Can boxers swim?

[sparsey]

I have a female fawn boxer and she doesn't swim. She loves the water, but won't swim. We had another boxer before this one and he didn't swim either. Can boxers swim? How do you teach them? I know my girl Ruby just loves the water, and I'd love to teach her to swim. She'll go out in the water and fetch a stick, but as soon as the water is too deep for her to touch bottom, she turns around and comes out of the water. Also, I've noticed that when she plays and runs, she pants for quite a while afterward. Is this normal for boxers? I hope I'm not overdoing it with the play and I figure if she's really tired she wouldn't play.

 

[PawPrintBoxers]

Yes they can

I actually have a friend whose Boxer loves to swim in the Delta. But my own Boxers are not too keen on water. Boxers can't swim as well as other dogs though some do give it a good effort

 

[Aimee]

Lexi likes to swim and loves the water she too however gets a little nervous when it is too deep. We've invested in life jackets this year as we will be right by the lake in our new house We are teaching Baxter to swim this summer. I will post and let you know how it goes!!

 

[nelson]

My two year old Nelson just loves the water!, but it took a bit of coaxing to get him to swim in water beyond his depth.

To teach him we took him to a dog "swimming pool" and used a floating ring (much like a frisbee) as enticement. Once that got his focus he very quickly got the hang of swimming and can easily keep his head and all of his neck out of the water with powerful swimming strokes.

To start them off, have them on a long lead and have someone else to hold a toy they really like a lot to get their attention. Get them into the water and have the toy holder walk/run around the pool holding the toy over the water just out of reach so the dog has to swim to go after it. The lead holder should be pulling on the lead "dragging" the dog forward through the water so it gets the idea of what to do and doesn't just flail away and sink. Once they get confident there's no stopping them and you can dispense with the lead pulling and even the lead all together.

Now when we go for a walk, if we are anywhere near a lake or the sea, we have to keep Nelson on lead because he will just take off for a swim. Not the best of things to do in the middle of winter, getting all cold, wet and muddy!

Interestingly, our other boxer, 8yo Natasha was always afraid of going beyond her depth and when we tried the swimming lessons (before we found out about the toy focus technique) she was a real sinker, Titanic 2! Paddle furiously with her front legs to no effect, no motion with her back legs, her head and chest would rise up, bum sink and then just slide backwards underwater, little bubbles rising from her nose as she headed towards the bottom. Then we had to pull desperately on the lead to get her to the surface again. Funniest thing you ever saw.

Now, however after seeing Nelson do so well she can suddenly swim! Wonders never cease! Not to be outdone by the younger dog, I think she decided to show she could do it if she really had too. So she has gone from being a fishing sinker and afraid of any depth beyond her chest for the first 8 years of her life to an accomplished swimmer overnight. Must be her mean streak

Anyway if you persist and use the right methods your dog can easily learn to swim and even love the water, although you have to watch them closely if the are off lead near rivers, lakes etc. They have no idea of the potential dangers and will happily leap in without a second thought.

 

[sparsey]

Nelson,
I got a kick out of your reply because it's just what Ruby does when she tries to swim. Head up, bum down and then she's a goner. It's so funny because for the longest time we thought she was swimming but she was just going along the bottom on her tippy toes!! I'm going to try some of these techniques when the weather gets a little warmer. Unfortunately we don't have a doggie pool here, but she will go in the water at the bay. I'm sure with her determination and absolute joy in playing in the water that we will be successful in teaching her to swim. Thanks for all the advice!

 

[juju]

my baby is a sinker too!i just cannot get him to float!he loves the water(as long as it's up to his neck)but he cannot swim at all!he goes to the bottom in a fraction of a second,sinks like a rock!he loves to go to the lake,and i really want to teach him to swim(even because we're moving to italy and will be living by the beach)!we even thought of buying a life jacket but have no clue on where to find them!so if anybody has bought it please let me know where!thanx.

 

[Ros Wilson]

Can Boxers Swim

Hi from Ros


All of my Boxers have swum without any problems - here in
New Zealand we have a great deal of coastline and I wonder
if it is more natural for the dogs to swim instinctively ?

If your dog is unsure you must accompany them out into the
water until they are confident on their own, the biggest
problem at a beach is when they swim out of "earshot"
that is when I have a quick mental panic ! I am cautious with
my girl Jessie - she has heart problems and I don't want a
problem with her in too deep water !!!

The dogs appear to learn by watching other dogs - my
daughters 1yr old Siberian Husky / Border Collie just ran
into the water and kept on moving her legs in the normal
running mode and found out she was swimming !! I was
more scared for her than she was !

If my old girl pants or gets puffed - I quieten her down just
so as to let her heart get back to the right pace - If you dog
is puffed it may pay to get a Vet check. Good Luck



Ros
Jessie and Gypsy

 

[cls]

We live on the Oregon coast and spend a lot of time playing at the beach. To my surprise and my 4 1/2 year old boxer girl named Ruby she was running at low tide and hit a low spot on beach with water in it deeper than we thought. Before she new it she was swimming with a very surprised look on her face. It is not her favorite thing to do but she will go into calm water and swim for a stick. She is real proud of her self when the other dogs won't fetch and she will.

 

[boxerprincess]

Princess swims like a champ

Princess and I are spoiled....we have a pool in the backyard and she swims almost daily.

She was terrified of the pool for the first few months, but slowly started dipping her feet in. The first couple of times she went in "all the way" I carried her in, then had her practice swimming back to the steps. When she got more confident, she'd only jump in off the steps, but now she will jump in from any side of the pool. Her favorite is to jump onto one of the floating loungers and then launch off of it into the pool.

She swims laps with me, and if I don't keep up the pace, she will greet me on the other side of the pool with a smug 'woof'.

 

[Alisha Mobley]

Originally posted by PawPrintBoxers
Boxers can't swim as well as other dogs though some do give it a good effort

Why not? I thought all dogs could swim if they learned early enough.:confused: