Last Monday our local park had an outdoor concert followed by fireworks. It sounded like World War lll. My dog wasn’t happy, but once she’s in her bed, she calms down. Same thing with thunderstorms.
But let a neighbor kid set off one of those tiny squib firecrakers, ones you can barely hear. For some reason, those send her into a panic and running for the closet.
2.
jibeaux
Mine’s the same, loves to splash in a creek, hates to swim, and what’s more gets completely panicked and whimpery if he sees anyone swimming. I guess he thinks the poor devils are about to drown, which bothers him, but not enough to go after them.
3.
Linda Featheringill
Ahh, pet news.
My oldest cat [Sally] has been really bitchy for 2-3 days, always complaining. Well, to be honest, she was only complaining to me. I tried just about everything but nothing worked.
I finally did something right. She has adopted a different perch because of heat and fans, etc. I noted she was having some difficulty getting up there. So I reinforced that cardboard box to give it stability and placed an object on the floor by the box to function as a step. She immediately understood what the step was for and has used it with joy and thanksgiving [What took you so long?]. And she hasn’t fussed at me since then.
It is so nice to actually please someone.
Also, I note that Sally and Mojii [17 and 16] are not becoming sweeter and kinder as they age. I, of course, am better in every way with each passing year. :-)
I, of course, am better in every way with each passing year. :-)
Good women are like good wine in that respect. That’s what I tell my wife regularly.
5.
jimPortlandOR
well Tim. that stream looks like COLD water so I ask you if you’d choose getting your privates and body trunk soaked when you could just choose tiptoeing over a rocky place to ford the stream?
6.
Brachiator
Obama’s attack dog Biden apparently had a good time at the NAACP Convention.
Biden drew cheers as he credited Obama for championing a landmark health care law, launching the mission that killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and stepping in to rescue the financial system and U.S. automakers General Motors and Chrysler….
__
Biden received sustained applause throughout his address. When he spoke about civil rights and administration efforts to expand voting rights and not diminish them, the crowd stood up and loudly cheered. When Biden said, “Did you think we’d be fighting these battles again?” people in the crowd answered in unison, “No.”
__
Biden said there was a lot more he could say on protecting voting rights but that he was “preaching to the choir.” ‘’Say it, say it,” many in the crowded responded. As Biden was wrapping up, he said, “Let me close, my friends,” prompting members of the audience to boo and yell, “No!”
Right wing goobers are insisting that the boos Romney got were signs that the NAACP is racist, so I guess Biden is an honorary black man.
@jimPortlandOR: Cool water, hot day. Max and the rest of us lived for the chance to get in that water while we walked. Thank jeebus and Teva for creating wet/dry hiking sandals.
“Ankle-deep water, ok. Shin-deep water, awesome. Knee-deep, cool. The moment his chest touches water it’s PANIC PANIC PANIC.”
Having just lost an iPhone and iPod rescuing a dog who got into a rapid, I sympathize.
The minute that the water touches his torso his footing is far less secure – less weight on his feet + more force of water against him.
11.
LanceThruster
I truly love how other species can innocently make us laugh so (i.e. we are not taking pleasure in any harm befalling them). That ‘chest touching the water’ panic is a hoot.
@Barry: That does make sense. With the weight spread over more points of contact, each paw would have less traction than my feet. And being horizontal his traction would go down a lot faster per inch of torso submerged than mine would. On the other hand the deeper parts of that stream were moving at about one meter per minute.
13.
patrick II
My old next-door neighbor had a dog that was half lab and half greyhound. When she went swimming in her back yard pool the lab half would run up to the edge of the pool eagerly, then the greyhound instincts would take over and it would stop suddenly at the edge of the pool and bark. It would dance forward and back trying to get up the courage to jump in. But the lab part never won out and you could just see the frustration in the poor dog’s face.
14.
Mike E
Max is a muscle missile, and some dogs are not very buoyant indeed, sinking like stones. If this is an issue of leisure, mebbe you can look into doggy swim lessons–he could learn to triumph over some watery situations and decrease this anxiety. YMMV
ETA he can wear a floaty vest with a carry handle on top, for your peace of mind, also. Too.
