Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Some dogs apparently can not swim.

Yes, my daughter almost killed her daughter's 80 lb Old English Bulldog today.

They have a small pond/swimming hole on their property. About eighteen feet deep and thirty or forty yards in diameter. The teenage girls swim in it all summer and often take their dogs for a swim. My son's Springer Spaniel/Poodle cross would just live in the pond if someone would bring him some food once in a while.

But this is the first summer for the bulldog. She has not been in the pond before. So my daughter gave her a shove this afternoon, and over the bank she went. Straight to the bottom! Fortunately, my 35 year old son was also there. He had to dive clear to the bottom of the pond and search for the dog. He finally found her and brought her back to the surface.

She was a bit of a sick puppy. She puked up a bunch of pond water three or four times, but seems to be pretty much back to normal this evening.

I wonder if the silly bitch could learn to swim if she was wearing a life jacket? But first, I guess, you would have to get her close to the pond again.

I guess we won't be taking the bull dogs out on the boat fishing.

Idaho,,

We had an English bulldog x Labrador. Short little legs, 12" tall at most, 50lbs of mostly muscle. Could swim but had a hard time keeping head above water and if there was any wind creating waves it made it hard for her. Jumped out of my wife's kayak once to come see me in my rowboat. No warning, just over the side she went. Sank, but managed to come back up. We got her a dog PFD after that.

Might be your granddaughter's dog had not taken a big breath before being shoved. Combined with her muscular physique, she sank. I'd definitely suggest she get her dog a vest for when she's around the water.

Glad she's OK now.

Geno

Your daughter needs her butt kicked.

Wow... Have never had a dog that couldn't swim. Have had dogs that didn't LIKE to swim. But all of mine fared O.K. once they were in the water.

Had a Boxer cross that was the most water loving dog I've ever had. Would do a full speed launch off the pond bank, thru the cattails like a retriever. Swim 5 to 8 yards out and come back. Run a mad circle of about 20-25 yards and another full speed launch back into the pond again. Multiple iterations until you called her off.

Woman accused of pushing her dog into lake, watching it drown

https://www.wcvb.com/article/merrim...-dog-into-lake-letting-it-drown/28045594

MERRIMACK, N.H. —
A New Hampshire woman is facing a misdemeanor animal cruelty charge after witnesses said she pushed her 11-year-old golden retriever into a lake and watched it drown, according to Merrimack police.

On June 8, police said they were dispatched to Wasserman Park at 7:34 p.m. to assist the fire department with a dog that had drowned in Naticook Lake.

During initial investigation, witnesses told police that 66-year-old Nancy Bucciarelli, of Merrimack, pushed her dog into the lake, where it struggled to swim and eventually drowned.

The police department's animal control officer and patrol division subsequently determined that Bucciarelli had in fact pushed her dog into the lake and made no effort to help it while it was drowning.

Witnesses told police that they tried to save the dog from drowning, but it was too late. Police said the dog drowned in 3 and 1/2 feet of water, which had a temperature of 74 degrees.

Police later drafted a warrant for Bucciarelli's arrest, charging her with cruelty to animals, a misdemeanor level offense.

Bucciarelli subsequently surrendered herself to police and was arrested Friday. She was released on personal recognizance bail and is scheduled to appear in Merrimack Circuit Court on June 27.

Neighbor had a Big Standard Poodle it would bark and run up and down along the seawall at my Black Lab while I would throw a training dummy. This went on for a couple years. One day the Poodle jumped in the canal it never made a effort to swim, it went right to the bottom of 8' of water. I jumped in got the dog to the surface the neighbor pulled it over the seawall and started CPR, dog coughed up water got to it feet and coughed for a couple minutes. After that the dog would never go up to the seawall.

Had an Old English Sheepdog that swam like a lead sinker.

I had a Cocker Spaniel who wouldn't even try. Not much of a fishing dog.

Now, I think this is just f’ing stupid.

How many cases have you read about where an owner drowned because they tried to go into the water to rescue the dog - and the dog made it out on its own? Happens way, way too often.

Any owner who jumps in the water to save a dog is a fool, AFAIC.

If they find out she tied a concrete block to its neck, that’s a different matter.

AFA bulldogs not being able to swim, I would guess it has to with them being brachycephalic and having thick, muscular necks (unable to lift and extend their head above water).

I've alway hated bull dogs.

A slobbering mouth with legs, and a bad attitude.

My sister had an English bull dog that ended up going in the water a couple times.

He need help both times.

Doesn't surprise me that a bulldog would have trouble swimming. They can hardly breathe on land, much less keep their nose above water. All body, almost no legs.

When she was just 3 or 4 months old my beagle took a running dive off the road which serves to dam the lake. She obviously had no idea what water was and got out so quick it was hard to believe. 8 years later she still wants no part of anything wet.

On the other hand my Brits were fearless around water and would retrieve thrown sticks all day long. Nothing deterred them including 1 to 2 foot Lake Ontario waves. The male almost got into trouble once when he jumped into the Delaware River while it was almost at flood stage to get a large piece of driftwood that he saw floating downstream. He washed to the bank about 50 yards downriver but with the driftwood in his mouth.

few years ago i had an older rescue golden that i took into a swimming pool with me. I was right with me trying to get him some exercise because of his bad hips.
he did not take to the water well even given i was holding him up by the belly.
The condition of his joints did not allow him to work well.
I have a couple of goldens now that really don't care for water.
I have had others that would live in it, one of them use to routinely swim underwater in a lake trying to catch small fish.

My daughter has a female Black Lab that loves going to the river. She dives underwater looking for sticks to chew up..............

Big greasy guy was a mechanic,

Greasy Joe we called him.


He must have been 400 pounds.

He LOVED his Pomeranian named Gidget.


Joe was working on an irrigation pump next to the canal one hot terrible day.


Gidget was miserable.....so he gave her a little help getting to the water.


She loaded up and went to the bottom.



All 400 pounds of Joe went in too......right to the bottom.

Probably a rainbow shine on the water.......



He saved Gidget though. They were still best friends after that.

Old English Bulldogs (I have one, myself) are blocky, heavy boned, and heavy muscled, dogs, so would naturally have more trouble keeping their heads above the water line than a dog with a more typical sort of build.

Here's my Old English Bulldog, as an example.

PS The idea of the breed, development of which was begun in the 1970s, was to reproduce the English Bulldog of old, such as the one illustrated below, who was born not many decades after Bull baiting was outlawed in England.



For comparison, below is a typical modern English Bulldog, which is a physical mess in terms of health issues and athleticism.

Sounds like you're thinking of the modern AKC English Bulldog, which is indeed a mess due to breeding to a bad standard for many decades. The opening post is about an Old English Bulldog, which is the result of an effort on the part of certain breeders to restore the English Bulldog to good health, normal lifespan, and athleticism.