Boater dogs

[IainW]

that comic is awesome :-)

 

bodger - those dogs are clearly in need of boat adventures. Please ensure you arrange this asap!

 

our wee pup is getting comfy with boat life, although i'm slightly concerned by the size of her paws that 'wee' may not be used for much longer!

 

[Ron T]

Lovely dogs all of em.Twizzle looks like she might be going to get spoilt but she really would deserve it! lovely little[for the time being untill she grows into those feet]dog.

[Alan de Enfield]

Here is our "Pugly"

He has only (so far) fallen in once when jumping across the gap to the towpath and misjudged the distance

 

Strangely - he floats in the 'vertical' position with the 'waterline' being just below his mouth / nose

 

[Starcoaster]

Ahh, a pug! They're wrong, but I like them a lot. Personality like no other dog!

Brachycephalic dogs rarely swim effectively and you need to be very careful around water with them- the odd position he had in the water being fairly common with pugs and bulldogs (though bulldogs generally sink like a stone). They don't have the right balance and facial structure to swim and breathe at the same time!

Edited October 31, 2012 by Starcoaster

[Nightwatch]

Starcoaster.

 

We have a Rescue Staffie. He has bben in once (misjudging the gap!) He swam like a brick, with just his nose and mouth out of the water.

 

We have been told that it's because of his muscle mass not being very buoyant.

 

Any thoughts. I know.

 

Martyn

[GSer]

Spike and (the now late) Molly

 

 

And new dog Dudley (a couple of months back now)

 

 

Dudley in his latest incarnation as 'Dudley the Devil Dog'

 

 

Crap photo but you get the gist!

[BargeeSpud]

 

We have been told that it's because of his muscle mass not being very buoyant.

 

Any thoughts. I know.

 

Martyn

Its not just muscle mass, bone density plays a role too. For example, the African races have a greater bone density than Caucasian races which is why you don't see any star Olympic swimmers from those nations.

 

Maybe Staffies & Bull Terriers simply have denser bones than the Labs & Spaniels of this world. Any vets out there who can confirm this theory?

Edited October 31, 2012 by Spuds

[Nightwatch]

Its not just muscle mass, bone density plays a role too. For example, the African races have a greater bone density than Caucasian races which is why you don't see any star Olympic swimmers from those nations.

 

Maybe Staffies & Bull Terriers simply have denser bones than the Labs & Spaniels of this world. Any vets out there who can confirm this theory?

I've heard that also.

 

Our last Staffie was a bitch (female,girlie etc). Although she didn't like the water, when she went in she could swim.

 

She was of a slighter build. George is probably better at non aquatic pastimes.

 

Martyn

[MaryP]

 

 

Here are a few, I have so many!

Edited October 31, 2012 by Mary P

[Starcoaster]

Starcoaster.

 

We have a Rescue Staffie. He has bben in once (misjudging the gap!) He swam like a brick, with just his nose and mouth out of the water.

 

We have been told that it's because of his muscle mass not being very buoyant.

 

Any thoughts. I know.

 

Martyn

 

 

Yep, I should maybe have mentioned it's not just brachycephalics that are often not able to swim. TBH until I started in practice I had been of the understanding that all dogs could swim, but apparently not!

Brachycephalics generally can't swim due to the fact that the flatness of the face means that they cannot both maintain a horizontal position and keep their muzzle above the water for any length of time. Some dogs of these breeds that have longer muzzles than is often considered the show standard 'norm' or desirable (don't get me started on Kennel Club breed standards and what they've done to dogs...) are more successful than others!

 

Other dogs can't swim for a different reason, being both the weight and balance of their head and sometimes chest relative to the rest of them.

Bulldogs are fecked in both directions- giant head and brachycephalic. It would be a physical impossibility for a bulldog to swim, but with most other breeds that similarly have a dense and heavy head in relation to the body, it seems that a few can but most can't. Dogs like Staffies and other breeds with heads that are both relatively large and dense (not always a problem in breeds which are large but not heavy boned) often have a problem too, but as mentioned, smaller ones can often swim, though I would say most cannot, or at least not comfortably.

