skyler08 Posted June 2, 2008 Report Share Posted June 2, 2008 Skyler seems to have found that she really loves digging in her pool. She will just dig at the water and bite at it for hours. It's very amusing to watch Just wondering if anyone else's pup does this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllieMackie Posted June 2, 2008 Report Share Posted June 2, 2008 I haven't specifically seen a border collie do this, but I work at a dog day care, and a few of the dogs will randomly dig in the water dish or shove their faces into the bowl, not to get water, but to rub their faces in it. XD Dogs love water! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracer Posted June 2, 2008 Report Share Posted June 2, 2008 While washing the car the other day Scout noticed the water running down the driveway onto the lawn so he proceeded to dig a huge hole to contain it then played in the mud puddle, what a mess! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenajo Posted June 2, 2008 Report Share Posted June 2, 2008 Skyler seems to have found that she really loves digging in her pool. She will just dig at the water and bite at it for hours. It's very amusing to watch Just wondering if anyone else's pup does this? er, as cute as this sounds I assure it will not be cute in an adult dog. Suggest you put a stop to it asap, or you are going to have a habit that you won't be able to break. If you insist on allowing it be sure she isn't swallowing the water. Not only is the chlorine not the best for her, but she can end up water intoxicated and cause herself serious harm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ms.DaisyDuke Posted June 2, 2008 Report Share Posted June 2, 2008 Ineteresting isn't it?! As a pup, Daisy would constantly dig and flip her water dish, so I got ceramic. Once in a while I will hear a "ting, ting, ting" and she is ever so gently pawing in the water. I have no clue why, maybe is the paw print on the bottom of the dish, but I've seen her do it in her plain travel dish too. In the bathtub she will watch the water go down the drain and dig at it a bit, then try to follow it down the drain with her nose. I think she just likes to play with it and make a mess! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shetlander Posted June 3, 2008 Report Share Posted June 3, 2008 Quinn has always liked playing in water, splashing, batting toys around, etc. but not for hours. Lenajo makes a very good point. Some dogs can get compulsive about the oddest things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soloagility Posted June 3, 2008 Report Share Posted June 3, 2008 My Chessie used to do that. She would occasionally swim, but was much more interested in digging the water while screaming. Lenajo is right.....if you want a dog that is sane around water, don't encourage the water-digging! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allie Oop Posted June 3, 2008 Report Share Posted June 3, 2008 I will also echo Lenajo's gentle warning - a dog who has an OCD with water can be a real pain and it is a danger to dog. My Allie has a tendency to be quite OCD with water and I have to watch her pretty close. As she has gotten older (she started showing the behavior at about 9 mos.), she is much more easily distracted and called off of the water-play. I do allow her to swim and play in the water, but if she persists in the water "digging/splashing" for more than a few minutes, I call her out and have her do something else. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SillyGirl Posted June 3, 2008 Report Share Posted June 3, 2008 Sophie still digs in her water bowl (she's going on 4.5 yrs and is a BCx), but only outside after she's been running around--I assumed she was either over-stimulated after lots of running (um isn't that an understatement!) BUT she only does it outside and usually only her left front paw; occasionally both paws, but more so the left. I just figured since we're in the city, the asphalt/concrete made her pads too hot and the water bowl cooled them off. Go figure? But she does love the water--won't dig in the baby pool, only a larger, outside water bowl. In fact, the water dept. had the hydrants open yesterday and did she have a blast playing, barking and trying to bite the big stream of water Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WyoBC Posted June 3, 2008 Report Share Posted June 3, 2008 I agree with everyone that it could be dangerous for her to get really bad about it. If BC's are able to do something over and over again they will get very compulsive about it. But I do doubt that the pool had chlorine in it since it was her pool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtnbound Posted June 3, 2008 Report Share Posted June 3, 2008 When we visited the Humane Society where we adopted Kona, I noticed that his "water bowl" was a Home Depot bucket secured to the fencing with rope. When I asked about it, they said, "Well, we can't leave a normal bowl in with him because he'll stomp in it with both paws until he's emptied the whole thing out. Then, once it's empty, he flips it over and flings it all over his kennel - it makes a ridiculous racket." When we brought him home, he didn't miss a beat, lapped up some water from the backyard bowl, then proceeded to do his best Riverdance rendition. Being a new dog and all, it was initially cute and funny. Then, the next day when our newly freed BC went prancing through the house dripping water from his face and frontside, sound distraction deterrence went instantly into effect. Of course, he still will fling a bowl that isn't weighted down or secured in a stand (brought to our attention at our first doggie daycare stay where they said, "He's quite the spunky guy. We had to get a weighted water bowl for him because he was playing volleyball with the first one." