swimming staffys

from looking at a lot of photos and videos on here I can see that staffys can swim, but I have heard stories of staffys jumping in and just sinking to the bottom - supposedly due to their stocky bodies

is it that they are unfit? is it a myth? should they wear life jackets?

I hope Russell becomes a water loving staffy, I love the beach and river and would love to take him. he could be my kayaking partner!

i think all staffys can swim just some better than others

I take Samson swimming at a hydrotherapy pool and the river near me he's a very good swimmer but they do tire quicker due to the muscular frame but in the pool he does 15mins without a life jacket on, he did wear a jacket to start with but once we knew he was a good swimmer we don't bother know

I started him off in a 2ft deep paddling pool when he was 16 weeks old so he's never feared water

Mine takes herself in! Which can be very annoying when we are on our way home but as Marty said its only for spurts at a time and she is in and out playing fetch with a stick (thats how I coaxed her in in the first place) Xx

Can't get mine near the deep water which is sad because I am a beach bum at heart. Although see would be happy to get a bath everyday and runs into the shower evertime the door is open.

woody is at the "not sure about this" stage - he has had a little swim when he went out too far by accident but dont think he is ever going to be a water baby.

Gus and Kelly absolutely love swimming! They dive in with no problem--especially Gus who will go in the deepest water and not care,as long as he has the toy

They don't sink exactly,but I think as they get older they may lose some of the strength to keep themselves afloat with their muscle,so they might need a life jacket eventually to help them stay floating and not sink. It varies with the dog though,some dogs will have no problem as long as they live,others might need help floating....it all depends,Gus and Kelly are 10 years old and they are fine.

mine goes swimming by himself he's really good at it and seems to enjoy it aswell!

Got this life jacket for Jethro .. it was only about $25 in KMart !!

Vinnie swam when he stepped into a small puddle of water on the beach which had a hole in so it was deep lol! .. other than that he only usually doggy paddles he wont go too far in haha! .. Skye hasn't been near water other than a bath lol we will be taking her up the beach when the weather is better and everyone has the day of work to travel down to it lol!

Ratty did not like the water at first, and only used to get his toes wet, but seeing Foxie enjoying the water so much seems to have changed his mind, and hes a quite good swimmer now,
and Tina used to love the water too and was an excellent swimmer even though she was much more sturdily built than Ratty,



these pics were taken just a couple of days ago,

Awww! Water babies Xx

Mine do like a swim and a paddle, usually to fetch a toy or a stick. Once they are in the water they are fine but take a bit of time to get up enough confidence to actually take their feet off solid ground! Skibadee is much more confident than Tali and usually gets in first!

Brock belly flops in to the water, it's so funny. Jeff just paddles at the edges but won't go in. I threw Brock a stick the other day she swam up to a tree in the water grabbed hold of a branch then tried swimming back, obviouly the branch did not move but I could see her little legs going like mad and the confusion on her face. It was so funny!

Molly is a great swimmer, she aint keen on swimming exactly and needs a reason to bother, we got a floating lighthouse when we were on holiday and she loves fetching that when we throw it in the local streams or pools.

She also did alot of swimming on holiday in the sea and in the larger rock pools.

She will aviod having to swim if she can though, if she can get to her toy via a shallow bit of water she will but otherwise she will still get in and swim.

Bandit would splash around in the shallows, but would only swim if he had to!

Dempsey HATES water!

All 3 love the water vito is also crazy about the shower jumps in everytime he get the change Duchess likes the water for a swim but she hates the rain and Duke thinks it's all ok he's so easy going