Holly's First Swim

648117

648117

Honored Member
Holly went for her first swim today. It wasn't planned so I couldn't film it :( and I wish I could because it was sooo funny :cool: .

We were at the dog park, this dog park has a stream running through it but we have never been near it before. So today Holly was playing with some big dogs (she's really starting to like playing with big dogs - and she was trying to play fetch with these ones even though the stick they were using probably nearly weighed the same as her) when they headed over to the stream with their owner (the owner thought Holly must not need much exercise because she is small, we sure changed her mind before we left :LOL:) so we went to.

Holly walked up to the edge of the stream and was sniffing around at the mud when she fell in and it was at a deep bit (well, deep for Holly) so she couldn't touch the ground :eek:.

Holly didn't know how to swim :eek::eek: . Holly has never actually even seen a dog swimming. So she just tried to jump up over and over in the middle of the water which meant she just went around in a circle. I was just about to get in the water and save her (she looked like she was starting to panic a bit) when she managed to swim forwards towards the bank. She got out and then madly ran around shaking the water off :LOL: .

Once she had calmed down she watched one of the other dogs swimming and followed me into the water a bit (I was wearing gumboots and the water at that bit was just higher than my foot). She wasn't scared of the water :)
So then we were walking back up to the main part of the park and Holly started to do zoomies all over the place and ran full speed back into the stream on her own :ROFLMAO: and swam for a bit.

So now Holly can swim :D

Although she wont be doing too much more swimming until summer
 
648117

648117

Honored Member
She's 9 months.
Last time she was weighed she was 5.7kg, she might be up to 6kgs now (I think thats around 13 pounds), I'm not sure.

But she's not slender. She's a stocky little dog, I think she's a bit smaller than a pure bred pug (well, she was shorter and less round than a pug we met on a walk a couple of weeks ago)
 
tigerlily46514

tigerlily46514

Honored Member
wow that IS small!! so cuuute!
OH, SHE is a pug mix?
I once heard pugs are more at risk of drowning than some breeds are, cuz of chest heavy thick bodies and short legs and the smush-face which impairs their breathing, is bad combo for some pugs + deep water.
so IF Holly is very pug-like, she might need close observation and/or life jacket in deeper water. But, knowing you, 648117--------- i think Holly gets pretty close observation 24/7 anyway!!:ROFLMAO:
 
648117

648117

Honored Member
She doesn't have a smush-face and although she is slightly pug-shaped she isn't as round or stocky as a purebred pug. She has a slightly heavy chest but it's not too bad, I think her scruffy fur makes it look heavier than it is.
She is half Pug, quarter Bichon and quarter Fox Terrier (the terrier seems to be strong in her personality at times and her coat must have been partly due to the Bichon because she doesn't shed much).
She looks more like a pug from a distance and a bit in her face (except the nose length) and curly tail.

And she is very athletic.
This picture will give you an idea of her shape:



I think she did alright swimming, but as I watched her I did think I would have to get a life jacket if we do any more swimming, mainly because I worried that the water currents would carry her down the stream if they were too strong and then she could get tired and drown :(
 
tigerlily46514

tigerlily46514

Honored Member
oh wow, yes, Holly has a very athletic lil build there, not what i think of when i think of Pugs. (pugs are very cute, but, have different shape, imo, than Holly there).

What a good looking dog, what a unique "one of a kind" type of dog, too! so many many neat features, all in one dog!! Lovely markings, too, and how cool for you that she doesn't shed much!! Great colors too, and neat the way it seems the colors shift a bit from front to back, too,from more silvery and white colors on her head and chest,
to more strawberry blonde colors on her back.
 
648117

648117

Honored Member
Thank you.

I haven't really met that many pugs so I thought they look sort of similar in build except Holly is definitly slimmer and doesn't have wrinkles.

I also thought her colour was much like a fawn pug with the darker face and ears and the shading on her body so it's lighter under. Maybe slightly different because her coat isn't short, but similar to a fawn pug.

