Dog Drowning

[bivenator]

Strangest thing. On Monday morning my neighbor hears a man crying out, wailing actually. She told her husband to see what was up. He looks over the fence and there is a mid twenties man holding his dog while kneeling near the pool. Evidently the man had let the dog out that morning to do his business and the dog fell into his pool and drown. Awful.

The dog was pretty big and had played on the steps of the pool before. It was my understanding that the guy said the dog couldn't swim.

Just so strange, I thought all dogs could swim. There were steps in the pool that the dog was familiar with. Has anyone else experience this?

[masraum]

Wow, weird and sad.

You would think that instinct would kick in. I suppose if he wasn't a very good swimmer, and had been out there a while, he could have gotten tired and drowned.

[Craig T]

This is very sad. All dogs can swim for a short time, even bulldogs, but they have to be taught how to find the steps from the deep end. The problem is they swim to the nearest edge and try to pull themselves out, but they can't. Sometimes they drown only a few feet from the steps.

Anyone with a pool and a dog should have the pool fenced.

[nvr2mny]

Wow, SUPER sad Our German Short Haired Pointer can't swim. The problem is, he thinks he can. We've pulled him out of our pool more than once. Now he doesn't go near any body of water w/o a doggie life vest. Strangest thing. We also have a Yellow Lab we were fostering for a seeing eye dog and he was dropped due to elbow displacia(?) so we kept him. He hates the water and won't go near it! I guess a good thing to have in a seeing eye dog!

[Baz]

It's my opinion people shouldn't leave their dog unattended....any more than they should leave a human baby unattended.

They are both 'innocents' that need our care.

[pcardude]

That's so sad. I've heard of this happening when they can't get back over the lip / edge of the pool. Very sad for the poor guy.

[Tobra]

I remember in grade school my friend had an Old English Sheepdog that drowned like that.

[LakeCleElum]

Around here....Dog should have been able to walk on the ice????????

[dad911]

Thank you for the reminder. Our dog hates the pool, won't go near it. When he was a pup we made sure he could find the steps, but we will reinforce that when the ice melts.

[Craig T]

Many giant breeds are not strong swimmers. When Tank was a puppy I would toss him in the pool and call him to the steps. I repeated it for days until one of two things happened. Either #1, he'd learn how to swim quickly and directly to the steps...or #2, he'd avoid the pool like the plague. He chose option #2. Anytime one of us get's near the pool he backs up and barks.

My daughter and a friend tried to get him in the water one time. Hilarious!...Two 110lbs girls in bikinis trying to get a 160lbs ball of muscle into the pool. The dog won.

[sammyg2]

Several years ago my brother found his lab retriever drowned in the pool.
it was strange because labs are usually great swimmers, this dog loved to swim in the pool, and knew where the steps were.

Didn't make sense.

[flipper35]

My sister's neighbor had a lab that couldn't swim. It would try but did the same thing a human does, head back with much splashing in panic.

[Reiver]

When under stress they forget where the exit is (steps) and swim in circles until they tire and drown.
Even a good swimmer should not have access to a pool without supervision.

[bleucamaro]

Some dogs sink.

When I was a kid, I used to swim in my neighbor's pool all the time. They had an English Bull Dog, and one day he jumped in the deep end of the pool while I was swimming. He went straight to the bottom. I was able to get him back to the surface, then out of the pool without injury. He wasn't too smart, he tried it one more time that same day.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Our GSD would sink like a stone if she didn't paddle like mad. She didn't care for going into the pool but was a good enough swimmer to get to the edge and knew how to pull herself out when she got there.

[vash]

a swimming pool?! so sad.

i think what gets a dog in a swimming pool is trying to get out. we had a lab that was a strong strong swimmer. (he won a friendly contest amongst friends we call the "annual lab-off")

he jumped in a pool and we saw the panic set in as he tried to get out. i jumped in fully dressed and led him to the stairs. after that, he was good to go..we would come home and find him swimming just because he wanted to. it was tough on the water filter.

and i disgree with the above. i dont think a dog can be supervised 24/7. i wouldnt be able to own a dog under such strict criteria.

[rusnak]

My cocker spaniel/ poodle mix was with me almost 24/7. Best dog companion I ever had. When she was 17, a few months before she passed away from cancer, I had to carry her everywhere - to go poop, to eat, to sleep (she slept under my bed), everything. She could not see well, was almost deaf, and could not walk very well either, but she loved life immensely right up until she died. I would set her out in the warm sun and she was in heaven on the grass. On my annual trip through Oregon/ Washington, she kept trying to walk on the swimming pool at La Quinta Inn. I had to go after her 3 times to scoop her out of the water. I bet the hotel was wondering why their pool area towels were all wet the next morning, and smelled faintly of wet dog. I miss that dog so much, but I know that she had a great life.

[vash]

lucky..R. both of you were lucky.

[rusnak]

Originally Posted by vash

lucky..R. both of you were lucky.

Maybe. I was in the pool area smoking my cigar answering email. My pooch would have been better off in the room, but she would panic if I left her alone, so ....

[Geronimo '74]

Sad story.
Our border collie is a great swimmer and does not hesitate jumping in an any body of water.
My wife thinks nothing of it, I always keep one eye one the dog when she is in the water.