15.
kindness
@Barry: Maybe. My dog is the same as Max. He can swim fine as I have dragged him out and made him many times. he just doesn’t like not having his feet on the ground in water. Feet on ground? Good fun. Feet off ground? Jesus H Christ what am I doing here?
So for the most part I let him play at his level. But being the cruel friend that I am I do occasionally torment him by making him swim.
16.
Martin
Ankle-deep water, ok. Shin-deep water, awesome. Knee-deep, cool. The moment his chest touches water it’s PANIC PANIC PANIC.
Same rules apply to corgis, but for them ankle-deep, shin-deep, knee-deep and water touching the chest are all the same depth.
It took well over a year to teach my dog Oma how to swim. I used to toss a tennis ball in the lake and for the longest time she would go just out to chest level, and then stand on her tip-toes and wait for the tide to being the ball in to her.
One day it just clicked after about a year, and now she’s like a duck. She is a lab/pit mix though, so at least for the lab part swimming should be in her blood.
19.
donovong
Trust me, it could be worse. I cannot allow my German Shepherd to be off the leash around deep water unless I am prepared to become the rescue swimmer. He has a tendency to get much too confident and I have had to go in the ocean to “encourage” him to come back to shore before he fucking drowns, or I die of apoplexy.
20.
RoonieRoo
Thursday’s are our swimming day for me and the dog. I rent a swimming pool for 30 to 45 minutes at a dog daycare group. Last summer Gregor would go off the diving board with me. So far this year he just wants to swim nonstop. Crazy swimming dogs are a lot of fun if you can get them time in a swimming pool.
21.
Martin
@Maude: Tunch would just soak up the lake and walk around with it, fish and turtles embedded in his fur.
Had a shepard who would run full speed into water until it touched her chest. Then she would not go an inch further. The pups mom kept trying to teach her to swim but finally gave up and walked away shaking her head. In my mind the mom’s thought bubble was – stupid fucking dog. Maybe that was just my thought. No, it was both of us.
23.
LanceThruster
I had a Dachshund/Terrier mix named “Willy” that would dive off the rock with me (5 foot drop) at a local swimming hole off of one of our hiking spots. He would then shiver up against me after I got out and look at me like I was insane.
But if I would go back and do it again, he would dutifully follow me even though he could have just sat on the pool’s edge observing.
I sure miss my little guy.
24.
trollhattan
After several years we stil don’t know if our dog can actually swim. Similarly, she doesn’t mind wet paws ‘n legs but anything more has her leaping away. Also barks at waves, but we’ve come to terms with the reality that we have a very odd dog.
You got some weird dog! Have you tried THROWING A STICK INTO THE WET STUFF??? Might overcome his inhibitions..
27.
ArlingtonRob
My Husky was exactly the same. Loved the shallows, but when the water reached her chest or belly…
…panic attack!
28.
PhoenixRising
Don’t know if the Dane can swim, as she is new to us, but she sure doesn’t like having wet paws.
Last dog we had this size was a Newf, who needed no encouragement to swim. In fact, some of my fondest memories of that puppeh include getting into the bay in Oakland to persuade him to come out of the water. Burned that outfit. Ran the dog through the car wash in the bed of the pickup.
29.
Josie
We had a golden retriever who felt called upon to rescue anyone he saw swimming in the pool. He had to be tied up or the person in the water would be raked over by his paws as he frantically tried to grab us to drag us back to safety. We learned that, if we heard a loud splash, we should be ready to get hold of his collar as soon as possible to avoid his painful rescue efforts. He would also leap in and retrieve stuff as long as you would throw it. He was a wonderful duck dog. We all missed Baron for a long time after he was gone.
30.
kideni
My lab mix will swim in any natural body of water that’s liquid, and she really doesn’t care if it’s so cold out that icicles form on her fur when she gets out (and when it’s been hot and dry like it’s been lately, she doesn’t care if the water’s down to a soup of lakeweed and algae — it’s really hard to keep her out of even that stuff). With that somewhat oily coat, most of the water stays away from her body so I don’t think she feels it as much as dogs with shorter or dryer coats. If I get out the hose, though, it’s tail-between-the-legs time, even if the hose isn’t directed anywhere near her. At doggie daycare she’ll splash around in the kiddie pools all day long, but if I try to lead her into one, she gets that “why are you doing this to me?” look (I admit that may be related to her dislike of baths).
