Why doesn’t my dog swim?
Ellie’s first swimming attempt.
I brought my dog to the water, but she didn’t swim.
I thought that my dog would somehow already know how to swim. She looks like the type who would simply jump in and start swimming. Boy was I wrong!
It was a hot, humid day in South Florida. My skin was dripping with sweat. It seemed like a perfect day for a swim.
Ellie is approximately 15 months old. I’m not 100% sure of her age since she’s a rescue dog, but 15 months is definitely close to being accurate. We adopted her almost a year ago. She’s super playful, and is way past her clumsy puppy stage.
I thought that Ellie would innately know how to swim. I’m not sure what made me think that, but I did. I imagined her doing the doggy paddle, playing fetch in the water… all those things that I see other big dogs do.
Most dogs in our family have been smaller breeds. Ellie is a mix of Jack Russell and hound.
She walked up to the edge of the water… then ran away from it. I really had to convince her to get her feet wet. Once she did, she seemed to enjoy that. She wouldn’t go for a swim though.
After doing some research, I learned some great ways to ease her into swimming. Here’s some great expert advice that I’ve been using with Ellie!