Boxers and Water?

[Rushing]

Thanks for all the feed back I really want him to enjoy the water but I'm not gonna force him. I do alot of fishing and boating and want him along so I'll be getting a lifevest for him soon.
Thanks
Rob
------------------------------------------------------------
Pround Papa of Gibson A tiger striped Brindle male with cropped ears and tail.

 

[diego's heart]

Monkey see - monkey do!

Rushing,
A good boxer owner friend suggested having the dog watch a "seasoned" swimmer do it. It's my intention to try it this summer, but I won't push it. We live close to a nice lake, and so far he'll just creep to the shore, which is an improvement. He steps over puddles and generally doesn't like to get his feet wet. -Lisa

 

[juju]

athos sinks to the bottom faster than a rock!!he loves the water just as long as it's up to his chest!so we were thinking of buying a life jacket for him,does anybody know if they actually help them float?even if they go down like the titanic?will that help them?

 

[Lisa M]

Diego's mom - Casper lives with a real water dog, our lab, she will fetch balls from the pool to the point of exhaustion, it has not made a bit of difference to Casper. Boxers are fast learners though, but I suspect many that see a dog swimming and imitate the behavior will wind up like the story that Susan described - a one time event, some will flail and swim back but others do sink so be ready with the life vest.

Casper swims the same way you described, Susan, he stays up but it is definately a sight to see. Legs splashing in every direction and he looks really paniced. I feel so sorry for him flailing around looking for the edge of the pool, I always dive in and "save" him! :rolleyes: Of course, his falling into the pool and hating it, has done nothing to get him to slow down when he is running all around it which is what always causes him to fall in to begin with.

 

[wildchild]

My parents had two boxers that loved water! They have an inground pool, you would be sitting inside and hear a loud splash. The boxers would be in the pool!!

 

[sparsey]

Ruby also loves the water, but can't swim. She has some brave moments though and it's quite funny to watch. For the longest time we thought she was swimming and then we got in the water to check and she was on her tippy toes walking across the bottom. She loves the hose too and loves to play in the river. As for the deep water, I guess it will have to wait until summer when we can try to teach her to swim. Even if she can't swim, she still enjoys the water, especially on a hot day. Nothing cools a hot boxer off like a romp in the river or a splash with a hose.

 

[diego's heart]

Casper's Mom - I appreciate the heads up. If and when Diego tries his hand at swimming, I won't hold my breath We were at the park last night, and while chasing after another boxer buddy traypsing through a puddle, of course he leaped over the obstacle instead!

 

[Dnmeistr]

My two year old Reeses absolutely craves water so much that I have to be careful when walking her off leash, if someone is using a garden hose she will want to run up to it and try to eat the water. And she likes to play at the waters edge but won't go in, just run around and in the process drinks the water which seems to go right through her as she pees alot when around water. When it comes to bath time all I have to do is point to the bath tub and she jumps in. Also you should watch out for ear infection, the first time we went to the lake Reeses acquired an ear infection, so now if she gets her ears wet, when we get home I flush out her ears with a ear infection solution.

Dennie

 

[tpobrien]

I would totally have to agree with "mokey see monkey do" notion.

My 10 month old boxer, Nugget, has grown up with a water-loving balck lab... when we take them to the lake, Nugget will swim her little heart out trying to keep up with him.

By herself, she sticks to chest high water. But she can not resist the challege of getting to that ball before Cole.

I would encourage you to be patient as you teach your baby to swim... if you are going to be around water and if it is a part of your lifestyle, you want to ensure that your dog is familiar with the water and able to swim themselves to safety in the event of an emergency.

tpobrien

proud mama of Nugget, 10 month, fawn flashy, natural ears.

 

[sharron]

swimming boxers

Our last five boxers loved to swim. Casey is the first boxer that we've had that was never in the water, but we got her when she was three. I still want to try to get her in, but I'm not hopeful that she will go.
Our other dogs all loved the water so much. One boxer, Ruby, used to go crazy whenever we went near a lake, she couldn't wait to get out of the car and jump right in. Another boxer, Prince, used to go out with the neighborhood kids down to the creek, (when we lived in Tennessee) and they taught him to grab the rope with his mouth and swing on the rope with them and drop into the water. He absolutely loved it and whenever he heard those kids coming he would go nuts trying to get out of the house. He finally learned how to open the front door himself so that he didn't have to wait for us anymore. They were all great swimmers, and would swim out for sticks for hours if we let them.
Ruby would even jump off of the diving board with us. We were always going swimming, so whenever we got another dog, they just went swimming with us. They all learned as puppies.