Last weekend Keeda and I went to the river. The amount of salt in the water was greatly reduced from that of the beach and there were barely any waves at all. Keeda gladly swam after sticks, swam around with other dogs, and just had a lot of fun splashing around. She didn’t seem to have any of that apprehension that she did at the beach. I contribute this to two potential factors:

• No waves
• Less salt

At the beach, Keeda usually manages to swallow some water somehow and gets a salty string of drool running from her mouth. She hates it. At the river, though the water still had a bit of salt in it, it didn’t bother her much at all.

The dogs at the river also didn’t have waves higher than them sweeping toward them – Keeda was more than happy to swim a reasonable distance away from the shore.

So – if your dog doesn’t like swimming at the beach, consider taking it to a river or lake instead.

Your Dog’s First Swim

If your adult dog or puppy has never actually swam before, it might get quite wary of going into the water and swimming. The first time we took Keeda to the dog beach she was afraid to touch the water! We had to literally coax and even carefully dunk her in for her to see that no harm will come from a little swim. She still doesn’t like big waves, but happily runs in the water chest-deep at the dog beach and swims freely at the nearby pond. Unless your dog is a known water-loving breed (and even then you can’t be 100% certain!), don’t expect your dog to hop on in at the first sight of water.

Different dog owners take different approaches when it comes to their dogs’ first swim. Some lure their dog in, some wait for the dog to get curious and wade in by itself, others choose to physically put their dog into the water and let it go (all dogs can swim, unless they’re injured of course). How you introduce your dog to the water really depends on your training method and, most importantly, your dog’s temperament. Some dogs handle stress better than others.

Underwater Debris Safety for Swimming Dogs

If you and your dog are going on a trip to water you’re unfamiliar with, make sure that the surface where your dog will enter the water is free from sharp debris and bottles. Preferably the water will be clear and you’ll be able to see if it’s safe for your dog to wade in. Be very careful if the water is muddy and you can’t see where your dog is going!

Staying Safe in Lakes

If a lake has a strong unpleasant odor, if you can see dead fish, or if you see large growths (“blooms”) of algae (especially blue-green algae) on the lake, steer clear! These can indicate bacteria that may be harmful to you and your dog.

Dogs and the Pool

Some dogs are lucky enough to grow up around a pool, which is great! You can introduce them to the water when they’re young (although remember that you might need to help them get out and learn where the stairs are when they’re small). If chlorine agitates your dog’s skin, you can rinse them off with fresh water after the swim.

Going for a swim can be a great day for your dog to cool off on a hot day and swimming coupled with water resistance can prove to be a great exercise session for your dog.

JTDNTB from the Australian Purebreed & Crossbreed Dog Forum kindly allowed me to post some photos of her dog Bailey at the river, check them out:

Despite being over 6 years old, Blaze is still a ball of energy. He can go on a 15km cycling trip with no problem.

Keeping Blaze in shape is what motivates Lisa to go out and exercise with him. Lisa grew up with a very overweight dog in the family, whose quality of life suffered due to his unhealthy weight. And while Lisa didn’t want their dog to be unhealthy, she had no say in the dog’s health as he was a family dog. So now that Lisa has Blaze, she makes sure that he is in his peak physical condition and stays in the ideal weight range.

Lisa and Blaze’s favorite activity is hiking.

I love it and he loves it. He is offleash running around swimming, playing with his 2 buddies we hike with. It’s beautiful out there, not a soul for miles. Just me, my friend and the dogs. We do about 5-8kms those days (and we do it about 3-5 days a week)
– Lisa

They also swim regularly, which provides many benefits:

Swimming is great on the bones and muscles, its a low key activity meaning its not hard on his joints like running, but is much more tiring.
– Lisa

When cycling, Lisa chooses not to use a bike attachment for Blaze. Blaze runs along off-leash as Lisa cycles and when needed Lisa ties the leash to the bike. This system works for them, so they have no need for a dog bike attachment.

Many dog owners are hesitant to get their dog into a dog sport like Agility because they feel that the dog is too old or too slow or not well trained enough. The key to remember is that Agility is first and foremost about fun, and Lisa gave some great advice to dog owners who are considering getting into Agility:

We have just started. So we are still in classes. I started Blaze the day he turned 6. So I say to owners who are afraid, don’t be. Classes are lots of fun, no dog is too old to start.
– Lisa

Lisa and Blaze switch things up when it comes to keeping fit so much, that Blaze doesn’t get a chance to get bored from any one activity. This is a great idea for dogs who may be easily bored of a certain activity – pick a few fun dog exercise activities to do and switch them up. When your dog seems to stop enjoying one thing, move on to the next. It never hurts to try new things.

Doing all of these activities with Blaze keeps Lisa fit as well. After all, it takes one fit human to keep up with a fit Collie.

There may be a day when all this fun activity has to stop for heath reasons for him. So I want to make the most out of his days for him and I.
– Lisa

Thanks a lot to Lisa for sharing her and Blaze’s dog fitness experiences and tips with us. If you have a dog, tell us how the two of you keep fit by sending an email to info@1fitmutt.com. Check out some photos in the gallery below: