# V's and water



## harrigab (Aug 21, 2011)

Ruby has always been a bit dubious about going above ankle deep water,,,,so today on our walk i decided to take her up the river where I go salmon fishing. The only problem is that there is no bridge for a 5 mile stretch of the river so I decided to put on my chest waders (I never go that deep!) and cross some wide stretches of river that aren't too deep or fast flowing.....the first crossing I did, she was running up and down the banking looking very sorry for herself until she took the plunge and swam across to the other bank where i was, lots of treats and praise met her on the opposite bank! Next crossing point as soon as I stepped in the water, she was there with me and looking as though she was really quite enjoying it, hopefully that will stay with her now and she'll be able to come fishing with me ;D


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## Vizsla Baby (Nov 4, 2011)

That's great! How old is she? My 8th month old will only go elbow deep. I'm thinking about putting her in the pool with us this Spring & giving it a whirl.


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## jjohnson (Nov 9, 2011)

How old is Ruby? We've only tried with our pup when he was 12 weeks, and haven't tried since due to the cold. He was interested in the water at that time, but wouldn't actuallly swim. We are hoping he will swim because we are boaters and would love to take him swimming for exercise on boat trips!


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## Suliko (Sep 17, 2011)

That's a very brave Vizsla! I'm glad Ruby got over herself and took the plunge 

I tought Sophie how to swim. It took me 6 months (with winter inbetween) before she accidentaly stepped on a stone and lost ground for a few seconds. She freaked out but went right back. Last summer, I kept throwing sticks further and further until one day she went in and decided not to come back. I was worried at first, but then it happened again. After that, on our daily walks Sophie would spend about 20-30 mins swimming in the pond and chasing bugs. Would occasionally come out to say hi but then went right back in. I was VERY proud of her! Then later the temperature dropped, and it was a different story.

She still is not very fond of water. Doesn't like rain, shower, snow falling directly on her. Doesn't like to tak her baths... However extremely likes my bubblebaths! Go figure


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## Kobi (Oct 26, 2010)

The swimming will come.

Kobi was and still can be the biggest wimp when it comes to any form of precipitation. However, since my parents have a boat, I was DETERMINED that he was going to swim! Well, it took a lot of trying, a lot of patience, and maybe a few surprise tosses/dunks in the water, but he came to LOVE the water. Once in August my dad had barely dropped the anchor and he hopped in all by himself, before anyone else (he had NEVER got in on his own without anyone in the water). 

He can still be cautious in creeks and such, especially if it's cold, but he'll go in after a stick. He'll only go in JUST as far as he has to to reach the stick, then extend his neck out as far as it will go before carefully picking it from the water. 

I'm convinced that if Kobi can learn to love water, ANY dog should be able to.


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## harrigab (Aug 21, 2011)

Ruby is just coming up to 7 months old, but she's quite a big girl I suppose for her age, (about 22 inch now at the withers and weighing 42lbs), what I must stress though, is she's a wire/smooth cross, with quite a thick undercoat, so therefore more like a whv that's probably a bit more resilient to cold winter water than a smooth. But she swam well and showed great courage and desire to swim across the river ;D


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## DougAndKate (Sep 16, 2011)

I was out hiking with Elroy last weekend and I literally had to carry him across a small 5 foot wide creek that was only 4 inches deep. He's been in creeks other times, maybe it was the fact that it was about 20 degrees out! 

We tried pretty hard to get him in a baby pool when we first rescued him at about 4 months old, and he wanted none of it, even though it was blazing hot out. We'll try again this spring and summer. I'm hoping to get him used to it because I need a companion to fish with me


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## Suliko (Sep 17, 2011)

Kobi said:


> He can still be cautious in creeks and such, especially if it's cold, but he'll go in after a stick. He'll only go in JUST as far as he has to to reach the stick, then extend his neck out as far as it will go before carefully picking it from the water.


That's so Sophie! Her neck can be extremely long when she really really wants that stick  Still on a colder day not a chance she'll go in water!


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## harrigab (Aug 21, 2011)

Suliko said:


> Kobi said:
> 
> 
> > He can still be cautious in creeks and such, especially if it's cold, but he'll go in after a stick. He'll only go in JUST as far as he has to to reach the stick, then extend his neck out as far as it will go before carefully picking it from the water.
> ...


 that was soooooo Ruby earlier on today, I found a discarded water bottle that had been washed up on the bank,(which to be honest was a total shock to me, as it was right up in pristine water at near enough the river's source) and I tossed it into the water and she was craning her neck out so far to get it I thought she'd pop a vertebrae or two trying to reach it.


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## jakersmomma (Jan 3, 2010)

Give it time, our boy loves the water and jumps off the back of the boat and swims for hours. He spends every weekend of the summer on the boat and has adapted quite well, made quite a name for himself lol. Every year he is timid about jumping off the swim platform though. Don't give up!


