Swiming for conditioning

I am planning on incorporating some swimming into a regular keep. My question is what are some helpful tips that i should know. Like how to avoid or recognize cramps and what would be a good swimming schedule like how many times a week and duration? Thanks any advice would be appreciated.

 

Swimming is ten times harder than running and just watch your hound. Also, its even more tiring to try and swim in a panic. Give good rub downs and with good food and plenty of rest and your hound will be a real happy camper.

 

Swimming is tough on a dog. Or should I say on some dogs. Used to have a male that loved to swim but he wasn't any good at it. Constantly let his mouth into the water, like he was filter feeding like a damned fish. He splashed like crazy and couldn't steer. But he loved it. He didn't get as much time in the water as the other dogs because he would fill up with water and piss for the next 5hrs at random while he was just walking around, it also had to be his last workout of the day.

Our Female was great and could swim for hours, she made it look effortless and didn't try to drink all the water. We would work her, give her a swim, and work her some more, finally just let her play in the water.

These dogs were not in a keep just worked regularly to keep them on their toes. They were swam in a small canal that would supply the sourrounding farm land with water via some pumps. We would turn on the pumps and make the dogs swim against the current. We used to keep a length of rope on the dog for incase something would happen so we could retrieve them quickly. You never know when they may see a turtle, snake, frog or gator so the rope would help steer them clear of potential danger also.

Your best bet is to take it slowly and just watch your dog, they don't want to drown so they will give pretty good signs when something is up.

 

Thanks for the replies. I will be sure to monitor closely. I guell I'll start with about 5 mins and work up as we go.

 

Yah my female will swim whenever theres not ice up here in MA. She runs and jumps 15 20 ft out of cliffs. Ill have her out there 30 minutes to an hour without many breaks, but i took it easy at first. Ill throw a stick let her go get it then ill throw one further shell get it then one closer and then further and shell come back with them all in her mouth. crazy. HATES the rain but if there is so much as a puddle nearby she goes bananas. Great fun and excercise for any dog.

 

I know this sounds silly, but if you want to let your dog swim longer, you can always get a life jacket for them. that way they can stay in the water longer and you don't have to worry so much. I've done that a few times myself with my dogs during the summer when i swim with them. that way, they can stay in the water with me the whole time and i can give them rest periods without having to take them out of the water. i just hold their front legs when they need a rest and they realize they can float without moving. then when they're rested and ready to go again, i let go of their front legs and they start swimming. hard to explain, but it works good for me.

 

My girl doesn't mind a swim. I will throw a ball or stick out. When she goes to retrieve it she will begin to snap and chase the splashes her front paws would make. The problem is she would get so into it, forget to retrieve the ball, and keep swimming straight out away from shore. Putting a lead on her, wading out, and talking to her helped to keep her close to shore. Would like to swim her more but it is difficult especially since I cannot swim myself. LOL

 

Swimming is excellent for health and also for making your dog look fit and well exercised, I want one of these http://www.quickpools4less.com/neverending.htm
But unfortunately swimming has no transference to performance in anything else what so ever.

 

Id disagree with Yas, however those pools are super cool. What more would you want for an athlete, arguably the best work out a dog or human can get is swimming. Having more endurance, being faster and stronger are not transference?

 

and just for laughs and giggles!.....

 

Yep swimming only makes a dog/athlete better at swimming. No gravity, no eccentric (negative) load, etc, etc. I would still use swimming but for aesthetic value.

 

I`ll add quickly before someone jumps on my back LOL that some things without eccenric load eg weight pull do have a massive transference to performance.

 

Khanfueshus says the buoyancy of the water make you light there for you have less weight, and if your feet do not touch ground you have less gravity resistance.

 

Exactly Khanman , its like the Astronauts in space where there is no gravity it makes them weak, and the objective of a keep is too make one get stronger not weaker lol.

 

swimming is awsome. the resistance of the water helps in strength without stressing joints and ligaments. i try and go at least once a week. these pics were snapped by a lady watching me and emailed to me today.

 

The water gives plenty of resistance just try and run in it. Its a whole body workout for you and your dog, not like being in space at all. Get neck deep in water with your arms out to your side and move them back and forth rapidly....Now repeat this in space. I agree that standing still in both space and water are the same, however moving is entirely different.

 

Yes water does have SOME resistance, I didnt say it didnt lol...It seems you dont understand what I was talking about Im not comparing water resistance to gravity resistance lol....You said water gives plenty of resistance really? A new born baby who cant even walk yet can swim, how hard of a resistance is that for a baby? lol Water excercises/swimming are mostly used for THERAPY for the elderly, infants,weak and the injured. Like Yas said swimming is mostly used for aesthetic reasons and will only make him better in swimming. For Gravity resistance to work one must be touching the ground. In order for Astronauts in space to work out they first must be touching some kind of solid ground. A dog that is swimming is NOT touching the ground. Power comes from the ground up. Some of yall seem to be watching too many Rocky movies lol.

 

Swimming is not just for aesthetic purposes, it combines joint range of motion, muscle strengthening, improved circulation and cardiovascular conditioning.
The baby analogy is similar to cerebral palsy sufferers that cannot walk. they use water training to build strength in their muscles to stop the muscle tissue from withering away...it helps build and condition muscle tissue, not as much as weights or chains but the the benifit is that you can do swimming on consecutive days and the risk of injury is practically zero.

 

Good post man. Now let`s also not forget all the fatties who continuously sign up for their aqua aerobics class.

 

Up till now I don`t think anybody has said that there are no benefits from swimming.
The issue is whether it will improve performance in anything outside water, and it won`t.
Besides the fact that there is because of buoyancy no gravity it doesn`t transfer. Also while there has to be a level of sport specific fitness, swimming is more about technique, the better you are the easier it is, it`s only exhausting if you can`t swim very well. I know a girl who can swim 30 miles no problem but would struggle to run a mile.
In humans, too much aerobic activity between the ages of 8 and 10 impairs long term ability to be fast (swimming is the worst). Also at any other age, if you are fast twitch, after a lot of aerobic training it can take up to 6 mths to revert back to normal.
Now back to conditioning and transference.
Would Michael Phelps be good at any other sport? Highly unlikely.
Would Usain Bolt, George Saint Pierre, Kobe Bryant and so on be able to pick up a sport and get to a reasonable level quite quickly? You can bet your life that they could do a hundred times faster than Michael Phelps.