31.
karen marie
Our Lucy doesn’t like to swim either. She’s a Cavalier/Cocker mix. She’s okay going in the pool if she can ride on me and she’ll swim back to the landing area, but she will not voluntarily swim on her own.
Mine’s the same. He’s an 80 lb. HuskyX and the only way I can get him to swim is to ‘simulate’ my drowning at which point he comes out to me with the leash in his mouth, hands it to me, and the screams ‘Now let’s get the fuck out of here!’
33.
Luthe
A weird dog is a Black Lab that hates swimming. Dobies are not bred to swim.
34.
Thoughtcrime
Ankle-deep water, ok. Shin-deep water, awesome. Knee-deep, cool. The moment his chest touches water it’s PANIC PANIC PANIC.
I saw the PANIC PANIC PANIC and thought it was another Romney/Bain posting.
35.
Tony the Wonderhorse
No, smart dog :p
Your limbs can get cold till you’re blue in the face, so to speak, it’s the trunk that must stay warm at all costs
So your puppy is reacting to a real threat, although maybe reacting a little too enthusiastically
36.
AnnaN
Well, dobbies aren’t water dogs. He’s got a lean body mass and keeping afloat is a much harder proposition for Max than my chunky goldens with their built in pads of chest fat to act as flotation devices to keep their snouts above water.
37.
Triassic Sands
The moment his chest touches water it’s PANIC PANIC PANIC.
That’s what I thought I saw in the video the other day. He abruptly stopped and found a way to tip-toe across without getting his body wet — just his legs.
As I said then, you need to team him up with a nice lab or some other real swimmer and let him learn from a pro.
Either that or get him a PFD.* Max would look cute with his own Day-glo orange life jacket.
*Personal Flotation Device aka Life Jacket
38.
Scott Alloway
Among my diversions is coin collecting. I belong to a Facebook group and today a member posted the most interesting observation:
If anyone is a serious lover of coins, they would understand that Barak Obama is hostile to coin collectors. He consider them of the over 250,000 dollar a year crowd,. There is no doubt Barak Obama and his evil Treasurer would love to take your coins, they are hostile to coin collectors, because they are socialists.
Fucking nuts, all of the Repugs.
Have a nice night.
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quannlace
Last Monday our local park had an outdoor concert followed by fireworks. It sounded like World War lll. My dog wasn’t happy, but once she’s in her bed, she calms down. Same thing with thunderstorms.
But let a neighbor kid set off one of those tiny squib firecrakers, ones you can barely hear. For some reason, those send her into a panic and running for the closet.
jibeaux
Mine’s the same, loves to splash in a creek, hates to swim, and what’s more gets completely panicked and whimpery if he sees anyone swimming. I guess he thinks the poor devils are about to drown, which bothers him, but not enough to go after them.
Linda Featheringill
Ahh, pet news.
My oldest cat [Sally] has been really bitchy for 2-3 days, always complaining. Well, to be honest, she was only complaining to me. I tried just about everything but nothing worked.
I finally did something right. She has adopted a different perch because of heat and fans, etc. I noted she was having some difficulty getting up there. So I reinforced that cardboard box to give it stability and placed an object on the floor by the box to function as a step. She immediately understood what the step was for and has used it with joy and thanksgiving [What took you so long?]. And she hasn’t fussed at me since then.
It is so nice to actually please someone.
Also, I note that Sally and Mojii [17 and 16] are not becoming sweeter and kinder as they age. I, of course, am better in every way with each passing year. :-)
Gin & Tonic
@Linda Featheringill:
Good women are like good wine in that respect. That’s what I tell my wife regularly.
jimPortlandOR
well Tim. that stream looks like COLD water so I ask you if you’d choose getting your privates and body trunk soaked when you could just choose tiptoeing over a rocky place to ford the stream?