[fee666]

Our English Bull Terrier deffinatley can not swim. He does not use his back legs for some reason

he fell of the back of our old boat once and just went under came up again then went back down,

you could see the panic in his eyes and it was a very frantic time to get him back onboard.

 

We had only had him for 3 weeks and thought for a moment that he would drown!

It was very scary and not something we ever want to go through again.

I got him a life jacket but he hates it and once on he will not move at all, which is not very nice

for him. So we keep him on his harness and lead when he's on the back of the boat. At least we know that he's safe

and happy!

 

That was nearly 4 years ago and he still loves his boating but he is now going blind so this brings other challenges for him.

[Jamboat]

Our new crew member, Lola, 10 weeks old, moved on board today. Any hints & tips for helping her settle, especially during the night

 

[GSer]

Keep her warm and safe in a cage or pen, try not to pander to her whining, but for the first few days you could put the cage in the bedroom area if it all gets too much for you or Lola.

 

A rug or blanket with the smell of her mum rubbed on it can help and Plenty of safe soft toys can settle her down helping her with the shock of being removed from her pack

 

Good luck

 

Remember she's just a baby and as such knows nothing about right or wrong!

[Jamboat]

Keep her warm and safe in a cage or pen, try not to pander to her whining, but for the first few days you could put the cage in the bedroom area if it all gets too much for you or Lola.

 

A rug or blanket with the smell of her mum rubbed on it can help and Plenty of safe soft toys can settle her down helping her with the shock of being removed from her pack

 

Good luck

 

Remember she's just a baby and as such knows nothing about right or wrong!

 

A crate is being picked up tomorrow as the one we got is far too big, she is having naps in a cat carrier at the moment

 

 

 

it is hard to ignore the whining !

[Starcoaster]

This article on crate training might help:

 

http://www.pets4homes.co.uk/pet-advice/crate-training-your-dog-or-puppy.html

[Jamboat]

This article on crate training might help:

 

http://www.pets4home...g-or-puppy.html

 

Thanks Starry, looks like a good article, I do want to get this right.

 

 

 

[Jamboat]

'it is hard to ignore the whining ! '

 

So Lola spent most of the night snuggled up in bed with us, probably not a good idea ......

[BargeeSpud]

Keep her warm and safe in a cage or pen.....

Sorry, I can't believe that suggestion! I find the concept of caging a puppy in its home quite horrendous. I can only accept caging a dog for the purpose of travelling in a car where it can help it to feel secure & safe.

 

No, caging a dog within the home is for the convenience of the owner & quite frankly, I'd suggest that anyone who thinks this is normal behaviour should seriously question their suitability to even own a dog!

 

 

'it is hard to ignore the whining ! '

 

So Lola spent most of the night snuggled up in bed with us, probably not a good idea ......

Better that than a Freakin' cage!!!!

[GSer]

Sorry, I can't believe that suggestion! I find the concept of caging a puppy in its home quite horrendous. I can only accept caging a dog for the purpose of travelling in a car where it can help it to feel secure & safe.

 

No, caging a dog within the home is for the convenience of the owner & quite frankly, I'd suggest that anyone who thinks this is normal behaviour should seriously question their suitability to even own a dog!

 

 

 

Better that than a Freakin' cage!!!!

 

 

 

Not all boats are safe to let a brand new puppy roam over night, as i said, keep it SAFE and warm, i made pens for all my puppies but they all included a cage for those times you can't give the puppy 100%. The latest puppy slept in a cage for the first few nights quite happily, then he happily slept in the open cage in the pen after that. The older dog, as a puppy was very similar.

 

Horrendous to me is leaving a brand new puppy free to roam and endanger themselves overnight.

