I have heard many people say that they don’t believe that English Bulldogs can swim due to their build. However, living in Florida being surrounded by pools galore brought about concerned for our dog Bentley, an English Bulldog. If not given the opportunity to be introduced to water and a chance to learn how to swim with supervision, dogs are at risk of drowning in a pool if they fall in. Bentley’s first encounter with water was accidental and was a confirmation that the concern of an animal unfamiliar with swimming could potentially drown. When Bentley first fell in the pool, he stood at the bottom of the pool and did not even make an attempt to swim. It appeared that he was waiting to be rescued and was confused by his predicament as it was unfamiliar to him. Luckily for Bentley, there was supervision around and he was brought out to safety. After much debate, it was determined that Bentley needed to 1. Learn how to paddle. 2. Learn to not panic when in the water and, 3. Learn how to get out of the water when he needed to (finding the stairs to climb out). The picture below shows one of Bentley’s first official swimming lessons. With guidance and treats, Bentley was able to swim and get out of the pool all by himself.
Swimming with support and guidance
Learning the way to get out of the pool
A dog once scared of the water seemingly wants to get back in again