Brachiator
Obama’s attack dog Biden apparently had a good time at the NAACP Convention.
Right wing goobers are insisting that the boos Romney got were signs that the NAACP is racist, so I guess Biden is an honorary black man.
Tim F.
@jimPortlandOR: Cool water, hot day. Max and the rest of us lived for the chance to get in that water while we walked. Thank jeebus and Teva for creating wet/dry hiking sandals.
Yutsano
Y U be so mean to the Maxpuppeh?? :)
Litlebritdifrnt
Buzzfeed found video of Romney saying he worked at Bain for 25 years, that would mean 1977-2002.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/andrewkaczynski/in-primary-debate-romney-suggested-he-was-at-bain
Barry
“Ankle-deep water, ok. Shin-deep water, awesome. Knee-deep, cool. The moment his chest touches water it’s PANIC PANIC PANIC.”
Having just lost an iPhone and iPod rescuing a dog who got into a rapid, I sympathize.
The minute that the water touches his torso his footing is far less secure – less weight on his feet + more force of water against him.
LanceThruster
I truly love how other species can innocently make us laugh so (i.e. we are not taking pleasure in any harm befalling them). That ‘chest touching the water’ panic is a hoot.
Tim F.
@Barry: That does make sense. With the weight spread over more points of contact, each paw would have less traction than my feet. And being horizontal his traction would go down a lot faster per inch of torso submerged than mine would. On the other hand the deeper parts of that stream were moving at about one meter per minute.
patrick II
My old next-door neighbor had a dog that was half lab and half greyhound. When she went swimming in her back yard pool the lab half would run up to the edge of the pool eagerly, then the greyhound instincts would take over and it would stop suddenly at the edge of the pool and bark. It would dance forward and back trying to get up the courage to jump in. But the lab part never won out and you could just see the frustration in the poor dog’s face.
Mike E
Max is a muscle missile, and some dogs are not very buoyant indeed, sinking like stones. If this is an issue of leisure, mebbe you can look into doggy swim lessons–he could learn to triumph over some watery situations and decrease this anxiety. YMMV
ETA he can wear a floaty vest with a carry handle on top, for your peace of mind, also. Too.
kindness
@Barry: Maybe. My dog is the same as Max. He can swim fine as I have dragged him out and made him many times. he just doesn’t like not having his feet on the ground in water. Feet on ground? Good fun. Feet off ground? Jesus H Christ what am I doing here?
So for the most part I let him play at his level. But being the cruel friend that I am I do occasionally torment him by making him swim.
Martin
Same rules apply to corgis, but for them ankle-deep, shin-deep, knee-deep and water touching the chest are all the same depth.
Maude
Tunch would float. He’s floofy.
BSR
It took well over a year to teach my dog Oma how to swim. I used to toss a tennis ball in the lake and for the longest time she would go just out to chest level, and then stand on her tip-toes and wait for the tide to being the ball in to her.
One day it just clicked after about a year, and now she’s like a duck. She is a lab/pit mix though, so at least for the lab part swimming should be in her blood.
donovong
Trust me, it could be worse. I cannot allow my German Shepherd to be off the leash around deep water unless I am prepared to become the rescue swimmer. He has a tendency to get much too confident and I have had to go in the ocean to “encourage” him to come back to shore before he fucking drowns, or I die of apoplexy.
RoonieRoo
Thursday’s are our swimming day for me and the dog. I rent a swimming pool for 30 to 45 minutes at a dog daycare group. Last summer Gregor would go off the diving board with me. So far this year he just wants to swim nonstop. Crazy swimming dogs are a lot of fun if you can get them time in a swimming pool.
Martin
@Maude: Tunch would just soak up the lake and walk around with it, fish and turtles embedded in his fur.
Ruckus
Had a shepard who would run full speed into water until it touched her chest. Then she would not go an inch further. The pups mom kept trying to teach her to swim but finally gave up and walked away shaking her head. In my mind the mom’s thought bubble was – stupid fucking dog. Maybe that was just my thought. No, it was both of us.