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nowwown Posted June 3, 2008 Report Share Posted June 3, 2008 We bought Cody a kiddie plastic pool last summer and will fill it with about 4" of tap water. He loves to get in, splash, stick his nose and face under the water and then dig out the water. It's really fun for him and also for us to watch. We only let him do it for about 5 minutes and then that's the end of the pool time. We have taken him to a lake and he doesn't do anything like that except once in a while snap at the gentle waves coming near shore. Mostly likes to run in the water or swim. I think he knows the difference between kiddie pool play time and "real" water. I don't think there's anything wrong with it as long as it isn't allowed to go on indefinitely. And of course we are always right there watching him. I think it's like anything other activity he does. Cody can easily become fixated on ball, ball, ball, ball, ball so we end the ball session after a certain time too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brody's Mom Posted June 3, 2008 Report Share Posted June 3, 2008 My 2 y.o. BC goes to "grandma's" house sometimes and her dog has a hard plastic kiddy pool. On the bottom there are color printed beach balls. My Brody will dunk his head to try to get them and dig a little. He never does it anywhere else. He will try to "get" running water to but stops when told to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devi Posted June 3, 2008 Report Share Posted June 3, 2008 I have one of those seriously obsessed water-splash loving dogs. He came that way, though, it wasn't ever encouraged. It's not cool, to be honest. I have a half acre of pond in my backyard so he can never be outside unsupervised (not that I would leave him out there by himself if there wasn't a pond out there) or outside when the other dogs are swimming. He's controllable as long as it's one on one out there and I'm keeping an eye on him, or if I have multiple dogs out in the grass under voice control, but he's extremely reactive to other dogs getting in the water. This means he has to be on leash in my own backyard if my other dogs are going to be swimming. It also means he can't go on offleash hikes or to dog parks where there's even a kiddy pool out for dogs to cool off in-- without major stress, anyway. Once he's in, he won't come out until his belly is visibly swollen from drinking so much water, and even then, he's dying to get back in. He swallows enough water with each splash that even if he's only in a pond ten minutes, he drinks enough that he'll need to go outside every fifteen minutes for the next five or six hours or pee on the floor inside. If he swallows any more than that, he'll lose control of his bladder. It's a training issue that could be fixed with a lot of work, but reactivity training is the priority for him and, as much as I would love to have him with us at dog park trips or on hikes, I'm just managing him for now. That said, I have a lovely training plan made up for a time when we can work with this involving Premack-style recalls from the pond and gradually increasing the distractions. I'd give a lot to have somehow had him when he was a puppy and stopped this behavior from becoming an obsession. It's a pain. This obsession has also generalized to bubbles and the water hose. He's just as nuts about both and since they're much more easily controlled than water, they aren't so bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewie'sMom Posted June 3, 2008 Report Share Posted June 3, 2008 Yep, water must hold some sort of fascination for 'em. When Lewie was a young pup he liked to shove his water bowl and watch the water slosh. He's not really gung-ho for the pond. He'll wade but doesn't seem to have any desire to cowabunga into it. WARNING: Stop reading here if you're squeamish! Lately, he has been fascinated with the toilet; quite enamored with it as it flushes. I hold my breath hoping he won't try to dive in and grab the swirling TP out before I can get my britches up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Journey Posted June 3, 2008 Report Share Posted June 3, 2008 Just echo Lenajo - it is a very unhealthy obsession for them and once it's there you'll play hell getting them to stop. Regardless of "whose" pool, there is chlorine in most drinking water (unless you are on a well). I had one that was over the top about water. Useless when it came to watering stock, he had to be put up. While it may be cute now in the long run it isn't and the danger imo is simply not worth it. Karen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DTrain Posted June 4, 2008 Report Share Posted June 4, 2008 Do you remeber the first time your dog went to water. My wife and I fly fish. When our oldest dog was about six months we took him fishing. We had to cross a creek. No big deal the crossing was about 15 feet or so and about three feet deep. We crossed and of course he was reluctant. We encouraged him to follow and after a couple of minutes he stepped off the bank. It appeared to us that he might have thought he could walk on the surface of the water and it was so funny. He went under of course and came like swimming like a pro. He did the body shake and snorted and few times and on we went. We fished and on the way back we had to cross the creek again. This time Mr. Swimming Expert by now had to go first. We spent 30 minutes at that spot sitting on the bank and watching him play. He was in and out of the water. He would walk in, he would jump in, he would role in, we had the greatest time. he is a water not now perhaps a little unusual for a BC. My only regret is that we did not bring our camera. