# Kobi swimming!



## Kobi (Oct 26, 2010)

Well Kobi had a chance to swim two weekends ago... here are the results. First I tried to convince him to jump in... no luck, he wouldn't jump in to save my life (seriously, I faked drowning by going under). I may or may not have had my dad toss him off the boat.

Obviously he's a competent swimmer, he just doesn't care for it one bit at the moment.

This is Kobi not swimming:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBtTtPu58Ng

This is Kobi after I told my dad to throw him in:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6a4uWljU5nI

He swam straight to me and flailed his paws on top of my head at first, did not really help either of us any when he did that.


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## kellygh (Oct 25, 2010)

Hilarious! Pumpkin did the same thing with her legs the 1st time she actually needed to swim. These big long stilts smacking the water ;D She is a bit more graceful now. Yay, Kobi! Did he try for a 2nd time?


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## Kobi (Oct 26, 2010)

He has been in a few times, he still hates it. I think he went in twice that day. This past weekend, I practiced dipping him off the boat (glad I got that life jacket, that handle is STRONG) and giving him a treat each time. I probably dipped him in 5 times or so. I also had him lean on the back of the boat with his hind legs in the water and me holding him, and I gave him treats for that too. That did not last long though, obviously he wanted out.

I also found a beach we could walk in on. After some coaxing he went as far as he could without swimming, but no farther. That didn't last too long before he decided he was completely done with the water.

I posted those videos on Facebook and a friend of mine who has an Australian Shepard/Lab mix offered swimming lessons. Tonight I'm going to meet them at the park and hope that it is the encouragement Kobi needs to get swimming!


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

Loved the little videos of Kobi -- The deep water probably just scares him a bit, and really, you can't blame him. Probably the best approach is to gradually let him play in the shallow water and slowly grow more accustomed to it.

I once had a Bluetick Coonhound (Elly Mae) and my second husband and I taught her to love the water by throwing her tennis ball out a short distance. She would gladly go after it. Then we increased the distance of the throw, until she was going out so far that it scared ME. But after those early session by the lake shore, she always seemed to enjoy swimming for the duration of her twelve years on earth. I think the key is to make the experience fun and playful.


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## KashagLake (Sep 27, 2010)

How old is Kobi? Holly's just getting into the swimming thing now too. She just turned 7months, we started by throwing a stick out for her. She'll go in on her own now but likes starting off in the shallow end. It's funny...the first couple times she had this look of fear on her face but still kept going back for more! I'm sure Kobi will get the hang of it soon, try going in with him in the shallow part thats how we started off and she seemed to want to go in more if I was in the water with her.


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## Kobi (Oct 26, 2010)

Obviously this is going to take a lot more patience than I was expecting...

We went to the park last night with a friend. Their dog was happily jumping in the water, fetching sticks, etc. Kobi would go in up to his neck pretty much, then jump backwards til he was back in shallow water. He didn't want to swim.

At one point we thought it would be a good idea to toss the dogs off the dock. Well it seemed like a good idea. Her dog had already been in and he swam the 15 ft or so to get back on top of the dock. The dock was about 3 ft off the water so the dog can't just climb back up without swimming around. Then we tossed both dogs in at once. Hers swam around and back on top. Kobi was doing fine swimming, except he just stayed in one spot. I think because he could see me he thought he would just keep swimming in that one spot. He had the same look as before... head high up in the air, arms flailing, but he wasn't moving in any direction. After watching him for about a minute wondering what to do, I managed to lay down on the dock and reach down and pick him up out of the water (I could BARELY reach him. I was considering jumping it).

He didn't seem to care that he was thrown in the water, was definitely no worse off after the experience, but I'm not sure he would have got out on his own. I'm afraid he would have just flailed in that one spot until he got tired and gave up. Obviously I wouldn't let that happen, but it didn't really give me any hope for his swimming abilities.

