time. Being typical BC's...they both wanted more, but I stopped. They were definitely tired and it was still hot.

So my question - How long do you swim your dogs? Since this isn't a typical beach area, we really can't 'hang around' very long.

[Tammy525]

Scout only goes in the pool when it is really hot. He swims in the lake a little when the kids jump off the boat, he wears a life vest and leash at this time. Yesterday in the pool, he would come in every half hour or so, swim and greet everyone in a lap fashion (like as long as you were on the way when he was doing his one lap wonder around the oval pool), then out he goes. We have steps out to get out of the pool, so that is the way he goes. But he doesn't like to swim and swim. He takes a lap and then he is done, wants out or wants someone to hold him.

 

That probably doesn't answer your question at all, but I have a way lazy dog. He has energy only when he needs it for the most part! (Who ever heard of a lazy BC/Lab???)

 

I hope you meant 30 degrees celsius??? That still doesn't sound very warm. I am asking because we are thinking of a Canadian vacation next summer, but the only time I have been I went to Georgian Bay in June and about froze my you-know-what off!! I was ill prepared, it was summer where I was!!

[Kitch]

Well, if I remember my conversion correctly, 30 degrees C roughly equates to 86 degrees F. So the low 30s would be from 86-95F - plenty hot for me!!

 

I don't know about how long to let them swim though. Dublin just sort of wades in about a foot, max.

[Tiga's_mom]

30 degrees celsius is pretty hot. That's what we've been getting here before the humidex for a couple of weeks now. Tiga will swim and swim for a long time before he'll call it quits, but he will when he's tired. We've taken him to our friends cottage the last 2 Saturday's and it's been that kind of weather. He usually will go in for his frisbee a few times, swimming out pretty far, then go in for a break. When I notice that his fur is starting to get warm again, off we go for another swim. After his initial excitment, where he'll swim out a few times, most of the time after that, he'll just go for the frisbee once or twice then back in for a rest. It is nice and cool at the lake, not as bad as in town. I usually just watch him for signs that he's getting tired or hot. If he's getting too stimulated and tired then I go inside the cottage with him for a while to lay down and relax.

[pearls pop]

I asked my vet that once and she said that in theory a dog can swim as long as it could run, that a dog that could run all day would have the stamina to swim all day. I don't have any problem as Pearl only wades up to her elbows.

[KrisK]

I hope you meant 30 degrees celsius??? That still doesn't sound very warm. I am asking because we are thinking of a Canadian vacation next summer, but the only time I have been I went to Georgian Bay in June and about froze my you-know-what off!! I was ill prepared, it was summer where I was!!

Yes, 30 C. Kitch did the conversion so yep, high 80's mid 90's which for this area is quite warm

As for Georgian Bay....it's part of the Great Lakes and it does tend to be colder than the inland lakes are. I have a summer place on the North Channel of Lake Huron and I find the swimming bearable around mid July and it's the best in August and September because the water's had time to warm up

Let me know where you plan your Canadian vacation...if you're coming into Ontario who knows, we might be able to meet!

[sandra s.]

30 degrees is about as warm as it gets here. Very warm IMO!

 

The water is very cold though, and that's the limiting factor for swimming. Once I sent her in too often and she ended up shaking pretty quickly despite the warm air. If there was any space for a dog between the tourists on the small lakes, where the water is warmer than in the rivers, we'd be able to play in the water a lot longer.

[juliepoudrier]

When Jill was doing her therapy swimming, she would swim for up to 40 minutes, with some brief breaks, part of the time against a current (in an Endless Pool).

 

When I was at Becca's I think Jill must've swum around the pond after the ducks for at least 30 minutes, with no breaks. But then Jill loves to just hop in the water and swim and swim no matter where she is....

 

J.

[Barb Scott]

We take our BCs to swim at a dog beach on Lake Michigan. We're careful not to let them swim too long when they have to fight the big waves. They'd stay in the water forever, if we'd let them.

Barb S