Swimming?

[ColliesRock]

So we have a pool at our house and I want to see if my border collie will swim with me. I'm just afraid to put her in there,but then she drown. Can all border collies swim or do you have to teach them? How do you teach them if you have to? Thanks!

[GentleLake]

Before putting her in the pool, which I assume has steep sides, I'd take her somewhere like a lake, pond or stream where there are shallow shores and take her in there.

 

Many border collies love to swim (mine does!) and will go in on their own, or maybe with some coaxing from you. You could go out and encourage the dog to follow.

 

You didn't mention how old (or large) your dog is. If she's just a pup, you could carry her into the pool and support her. I'd still recommend allowing her to check out water in a shallow area on her own first, though.

[Camden's Mom]

Swimming is fantastic exercise for your pup and I think encouraging her to swim in your pool is a great idea! It seems to me that most dogs learn how to swim pretty naturally. However, just like people, some love the water and some don't. The key here will be making the introduction to water very positive.

 

I agree with GentleLake's idea of trying to introduce her to swimming in a shallow lake or pond. Putting her right into a deep pool could be rather frightening. As a puppy my boy loved to play in a shallow creek but when we first introduced him to swimming at a nearby lake he was very nervous once his feet weren't touching the ground. We used his favorite toy, a tennis ball, to lure him just a teensy bit further out each time. I remember one time, early on, I threw it way too far and I figured we were going to have to leave the ball in the water... no way he was going to swim out that far! When a nearby lab decided he'd retrieve it for us, Camden shed all of his fears and swam out to get that ball before the lab could. I still have no idea how he beat a lab in a swimming race, especially since the lab had a head start, but I guess competition breeds excellence.

 

If you do not have a lake, beach or pond nearby you could purchase a kiddie swimming pool. Play with her in it and get her excited about being in water she can stand in. Maybe from there play with her on the steps on the shallow end of the pool and try to lure her further in as she gets more comfortable. The most important thing is that you not force her to go in if she's really scared.

 

My boy, who was a strong swimmer at the time, was very frightened about going into my sister's pool. The steep edges and sudden change of depth is very different from a gradual slope going into a lake. I had to be in the pool for him to come in and once he was in the pool he panicked that he wouldn't be able to get out. I just calmly supported him under his belly and steered him towards the shallow end steps each time. It took less then fifteen minutes of doing this for Camden to understand exactly where the exit from the pool was and he spent the rest of the weekend happily swimming with us.

 

I hope your girl ends up being a fish in fur!! Swimming with a dog is great fun!

[ColliesRock]

Thanks! And she is 5 years old and about 35-40 pounds. We got her from the HELP Shelter. She is really nice and fun to play with!

[gcv-border]

One other piece of advice once you have your dog swimming: As Camden's Mom pointed out, make sure she knows where the steps are to get out of the pool. I can imagine that a dog could panic if they couldn't figure their way out of the pool. I have heard that you should put some sort of PERMANENT marker as a target at the steps. The marker could be a small flag on a pole or whatever you think you can fasten to the pool so it doesn't move.

[juliepoudrier]

^^Agreed with the above. My dogs have been swimming in pools before and making sure they really know how to get out is critical. There are platforms specially made for dogs, or as noted above, teach her to always go to the steps. Last, consider a flotation vest at least while she's being acclimated to the pool. with a vest, she's at least less likely to get in trouble while you teach her how to get out.

 

P.S. If this is an above-ground pool (or an in-ground pool without a shallow end and built-in steps) then you probably will have to rig something up to make it easier for her to get out. The regular metal human steps wouldn't be very useful for a dog.

 

J.

[ColliesRock]

P.S. If this is an above-ground pool (or an in-ground pool without a shallow end and built-in steps) then you probably will have to rig something up to make it easier for her to get out. The regular metal human steps wouldn't be very useful for a dog.

 

J.

It is a above ground pool :/. What could I use as steps for her?

[Camden's Mom]

make sure she knows where the steps are to get out of the pool. I can imagine that a dog could panic if they couldn't figure their way out of the pool.

 

Yes, this is incredibly important. When Camden finally summoned up the courage to take his first plunge into my sister's swimming pool he went into a panic the instant he hit the water. He swam right past me and tried to pull himself up on the side of the pool in a frenzy. I made sure I was in the pool with him the first time we encouraged him to go in, so I assure you he was never in any danger. However, left to his own devices, I'm pretty certain he'd have drowned trying to pull himself out of that pool.

 

It is a above ground pool :/. What could I use as steps for her?

 

I just did a quick Google Image search for "above ground pool dog ramp" and tons of stuff came up! I'm sure there is a design or style that would work well for your girl.

 

Take a look! http://www.google.com/search?q=above+ground+pool+dog+ramp&client=safari&rls=en&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=ORxpU9jYEZCGogSBnYGAAQ&ved=0CEwQsAQ&biw=1255&bih=598