LanceThruster
I had a Dachshund/Terrier mix named “Willy” that would dive off the rock with me (5 foot drop) at a local swimming hole off of one of our hiking spots. He would then shiver up against me after I got out and look at me like I was insane.
But if I would go back and do it again, he would dutifully follow me even though he could have just sat on the pool’s edge observing.
I sure miss my little guy.
trollhattan
After several years we stil don’t know if our dog can actually swim. Similarly, she doesn’t mind wet paws ‘n legs but anything more has her leaping away. Also barks at waves, but we’ve come to terms with the reality that we have a very odd dog.
trollhattan
@Martin:
FTW
wobbly
You got some weird dog! Have you tried THROWING A STICK INTO THE WET STUFF??? Might overcome his inhibitions..
ArlingtonRob
My Husky was exactly the same. Loved the shallows, but when the water reached her chest or belly…
…panic attack!
PhoenixRising
Don’t know if the Dane can swim, as she is new to us, but she sure doesn’t like having wet paws.
Last dog we had this size was a Newf, who needed no encouragement to swim. In fact, some of my fondest memories of that puppeh include getting into the bay in Oakland to persuade him to come out of the water. Burned that outfit. Ran the dog through the car wash in the bed of the pickup.
Josie
We had a golden retriever who felt called upon to rescue anyone he saw swimming in the pool. He had to be tied up or the person in the water would be raked over by his paws as he frantically tried to grab us to drag us back to safety. We learned that, if we heard a loud splash, we should be ready to get hold of his collar as soon as possible to avoid his painful rescue efforts. He would also leap in and retrieve stuff as long as you would throw it. He was a wonderful duck dog. We all missed Baron for a long time after he was gone.
kideni
My lab mix will swim in any natural body of water that’s liquid, and she really doesn’t care if it’s so cold out that icicles form on her fur when she gets out (and when it’s been hot and dry like it’s been lately, she doesn’t care if the water’s down to a soup of lakeweed and algae — it’s really hard to keep her out of even that stuff). With that somewhat oily coat, most of the water stays away from her body so I don’t think she feels it as much as dogs with shorter or dryer coats. If I get out the hose, though, it’s tail-between-the-legs time, even if the hose isn’t directed anywhere near her. At doggie daycare she’ll splash around in the kiddie pools all day long, but if I try to lead her into one, she gets that “why are you doing this to me?” look (I admit that may be related to her dislike of baths).
karen marie
Our Lucy doesn’t like to swim either. She’s a Cavalier/Cocker mix. She’s okay going in the pool if she can ride on me and she’ll swim back to the landing area, but she will not voluntarily swim on her own.
wesley
@kindness:
Mine’s the same. He’s an 80 lb. HuskyX and the only way I can get him to swim is to ‘simulate’ my drowning at which point he comes out to me with the leash in his mouth, hands it to me, and the screams ‘Now let’s get the fuck out of here!’
Luthe
A weird dog is a Black Lab that hates swimming. Dobies are not bred to swim.
Thoughtcrime
I saw the PANIC PANIC PANIC and thought it was another Romney/Bain posting.
Tony the Wonderhorse
No, smart dog :p
Your limbs can get cold till you’re blue in the face, so to speak, it’s the trunk that must stay warm at all costs
So your puppy is reacting to a real threat, although maybe reacting a little too enthusiastically
AnnaN
Well, dobbies aren’t water dogs. He’s got a lean body mass and keeping afloat is a much harder proposition for Max than my chunky goldens with their built in pads of chest fat to act as flotation devices to keep their snouts above water.
Triassic Sands
That’s what I thought I saw in the video the other day. He abruptly stopped and found a way to tip-toe across without getting his body wet — just his legs.
As I said then, you need to team him up with a nice lab or some other real swimmer and let him learn from a pro.
Either that or get him a PFD.* Max would look cute with his own Day-glo orange life jacket.
*Personal Flotation Device aka Life Jacket
Scott Alloway
Among my diversions is coin collecting. I belong to a Facebook group and today a member posted the most interesting observation:
Fucking nuts, all of the Repugs.
Have a nice night.