Barney and Pebbles Go Swimming!

This winter, in between agility seasons, I thought I would take Barney and Pebbles swimming for a bit of fitness. Given that neither of them like to go beyond paddling in water it should prove an interesting project!

There is a canine hydrotherapy pool not far from us in Glenrothes which I thought we would try. On arrival I was asked various questions about Barney and Pebbles and their general levels of fitness to allow the staff to guage how much swimming to give them on their first visit.

At this point both were a bit unsure of their surroundings and tried to hide when getting their life jackets on! They did look very cute in their little red jackets though!

We then went through to the swimming pool where it was decided to get Barney in the pool first given that he seemed more scared than Pebbles. He did so well and although he was very wary and not too keen he just got on with it and did so well. Here is a little video of Barney in action:

We then moved onto Pebbles as Barney watched from the side. I have to say Barney did look mighty pleased with himself at this point!!

Pebbles did really well as well. She didn't look particularly happy throughout but got on with it too. Here she is in action:

All in all I think it was a successful visit. The staff at the pool said it was virtually unheard of for a dog to actually enjoy their first swim and that Barney and Pebbles managed to swim for a lot longer than the majority of dogs. Oh what a proud Mum I was!

What I found really amazing was the fact that both dogs were unsure of what was happening and were not altogether thrilled about swimming but both just looked at me and trusted the fact that I was there and asking them to do this. What amazing faith and love they have.

We are going to go swimming again in 2 weeks, then 3 weeks and then every 4 weeks until next spring. I think it will be a great way to keep them fit and I hope they will start to enjoy it before long!