Water ... is it a Corgi thing?

I have a Corgi / Westie mix. I've had Westie's in the past, and they were quite fond of water. My new little mix HATES the water. Baths are an all out wrestling match. (And boy is she strong.) And she will have nothing to do with the pool. She did make it into the ocean once, but I think chasing the Pelicans made her forget she was actually in water. Rain coming down from the sky is OK. But the shower attachment and large bodies of water make her go crazy. So just wondering if this is a common Corgi quirk? She is a rescue, so if it is not a common Corgi thing, she may have had some bad experience with water in the past. Just wondering.

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Permalink Reply by Avyon on March 4, 2010 at 10:51am

We had the same problem with Roxi and I figured out it was because 1. she jumped into the river too fast when she was a pup and got pulled away too fast thus her fear started and 2. her body is so long she didnt know how to learn to control with her back legs lol. Poor bum kept sinking.

We fixed this issue by buying a long doggy life vest to help keep her back end up which eased some of her fear and then went to the lake (calmer water) with a friends dog who she was already friends with and loved to jump in the water.

After a couple jumps and roxi barking and freaking out at her friend who she probably thought was dying in the water. She took that leap from the dock and the rest of the afternoon just kept jumpin in with her friend lol. Now she loves water.

You just need to find a catch to get that pup to love water. I recommend both these options to help :)

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Permalink Reply by Aglppy on March 4, 2010 at 11:04am

The life vest is a great idea! Thanks. Roxy has a long body too ... and when she has fallen into the pool chasing the Fox Terrier (who swims constantly) her bum sunk. Then she panics and the front feet start flailing. Once, and only once, she did swim in the ocean. There were a flock of Pelicans floating off shore and Fergus (the Fox Terrier) went right in. Roxy was so excited about the birds, I think she forgot she hated the water. But she hasn't gone back in since. Maybe with the life vest and a little coaxing, she'll learn to like the water. I'm not sure she'll ever like a bath!

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Permalink Reply by Avyon on March 4, 2010 at 12:04pm

No what I figured out about the bath (I think) is their ears are so sensitive, so if you put your head low in the tub, the water sound echos loudly and their so low standing in there. I haven't tried it yet but I was thinking of just filling the tub first, then washing them but at the same time I would still have to turn on the water to rinse them off :/

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Permalink Reply by Aglppy on March 4, 2010 at 12:29pm

Makes total sense. She also hates anything that buzzes loudly ... lawn mowers, grooming clippers, etc. It's probably too loud for her. I'm wondering if she would fit in my kitchen sink. Then she wouldn't be down so low in the tub. Who am I kidding. She won't fit in the sink. Well, she might fit iif I put one half of her in one side and the other half on the other side. That is if she is tall enough to stand over the divider in the sink. Maybe we need to invent a Corgi bathtub - LOL.