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River too cold for swimming dog?

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  • 12-11-2008 12:42pm
    #1
    dave321
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5 ✭


    Hi,

    i live by a river in the north west and my 3 yr old labrador loves swimming in it. However, several people have said I shouldn't let her swim in the winter months due to arthritis.

    Is this true? I thought Labradors (due to name) were used to swimming in all conditions.

    I dry her off when she gets home.

    Any advice?

    Dave


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    #2
    stevoman
    Registered Users Posts: 3,041 ✭✭✭stevoman


    nah they are talking nonsense. labradors traditionally are bred for retreiving wildfowl from water when out hunting, and most wildfowling traditionally takes place in winter so id say your fine! the labrador is in his element when out swimming so i wuldnt worry!


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    #3
    luckat
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,366 ✭✭✭luckat


    It also depends on your dog's coat, and the dog's age.

    Someone stopped me in Wicklow one day to scold me for allowing my dog to swim in icy weather, and I called her over to put her hand into my dog's coat, and feel the thick woolly undercoat, totally dry - my dog is three-quarters Border Collie and built for the cold.

    But afterwards I started thinking "Hmm, that coat's on her back, but not on her little knees", and now I don't swim her as often when it's very cold.


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    #4
    arybvtcw0eolkf
    Closed Accounts Posts: 24,878 ✭✭✭✭arybvtcw0eolkf


    luckat wrote: »
    But afterwards I started thinking "Hmm, that coat's on her back, but not on her little knees", and now I don't swim her as often when it's very cold.

    Teach her to do the back stroke :pac:


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    #5
    boomerang
    Registered Users Posts: 3,189 ✭✭✭boomerang


    Well yesterday was absolutely freezing and my collie divebombed into a stream and got soaking wet - twice! I couldn't believe she didn't mind the cold! That said, if she was an older dog or had arthritis, I wouldn't let her do that. A healthy young Lab should take the icy waters in his or her stride though - that's what they're bred for! :)


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    #6
    bigpinkelephant
    Closed Accounts Posts: 792 ✭✭✭bigpinkelephant


    Don't Labradors have waterproof coats?


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    #7
    The Sweeper
    Registered Users Posts: 10,658 ✭✭✭✭The Sweeper


    I think the secret is to dry them off quickly. The dog will be warm from the exertion and also from the insulation provided by their coat. However as they stop exercising and cool down, their wet coat will start to make them very cold.

    If you take him/her from the walk straight into the car, with the heat on, then bring them inside when you get home and give them a warm wash - one to wash whatever yuck might be in the river, lake or the salt from the seawater, and two warm water is better than cold. Then dry him/her off.

    Think of it the same way you'd look after yourself if you exercised - a gentle cool down and a warm shower, after which you dry yourself.

    If you don't do it this way, the dog feels precisely like you would - stiff. Even when they're young it makes them feel stiff. (Anyone else's mum never let them go to bed with a head of wet hair?)


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    #8
    golden
    Closed Accounts Posts: 376 ✭✭golden


    No its not too cold for labradors to swim they were originally from newfoundland Canada to retrieve corks to assist getting fishing nets in from teh sea.


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    #9
    marlin vs
    Registered Users Posts: 1,630 ✭✭✭marlin vs


    For jasus sake , let the dog swim, and have a bit of cop on, lab's are happy when swimming.


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    #10
    Rory123
    Closed Accounts Posts: 601 ✭✭✭Rory123


    The best judge of whether or not its ok to swim is the dog! If its not too cold they will swim, if it is too cold they won't.


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    #11
    ecaf
    Registered Users Posts: 349 ✭✭ecaf


    Rory123 wrote: »
    The best judge of whether or not its ok to swim is the dog! If its not too cold they will swim, if it is too cold they won't.
    I agree with this!

    And also swimming is a very good exercise for us, so I'm sure it's the same for dogs, it will be a good way of keeping her joints moving - so it should help the arthritis a little (well better than walking on a hard surface anyway!)

    Get one of them really absorbent towels and give her a good dry when you get back to the car, don't think I would bother washing her again when you get home, just let her lie in front of the fire / radiator to warm up.

    Edit: Sorry just re-read the OP, at 3 yrs the dog has arthritis? Or you are worried about the cold causing arthritis?


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    #12
    leopardus
    Closed Accounts Posts: 105 ✭✭leopardus


    But afterwards I started thinking "Hmm, that coat's on her back, but not on her little knees", and now I don't swim her as often when it's very cold.

    Dogs are are descended from wolves and wolves have an adaptation known as counter-current heat exchange. The temperature of the extremities is able to get much colder, whilst the 'core' remains at normal body temperature. Think of a duck paddling on a half frozen lake, no insulation on its legs. The arteries (blood leaving the body for the extremities) full of warm blood are wound tightly (it's called a 'rete' I think?) around the veins full of colder blood returning (to the heart). The warm outgoing blood heats the cooler incoming blood resulting in minimal heat loss. This system seems very similar to descriptions of how some of the eco-houses are able to conserve heat.

    As long as your labrador has the proper coat, thick, dense underfur and coarser oily gaurd hairs I don't think its an issue at all. Make sure you don't wash the dogs coat (with shampoo) too often/at all though as it's the natural oils that make the guard hairs waterproof and it's this waterproofing that keeps the dogs insulated. The oily guard hairs trap a layer of insulating air in the underfur acting very much like a scuba divers dry suit.
    If swimming in the sea the coat should be rinsed out with freshwater afterwards; coastal living otters can only survive in areas with access to freshwater as they need to wash the salt deposits off their coats in order for it to retain its waterproof, insulating properties.


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