When we first got her she had short fur with random extra long hairs sticking out down her back. I was so worried she would end up a bit ugly, especially if her jaw stuck out (for a while it looked like it was going to) so you could see her bottom teeth. Not that it would have mattered if she was ugly :), but the way she has turned out she is cute and definitly has character :LOL:
 
GEORGE'SDAD

GEORGE'SDAD

Well-Known Member
Didn't get to take the dogs swimming yesterday, had a random thunderstorm roll through(probably started more fires around here:cautious:) so we will try to go today. The big thing i want to capture on video is George totally amazed that the tennis ball floats!!!
 
Evie

Evie

Experienced Member
tigerlily46514 said:
wow that IS small!! so cuuute!
OH, SHE is a pug mix?
I once heard pugs are more at risk of drowning than some breeds are, cuz of chest heavy thick bodies and short legs and the smush-face which impairs their breathing, is bad combo for some pugs + deep water.
so IF Holly is very pug-like, she might need close observation and/or life jacket in deeper water. But, knowing you, 648117--------- i think Holly gets pretty close observation 24/7 anyway!!:ROFLMAO:
Click to expand...

Didn't realise any dogs were prone to drowing. Evie has a Toller friend she likes to play with (Nova Scotia duck tolling retriever dog) and I remember his owner once saying to me that he's such a lazy dog (very unusual for the breed), it's hard to exercise him and as he likes water she often takes him swimming... but if he runs out of energy or just can't be bothered he will just stop moving his legs and FLOAT in the middle of the lake.... I didn't even realise dogs could do this lol! Must be a funny sight.
 
GEORGE'SDAD

GEORGE'SDAD

Well-Known Member
Its funny because he hits it with his paw, then as it comes back to the surface, he barks at it, punces on it, then it will get away from him, he will chase it, bark at it, and punce on it again!!! When I saw this happen, I was laughing so hard my stomach hurt!!!:ROFLMAO:
 
tigerlily46514

tigerlily46514

Honored Member
LOL! TOO FUNNY GDAD! and Evie!

rofl!

One of the funniest things i've seen Buddy do in water,
is,
his pal, Cosmo, a large and adorable doodle of some type, actually fishes. Cosmo walks or stands on his hind legs, in the water, and watches for fish in the lake, and when Cosmo spots a fish, he pounces down, like a bear does, and puts his head under the water,
and every once in a blue moon, Cosmo actually CATCHES a fish!!

whenever Cosmo catches a fish, Cosmo proudly walks away with his fish,
and here's the funny part----
Buddy sees this, and Buddy runs over to the spot where Cosmo caught a fish, and looks down into the water, watching for a long time, where Cosmo caught a fish,
AS IF, as if the fish are right THERE, in that exact spot, rofl!

Buddy looks soooooo funny, standing there, staring into the water, watching and watching..:ROFLMAO:

Buddy seems unaware that fish move around,:ROFLMAO: not just sit in one exact spot..:rolleyes:

Never ever occurs to Buddy that fish could be anywhere in the water, Buddy seems to think only Cosmo can find a fish,:ROFLMAO: so Buddy should just follow Cosmo,and look where Cosmo finds fish.....just following along, behind Cosmo, looking ONLY where Cosmo found one,
unaware all that jumping by Cosmo will have scared off any fish in that spot....


sometimes, especially in the early times, Buddy would run over to peer into the water where Cosmo lunges, even if Cosmo did NOT catch a fish, just to see what all the fuss is about, i guess....but now, Buddy mostly only goes to stare into the water if Cosmo DID catch a fish.
 
GEORGE'SDAD

GEORGE'SDAD

Well-Known Member
thats HILARIOUS!!! Buddy sounds like a real character. A funny thing that Kita does in the water, she will stick her whole head under water and blow bubbles!!! I have never seen a dog do that. Max does nothing in the water that is particularly amusing, unless it's bath time. When he is in the tub, if the water gets too deep (over the top of his paws:rolleyes:) he will pick them up one at a time with a very frustrated look on his face.:cautious:
 
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