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Permalink Reply by Zed on January 12, 2008 at 11:40am

Zed hates the water. I don't think anything will change that. Not sure if you can make an animal that hates the water to do much more than tolerate it.

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Permalink Reply by Charlie on January 15, 2008 at 9:51am

I ask Charlie's breeder if Corgis liked to swim. She said her dogs love to go swimming every day. We haven't tried yet, but I'm going to buy Charlie a kid's swimming pool when the weather warms. I'm not sure if it will actually be deep enough for swimming, or just be a wading pool.

Dog's can hate bath time in the tub, but still enjoy swimming.

Charlie is not a big fan of baths!

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Permalink Reply by Patti on January 17, 2008 at 9:06am

Our dogs love the water! Kai is actually named after the ocean - kai is the hawaiian name for ocean, however Kai being a little stubborn prefers lake water to rolling ocean waves! I started taking them to the water as puppies as our family is heavy into water sports. Initially both dogs had a field day barking at the waves, but then discovered the joy of cool water on their hot little bellies, and then of course getting sand all over themselves. In the lakes, a favorite activity is chasing fish. We have dog beaches here, and for the reluctant dogs, all it takes is a little herding instinct kicking in, and the next thing you know all the dogs have made it in the water as they chase balls, frisbee's and throw toys. The dogs attract alot of attention as they outrun the labradors for toys - we usually tell the tourists that the dogs are dwarf german shepherds... On PerformanceCorgi's at Yahoo, there is an interesting discussion of Dock Diving by corgi owner's - that I would like to see!

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Permalink Reply by Kristen on January 17, 2008 at 1:23pm

Our Corgis have all enjoyed the water. We live in the country and they have always waded in our front ditch after it rains. We have a kiddie pool for them to use in the summer. Easy jump in and easy jump out. Basil would only wade up to his neck. Lizzie prefers to swim. I would take them to the lake and Basil would walk just along the shore with Lizzie swimming beside him. I think the key is not to force it on them. Then fear takes over. I think Lizzie learned it from Basil. she just folowed him into the water. Also if they aren't in control it makes it harder. None of our dogs like to go into water that they can't get themselves out of. Now having said all that they all hate baths. I'm not sure how our 7 month old Fergie is. She has been to the river and waded in the kiddie pool, but it was not self initiated. She is just 7 months so next spring will be telling. Will she follow Lizzie in the ditch after the rain? She follows her everywhere else.

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Permalink Reply by Aj on December 19, 2008 at 4:28pm

We were swimming in a pool and we just gently placed Ein into the water and he started paddling! It was the cutest thing ever. We had to lift him out of the pool, of course. Don't want his short legs getting tired out.

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Permalink Reply by Brian Ambrosius on December 19, 2008 at 11:02pm

I started taking Brian to lakes, the beach, etc almost as soon as I got him b/c I wanted him to be a swimmer. To my dismay, he wound up hating the water and would cry and cry until we took him away. It was the same thing with baths too. But I think that persistance really helps, as he gradually got more and more used to it, and now doesn't cry all the time when he's getting a bath or near water. It seemed like all of the sudden something clicked and he decided that water wasn't all that bad. I've heard from a fair amount of people with dogs that love to swim that it took their pups a while to get to actually like the water. Also, I think that having other dogs that like water are a good influence to help your dog actually go in....especially if they tend to be a follower. I even tried the same concept with having myself go in swimming and seeing if Brian would follow, which worked only to an extent. As Brian still refuses to actually go past his chest in the water, I'm hoping that with some time and patience he'll get to the point where he'll actually want to go in for a swim!

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