 

As for my suitability to own dogs, once you know me and my dog history & you see how they are treated, then you can make judgement, rather than some silly little rant passing judgment over me on the evidence of one post on the internet expressing my honest opinion haveing just raised two puppies on a boat.

 

Paul

[Guest]

Sorry, I can't believe that suggestion! I find the concept of caging a puppy in its home quite horrendous. I can only accept caging a dog for the purpose of travelling in a car where it can help it to feel secure & safe.

 

No, caging a dog within the home is for the convenience of the owner & quite frankly, I'd suggest that anyone who thinks this is normal behaviour should seriously question their suitability to even own a dog!

 

 

Sorry Spuds but this is a widely accepted way of bringing up a puppy - it's about giving them some 'private' space that is theirs, somewhere they can go to, as you say where they feel safe.

 

You don't keep the door closed though (or we were told this when we did it) and they can come and go in and out the cage as they please. Our vet advised us to have the cage open but in a more open area where we where happy for him to be roaming 'free so to speak'. We just 'fenced off' part of the kitchen.

 

 

..

Edited November 2, 2012 by The Dog House

[BargeeSpud]

Not all boats are safe to let a brand new puppy roam over night, as i said, keep it SAFE and warm, i made pens for all my puppies but they all included a cage for those times you can't give the puppy 100%. The latest puppy slept in a cage for the first few nights quite happily, then he happily slept in the open cage in the pen after that. The older dog, as a puppy was very similar.

 

Horrendous to me is leaving a brand new puppy free to roam and endanger themselves overnight.

 

As for my suitability to own dogs, once you know me and my dog history & you see how they are treated, then you can make judgement, rather than some silly little rant passing judgment over me on the evidence of one post on the internet expressing my honest opinion haveing just raised two puppies on a boat.

 

Paul

So, let me get this right. Your "honest" opinion is fine, but my "honest" opinion is a silly little rant based on 1 internet post. I don't need any internet posts to know that caging dogs within a home environment is both lazy & cruel, but I'm reassured that you think my opposition to something I "honestly" see as cruelty is cause for derision, because that just proves my point. The fact that you see caging puppies as a sound & sensible way to treat them in the environs of an "unsafe" boat only proves to me that you are too lazy to make the environment safe for a puppy to enter into in the first place, your prime responsibility. The fact you've done this before with other pups doesn't make the practice any less cruel in my "honest" opinion & it is disingenuous for you to suggest otherwise.

[IainW]

A crate is being picked up tomorrow as the one we got is far too big, she is having naps in a cat carrier at the moment

 

 

 

it is hard to ignore the whining !

 

she looks pretty happy to me :-)

[BargeeSpud]

Sorry Spuds but this is a widely accepted way of bringing up a puppy - it's about giving them some 'private' space that is theirs, somewhere they can go to, as you say where they feel safe.

 

You don't keep the door closed though (or we were told this when we did it) and they can come and go in and out the cage as they please. Our vet advised us to have the cage open but in a more open area where we where happy for him to be roaming 'free so to speak'. We just 'fenced off' part of the kitchen.

 

 

..

Sorry Dog, I respect your opinion as I respect those of others, even GSer's, but I won't be swayed in my opposition to this & I will strongly voice my view & I refuse to be belittled by anyone on this issue. To me its an abhorrence & totally avoidable, all it takes is a little time, patience & understanding. I have never restricted the movements within the home of any of the dogs I've owned, all 7 from puppies, just as I wouldn't have dreamt of restricting let alone "caging" my kids within the home environment. If the home environment is unsafe, you make it safe. Simple as.

Edited November 2, 2012 by Spuds

[Guest]

just as I wouldn't have dreamt of restricting let alone "caging" my kids within the home environment. If the home environment is unsafe, you make it safe. Simple as.

 

Ah well now you come to mention it - I found it worked fine for the kids too......

[IainW]

I'm getting the welder out and sorting a cage for my girlfriend. It's the kindest thing for all of us.