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## Ozkar (Jul 4, 2011)

My boys have been swimming since about 7 months. Even winter time, although our temps are not as low as other regions, it still gets cold and they swam right through. It was so cold one day, Zsa Zsa got a cramp in her back leg. Thankfully while she was back on dry land and not in the middle of the lake!  Probably from the wind chill as it was windy that day.

None of mine are all that keen on waves though. They have all learnt to time it so they run in and back out before the next wave hits. But, in flat water of any type, they just swim almost endlessly. I actually have to call them back in to shore quite often, as Ozkar gets a sore tail if he over does the swimming.


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## redbirddog (Apr 23, 2010)

http://redbirddog.blogspot.com/2010/06/delta-princess-chloe.html

http://redbirddog.blogspot.com/2009/06/napa-river-dog-wonderland.html

http://redbirddog.blogspot.com/2009/06/napa-river-dog-wonderland.html

http://redbirddog.blogspot.com/2012/01/san-francisco-vizsla-beach-playground.html

http://redbirddog.blogspot.com/2009/12/south-lake-tahoe-water-dog-park.html

http://redbirddog.blogspot.com/2009/12/why-rookie-ownerhandler-can-beat-pros.html

Boats, Vizslas, rivers, lakes, beaches. They all go together just great.

"life isn't the breaths you take, but the moments that take your breath away."

RBD


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## jjohnson (Nov 9, 2011)

I don't mean to change the subject, but our water up here (Puget Sound) is very cold all year long (45-55 degrees). Our labs love swimming in it and don't get cold, but I am wondering if that will be too cold for Gus with his short coat?


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## Ozkar (Jul 4, 2011)

I took Astro and Zsa Zsa down to Phillip Island today. It is only 1.5 hours from my doorstep to Cowes, which is the largest town on the Island and some googling dug up a few reviews that Red Rock Beach was dog friendly. A friend with his dog also tagged along. It was a little dissapointing to arrive and find that dogs are allowed, but only before 10am and after 5pm. We threw caution to the wind and said screw it and entered the beach anyway. I'd far rather ask forgiveness than permission. 

The beach had a few families on it and as we were entering, there was another family with a Golden Retriever leaving the beach. They said they had been there for several hours without issue from anyone. So with that we had a little more confidence. We found a spot in front of some rocks where no one was sitting or swimming and waded in. My two followed me immediately. Astro did a quick U-turn though, as it was initially bloody cold. We Aussies would refer to it as "spanner water", as it tightens your nuts.

After Zsa Zsa and I swam out a little further, being away from the action changed Astro's mind and out he came. The water was dead flat, barely a ripple and you could see to the bottom in 15 or more ft of water. I have never been in still water like that swimming with the dogs before, so it was a new experience for me with them and a new experience for them. I could see in there eyes how exciting it was for them to have me swimming with them instead of staying on the bank like they are used to. We paddled about together for ages, coming back to the shallow water every now and then to catch our collective breaths.

My friend had said his dog would only stay in the shallow water as she doesn't really like swimming. But she came right out with my two and played as well. Not for as long, but she was still having a great time. 

Little Zsa Zsa and Astro would swim up to me and let me put my hands under there bellies to take a little weight off them and support them in the water. For which I would get a big Vizsla kiss or a pointer nudge. (Zsa Zsa isn't a big kisser. When she is feeling overly grateful or a little sooky, she will give me a kiss, but not often, so for her, a nudge under my chin is her kiss)

We stayed for about an hour and then went back into Cowes and had some fish and chips from the best fish and chip shop on the Island. I have raced bikes down at the Island for years, so have gotten to know the really great places to eat on Phillip Island. The fish and chip shop on the beach in Cowes is the one. It takes 40 minutes to get you fish and chips and it's not cheap, but ****, is it tasty  While waiting outside the f&c shop, I strategically positioned Astro to attract every cute girl who came past. It was successful.

We ate our lunch on a grassed area on the beach, under the shade of some huge native Pines. It was about 27 degrees by this stage as a cool change had come through. It was **** near perfect. Astro and Zsa Zsa got a little piece of the fish as a treat for being so good so far. 

Then we hopped back in the car and went over to the track to show my friend who had never seen it before. Then we walked down what can only be called a cliff face to get to the beach below. Surfers use this track to get down and have even installed a rope to assist. The dogs had no problems negotiating the extreme terrain. My friend was worried about them. I said they can go way more places than we can! 

At the bottom of the cliff is a small beach and then a rock platform leading out to the surf. We explored the rocks and rock pools for an hour or more. The dogs were way more adventurous than we were though. A few times I had to call little Zsa Zsa back before she got wiped out by a wave and dragged off the platform and into Bass Straight! 

We then went back to the sandy beach where the three dogs chased and wrestled each other and covered themselves in lots of sand to make sure the cars got a dosing of beach. 

We then kicked back for a while enjoying what is a truly spectacular view. It would probably come up on google maps if you wanted to see what it really looks like.

The climb back up was a breeze for the dogs, an effort for me, but a real challenge for my friend. He really struggles with anything which requires too much coordination.


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