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The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

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Original poster

To cold to swim

27 replies

ChairRider4 · 17/10/2015 15:45

Am asking as my boy jumped into the river with his normal joy and had good swim .Then someone started muttering that it's to cold for dogs to swim and will make him I'll

He is a Labrador if that makes any difference

OP posts:

Noitsnotteatimeyet · 17/10/2015 16:12

Errrr ... His breed comes from northern Canada- I suspect he could cope with rather lower temperatures than we get in the UK in October

My dog (another Canadian breed) swam all year round last year. He's very slim so has virtually no body fat to keep him warm. When it was bitterly cold I'd keep the swimming sessions short and popped a fleecy drying coat on him on the way home. He loves swimming and would be miserable if he couldn't for nearly half the year. Your lab will be fine

lavendersun · 17/10/2015 16:20

We used to live on Chesapeake Bay in the US (near DC), my labrador used to jump off the end of the garden every day for a swim, all year round, even in sub zero temps.

hellhasnofurylikeahungrywoman · 17/10/2015 16:26

My son went swimming in a Scottish river at the beginning of the month so I doubt very much that it is too cold for a breed from Northern Canada to swim. Our very skinny spaniel loves to swim and I have no plans to keep him out of the water but will be investing in a drying coat for him. Our old Lab swam almost daily and lived to be 14 so I don't think it did him any harm, he even swam when there was ice on the edges.

Original poster

ChairRider4 · 17/10/2015 16:58

Thank you

Wanted to check was not harming him .Think he be more miserable if he could not flung himself into water and have a swim he loves it so much

He would try to swim in a puddle if he could ??

OP posts:

daisydotandgertie · 17/10/2015 17:04

Of course it's not too cold for a Labrador to swim! They will happily swim when it's below freezing. The only possible consequence is swimmers tail, but although painful it passes quite quickly.

daisydotandgertie · 17/10/2015 17:06

The double coat they have been bred to have is to enable them to swim in all weathers.

lavendersun · 17/10/2015 17:19

You missed a bit daisy ....

the double coat that the cover the world, their owner and their owner's home in has been bred .......

daisydotandgertie · 17/10/2015 17:40

Whoops! So I did.

And it's not as though we're short of it in this house .....

lavendersun · 17/10/2015 17:59

Well done for deciphering daisy - obvs should have been that they cover the world in!

MsAdorabelleDearheartVonLipwig · 17/10/2015 20:22

Thousands of labs up and down the country are throwing themselves in and out of water all winter during the shooting season. That's what's they're bred for. And no, they don't all live outside in kennels, some of them are quite pampered house pets.

ender · 17/10/2015 21:00

My lab is a pampered 'show type' lab and loves swimming in freezing weather. One winter the river froze and he had a lovely time swimming through the gaps and collecting chunks of ice to bring back to me.

honeyroar · 17/10/2015 23:38

Both my labs adore water and don't care how cold it is. However, as they've got older I've noticed a big difference in their joints when they have been in cold water, with them getting stiff or lame the day after. So I try to limit them to warmer weather swims nowadays.

Wolfiefan · 17/10/2015 23:40

Labs and water! Honey we bought our old cat a whelping heated pad to help with arthritis. Could that help your dogs?

honeyroar · 17/10/2015 23:40

Ps, Ender that would scare me to death having a dog in frozen water. I wouldn't risk my dogs in that for anything, whether they were bred for N American ice or not. (I'm hopefully picturing something very different from what you actually mean).

honeyroar · 17/10/2015 23:42

Thanks Wolfiefan, it's something we've been thinking about lately.

Funny how labs don't like bath water though!

lavendersun · 18/10/2015 08:38

Ours used to swim in ice too. Because our house was waterfront Lavenderdog swam under supervision after she had been home just over a week.

First proper swim at 11 weeks old, DH was so proud I thought he was going to cry .

Noitsnotteatimeyet · 18/10/2015 08:57

Such a cute photo

YogaDrone · 18/10/2015 09:07

that's a gorgeous photo lavendersun

Our lab is 18 months now and loves swimming. She was swimming in the lake nearby yesterday morning and will probably be swimming again today.

Unlike Lavenderdog our lab didn't take to swimming until she was about a year old - she just paddled but never took the plunge but now it's hard to keep her out She does not like the hose down when she gets home though!

Floralnomad · 18/10/2015 10:08

I have a patterdale x and he swims at every oppurtunity and if he can't swim he makes do by wallowing in large muddy puddles like a hippo .

lavendersun · 18/10/2015 10:16

I am sure that Lavenderdog must have been gutted when we left that house , she is now an old lady of 11. Amazing how the years fly by.

We had such fun with her on the water, we used to take her in our kayak across the bay and in a little (tiny) sail boat we had. I insisted on her wearing a doggy life jacket for deeper water, DH thought I was bonkers .

Yes Floral, she makes sure to find, and splash in anything remotely big enough, even now.

MsAdorabelleDearheartVonLipwig · 18/10/2015 10:39

My lab is only eight months old but so far he doesn't like water. He even walks round puddles, the wuss. Not sure if he's a real lab!

hellhasnofurylikeahungrywoman · 18/10/2015 12:08

Our Lab was like that MsAdorabelle he refused any contact with water until we were out for a walk one evening, we were one side of the river and his mum and sister were the other. He stood barking hello as mum and sister swam about refusing to get in until his mum swam over, got out, came up to him and showed him the way. After that day he would ask to swim at every opportunity.

hellhasnofurylikeahungrywoman · 18/10/2015 12:10

He was around 12-15 months at the time.

FetaComplete · 18/10/2015 12:18

Mine swims in all temperatures and can have little icicles clinking on his chest in winter.

SweetLathyrus · 18/10/2015 15:56

I would have been hard pressed to keep my working cocker out of the river today. I trust him to know if it's too cold (mind you, he does have fluff for brains sometimes).

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