RE: [Paddlewise] How would you deal with panicky dogs

From: Shawn W. Baker <baker_at_montana.com>
Date: Fri, 18 Aug 2000 08:20:28 -0600
While labs are generally excellent swimmers, they sometimes get
lazy/panicked and try to ride you to shore.  When swimming with my labs,
I always push them away when they try to "board me".

After a year or so, their instinct has shifted to "look for shore"
instead of "look for Dad!".  That's generally not their natural
instinct, though.  They're such "people dogs" that they always want to
be right by your side.  I'm sure mine would come near drowning if I were
to drown--they'd swim around looking for me rather than heading to shore
when they got tired.  I don't plan to drown anytime soon, though!

Shawn
Proud "Father" of two labs

Jackie wrote:
>About a year later, I read about a swimmer who was 
>drowned by his large dog that had panicked in the water and attempted to 
>climb on top of his owner for safety.

>btw, the dog attempting to climb on top of me was quite able to make it
>to shore... just too stupid (panicked?) to know he could do it. 8-}  He
>followed me and my boat in.

-- 
Shawn W. Baker          0                                    46°53'N
© 2000            ____©/______                              114°06'W
~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^\  ,/      /~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^
baker_at_montana.com    0        http://www.geocities.com/shawnkayak/
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Received on Fri Aug 18 2000 - 07:20:49 PDT

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