I guess the good thing is that he does well on the boat, in part because I know he won't jump off. Still, it'd be nice to be able to get him to swim to shore to go potty.


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## jakersmomma (Jan 3, 2010)

How cute! The first video reminded me of Jake the first time we coaxed him off the back of the boat. He still hesitates and he's done it a bunch of times. My husband and I both took off from the back of the boat and just started walking out.....turning around a few times and saying really playfully "Cmon Jake, come on boy" with whistles and he just finally did it when he thought we were leaving him lol! When he did jump in, we clapped and made a really big deal of it. Now he struts his stuff from boat to boat when we are tied up, fell in between two boats this weekend and SCARED THE LIFE OUT OF ME! Our boat is not in the water yet so we were on a friends boat and my husband was up front on the bow untying lines and Jake usually helps so he went up the gunwales but their boat doesn't have as much of a rail and he fell in....was not hurt thankfully but I was freaking out. He just swam to the back of the boat, which was running but in neutral thank god. 

Kobi will get it, I wouldn't get discouraged. What size jacket did you end up ordering? Jake outgrew his this year!!! Too many goodies all winter. I looked and it was a small that I ordered. 

If anyone has a smaller Vizsla and wants the jacket, let me know!!! It's a Big Eddy Float Coat.


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## Kobi (Oct 26, 2010)

I got a Medium for Kobi, because that is what I thought you got for Jake ;D Oh well, it fits fine, even if he is on the small end of it.

You might see if JillAndDan is interested in your float coat. Holley is a female and might be a bit smaller so it may work for them for now.


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## jakersmomma (Jan 3, 2010)

I'm sorry, I did think of that when I looked at his life jacket this year!! I was shocked it was a small.....so are you saying the Medium is a tad big for Kobi? If that's the case, a medium may fit Jake perfectly. Jake is 56lbs now, a pretty big boy for the "runt" of the litter 

Keep me posted on Kobi's progress, I'll bet he's a swimmer by the end of the year.


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## Kobi (Oct 26, 2010)

It fits him fine, but he's definitely on the small side. It fit a lot better once I figured out I could overlap the bottom portions of the vest and tighten the straps. I think a Medium would probably be the last life jacket you'll have to buy for Jake.


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## Linescreamer (Sep 28, 2010)

I didn't read all the details on this thread but I did read "throw him off the boat". This is a very bad idea, for many reasons, which I'm sure most of you can surmise.  A side note: -> in most situations, dogs do not need life jackets - they can swim.


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## JillandDan (Sep 8, 2010)

I am sure that they all can swim but I have read that very lean dogs/low body fat dogs have a hard time staying afloat. Also, our breeder said that when a V is tired and done with swimming, they will just stop and sink. I would feel alot better know that she has the vest on in the river. Just my opinion.


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## Linescreamer (Sep 28, 2010)

JillandDan said:


> I am sure that they all can swim but I have read that very lean dogs/low body fat dogs have a hard time staying afloat. Also, our breeder said that when a V is tired and done with swimming, they will just stop and sink.


The above statement is ridiculous!


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## Kobi (Oct 26, 2010)

I think you are right Jill. Just like anything else, I could see a Vizsla stopping when tired. I see no reason to risk it.

Besides, it's really a safety thing when you're on a boat. It IS possible for the dog to get knocked off the boat for some reason, fall off the dock, etc., and it's also possible they could be injured in a way that would hamper their swimming ability. Better safe than sorry. I wouldn't take my dog out on open water without a life jacket.


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## Bellababy (Mar 31, 2010)

my Bella is a real water baby and a very good swimmer, she has been swimming in the Lake today, can't keep her out. However she would not jump in to water that she didn't know the depth of, she has to walk into shallow water and then eventually she will go out her depth and swim, usually to retrieve a stick. I would never throw her in out of her depth because I have known other people do this with their dogs, and its only resulted in a frightened dog. I would encourage your dog to chase a stick or something and I would let him walk into shallow water and then gradually go deeper. Maybe my advice is wrong, but if you could see how much my Bella loves water, and how well she swims, its worked for us.