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skyler08 Posted June 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2008 Yeah, there is definitely no chlorine in it, just plain water from the hose. I don't actually let her do it for hours, I'm just assuming that she would if she was allowed. And we do have well water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silhouettestable Posted June 4, 2008 Report Share Posted June 4, 2008 I have some water loving, water-digging dogs too. Their big water bowl is set in a non-tipping stand, but whenever I have a new pup that's too tall so I put a shallow bucket on the floor. As soon as the pup starts to put feet into the water to dig or play I remove it as by then they're big enough to reach the bowl in the stand. Mine will also play in their water bucket in the backyard so I have the handle chained to something so it can't be dumped. For some reason, though they will occasionally dig in their kiddie pool they really don't do that often, it's usually if there's a toy or other object in there. Rain's kind of crazy when I go to empty the pool to change the water. I use a bucket to scoop the old water out and she will dive inside the bucket and start digging and splashing. Mine also like to drink from the bathtub faucet and today when they came in from outside and were crowding around Flurry hopped into the tub. Since he had muddy feet I put the stopper in to let him wash his feet and after he had a turn next thing Storm was in and started digging in the corner of the tub. Of course Rain had to get in and join the fun. I don't mind them playing like that as they are not obsessive about it. My most obsessive dog about water is Thunder and he doesn't dig, he just has a twice daily (at least) swim in the horse trough. Has anyone seen the new self-watering device for dogs? I can't remember now what store I saw them in, or if it was in a catalogue or store flyer, but it's a device meant to be mounted on your outside tap and the dog has to push a button or lever or something to make the water come out (like the water bowls for livestock). Can you just imagine a water-loving BC with it's own endless supply of fresh water squirting out? Even my new drilled well would end up drained I'm sure and the dogs would be wallowing in mud. It's one of those things that as soon as I saw it I thought "What were they thinking?" Never, never, never in a million years would I buy one of those things, I wouldn't even take it for free (despite the fact that I have an automatic waterer for the horses). Not for my dogs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenajo Posted June 5, 2008 Report Share Posted June 5, 2008 Yeah, there is definitely no chlorine in it, just plain water from the hose. I don't actually let her do it for hours, I'm just assuming that she would if she was allowed. And we do have well water. She will just dig at the water and bite at it for hours. Story changed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
painted_ponies Posted June 5, 2008 Report Share Posted June 5, 2008 Yet another thing BC can become compulsive about. Makes sense, though - I bet it has something to do with the way water reflects light. Faith doesn't dig in the water, but she will deliberately stick her head underwater to check out objects of interest on the bottom. She's not trying to grab or retrieve anything - she just likes looking around underwater sometimes. I wish I could find her a mask and snorkel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphys mom Posted June 8, 2008 Report Share Posted June 8, 2008 Murphy got a new pool today! It was nearly 90 and he spent all afternoon digging in the water, then digging in the dirt, then playing in the water again. He would start looking all clean and then decide to find somewhere to get dirty . Finally he had a bath in the pool with clean water and went to his crate to rest! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fotobridget Posted June 10, 2008 Report Share Posted June 10, 2008 I have one of those seriously obsessed water-splash loving dogs. He came that way, though, it wasn't ever encouraged. It's not cool, to be honest. I have a half acre of pond in my backyard so he can never be outside unsupervised (not that I would leave him out there by himself if there wasn't a pond out there) or outside when the other dogs are swimming. He's controllable as long as it's one on one out there and I'm keeping an eye on him, or if I have multiple dogs out in the grass under voice control, but he's extremely reactive to other dogs getting in the water. This means he has to be on leash in my own backyard if my other dogs are going to be swimming. It also means he can't go on offleash hikes or to dog parks where there's even a kiddy pool out for dogs to cool off in-- without major stress, anyway. Once he's in, he won't come out until his belly is visibly swollen from drinking so much water, and even then, he's dying to get back in. He swallows enough water with each splash that even if he's only in a pond ten minutes, he drinks enough that he'll need to go outside every fifteen minutes for the next five or six hours or pee on the floor inside. If he swallows any more than that, he'll lose control of his bladder. It's a training issue that could be fixed with a lot of work, but reactivity training is the priority for him and, as much as I would love to have him with us at dog park trips or on hikes, I'm just managing him for now. That said, I have a lovely training plan made up for a time when we can work with this involving Premack-style recalls from the pond and gradually increasing the distractions. I'd give a lot to have somehow had him when he was a puppy and stopped this behavior from becoming an obsession. It's a pain. This obsession has also generalized to bubbles and the water hose. He's just as nuts about both and since they're much more easily controlled than water, they aren't so bad. Completely off topic here--but can I ask what camera you used/what film speed? Your pictures are gorgeous! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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