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

Well, you know, it's always something... I just have to put in my two-cents about playing with sticks. A good friend of mine had a beautiful, smart Border Collie named Plato who used to love to fetch sticks from the lake. One fateful day, Plato got the stick stuck in his throat. It ripped his esophagus badly. Surgery followed, but to no avail. Plato died from the stick injury. So I would just encourage everyone to use floatable toys for this purpose, rather than sticks. If it happened once, it could happen again. When Willie finds a stick out in the back yard, I trade him a toy for the stick, and then throw the stick into the compost bag, which gets set out to the curb every Wednesday.


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## JillandDan (Sep 8, 2010)

I understand that Linescreamer doesn't agree. I looked and found the information on lean dogs a couple different places before I started to believe it even a little. However, I totally believe the breeder since she has seen it first hand. She said that if they are tired, they will just stop whatever they are doing, including swimming. 
Kobi,
I agree 100%. Better safe than sorry when it comes to the boat or docks. I don't want her to panic if she falls in and not realize to swim. That is my main reason for the vest. 
mswhipple,
There was just a story on the news the other week about a gsp that got a stick lodged and it actually punctured the heart. The owner left the stick for fear of further damage and they performed emergency surgery and she is healing. I always trade Holley a treat for sticks when she picks them up during walks. You never know.


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## Kobi (Oct 26, 2010)

Unfortunately I always throw sticks for Kobi in the water, since there is about a 10% chance of him bringing them back, 0% if the water is at least 2 ft deep  In the yard I'll give him toys, with the understanding that it may be ME fetching them and not him ;D


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## JillandDan (Sep 8, 2010)

We found a really cool flying fish toy for the water. I am dying to try it. It has a bungee cord thing in it that you stretch out and send it flying. I think they still have them at Petco/Petsmart. We are going to try to keep with those kind of things to prevent any injuries from the sticks. We will probably have to go in after the toys as well since Holley doesn't always play fetch with us. Sometimes she just takes it and runs.


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## Kobi (Oct 26, 2010)

Well, he finally managed to go swimming on his own.

This past Saturday we went to a nearby pond. It was pretty warm (90 or so), and he actually had no problem swimming out. I walked out a bit til he couldn't touch anymore and he just followed me. Definitely has a lot more confidence than he used to! The only problem is that he would keep trying to swim to me and then climb on top of me once he got there.

Next step will be to get him to jump off the back of the boat when I'm in the water... I'm sure that will take a while. I don't feel so bad about putting him in the water though now that I know he's comfortable swimming .


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## jakersmomma (Jan 3, 2010)

Great news!! Jake used to climb up on us as well, it hurts pretty bad with their nails. Luckily, he doesn't do that anymore. Kobi will probably stop once he gets more comfortable in the water. Also, try getting a little blow up raft that looks like a boat and tie it to the back of the boat. Sit in it and coax Kobi to jump in the raft. We were out this past weekend and Jake is scared to jump off the back of the boat....perhaps he forgot that he used to all the time!!! He will however jump into the raft and then shimmy out of it into the water. Quite cute actually. He also will relieve himself in this raft as I don't think dogs will pee in the water unless they are touching bottom. (at least in my experience) Hope this helps!!

Jake spent the entire weekend on the boat and he was exhausted when we got home last night. Swam like a fool, great way to wear them out!


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## Kobi (Oct 26, 2010)

I think I'll just let him float around on the tube. Hopefully that is good enough for him  It is completely flat but pretty good size so it should be somewhat stable. I would definitely prefer that he did NOT pee on it, but it will probably happen since he pees just about anywhere else.

It is one of these:
http://www.amazon.com/Kwik-Tek-Slic...e=UTF8&s=sporting-goods&qid=1307373610&sr=8-6


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