Al- so cool-initially I thought it was a joke you know-dressed up dogs- but obviously not-the life jackets are real. President Obama's dogs-were some sort of "water dog" fishing dog??
BILLLin Mass- I wonder how they help fish? Tow the nets into place maybe?? Dogs and cats (house cats-domestic) naturally can swim-no lessons needed Via eyeball dogs seem to have a bigger for weight chest-meaning more buoyant. And their head/eyes/mouth/nose are much better positioned for swimming- We-humans-swim face and mouth nose DOWN-huge disadvantage. Dogs and cats-heck they can see where they are going-and don't have to use a complicated learned "grab a breath" technique. Yeah we swim blind unless we do old fashioned river crawl or breast stroke-both requiring you crane your neck/head up-slow laborious tiring. I wonder just how fast a dog can swim?? Guessing average dog swims about as fast as an average human-maybe 1- 1.5 mph I will look it up.
Couldn't find speed-but this article has a NOLA connection-so… Hock?? WTH I had no idea what a dog hock was(heel apparently-but it looks more like what would seem to be the lower leg-if their legs had 3 "parts" instead of 2 like humans. Last paragraph-Neptune-NOLA connection. And the claim that Newfs-do breast stroke?? There are a number of factors that make a Newf an incredible long distance swimmer. Most commonly mentioned are the large lungs, fully webbed feet and oily, insulated coat. However in a an online article entitledMechanism of the hock in Newfoundlands, Belgium Newf breeder and renown water rescue dog trainer, Bettina Salmelin, has pointed out that hocks (heel) of the Newf must be close to the ground to achieve, among other things, endurance. Here is her concluding summary: People often overlook the importance of the hock, as it is often not the first thing people notice. The structure of the head, even though important, does not contribute to strength, power, endurance or physical ability in such a way as the hock. When one understands the mechanisms of the hock, the trend of longer hocks in show rings becomes more worrying. From our study of the hock, we know that high hocks go with high initial speed and low hocks are for endurance. By physics alone, a Newfoundland with high hocks will not have the breed typical endurance and power. It will not be able to swim far out into the stormy ocean and it will not be able to pull heavy loads efficiently. When reading the Canadian breed standard you will find a call for hocks close to the ground in the phrase “The hocks are well let down…” While all of the above factors are crucial, there is one more that I consider most important of all. It is something unique to the Newfoundland dog and is connected to the breed’s ability to do a modified or full breast stroke rather than a dog paddle. Other breeds of dogs solely do a dog paddle and this keeps the head up out of the water but at considerable expense of energy. To get the endurance in the water, a Newf has to abandon the dog paddle and allow his body to reach its natural flotation point. Then, using a breast stroke, at least with the forearms, he is directing all his energy to propulsion and none to keeping high in the water. The extra fat that a Newfoundland is supposed to carry for warmth also aids in this natural flotation. Still the question remains – with all his special talents in the water, just how far can a Newfie dog swim? In the Victorian era the amazing attributes were well known and documented. Here is an excerpt from June 21, 1866 issue of The Mercury: He has no equal in the water. He appears to endure immersion in the coldest weather for any length of time without injury, and is hardly ever affected by rheumatism in old age. Ho will jump into a rough sea from a height, dive many feet to please his master or to amuse a child, and seems to float without exertion to please himself. Many wonderful tales have been told of his floating powers, some undoubtedly true, but others apocryphal. Colonel Hamilton Smith, a good authority, relates one, which we give in his own words. He says: -” I possessed one picked up in the Bay of Biscay. The dog had been observed by the man at the masthead, the ship whence he must have come being out of sight. When taken into the boat which was lowered for him he gave no signs of extreme fatigue.” The Bay of Biscay is part of the Atlantic Ocean and borders France and Spain. It is a very large body of water and is known for its rough waters. The story above affirms the floating ability of the Newfoundland and his amazing ability to stay afloat for long distances and time. Unfortunately folks in the 1800’s were not as obsessed as we are today with numbers and we still do not have a swimming distance in units. Not one to quit easily I kept on searching. Finally I got a numerical distance. In Stanley Coren’s book The Modern Dog: A Joyful Exploration of How We Live with Dogs Today, there is this tale: Then there is the story of Neptune, a dog that tracked his owners for over 50 miles. …this might not seem like much of a distance, but the dog swam all the way. Neptune was a Newfoundland dog, which is a powerful breed with strong swimming abilities. While the dog was on board a boat being towed down the Mississippi to New Orleans, the craft hit some obstruction that caused it to lurch violently and tossed Neptune overboard. The owner of the boat couldn’t stop since it was being towed along with some barges by a distant tugboat. Thus Neptune’s family could only watch as Neptune fell farther behind and disappeared in the distance. Rather than immediately swimming ashore, however, Neptune kept paddling downstream, following the boat that contained the people he loved. Three days later, much to the amazement of his family, Neptune appeared, swimming alongside their craft, having tracked them to their mooring in New Orleans. The great black dog casually jumped on board as if nothing unusual happened. While this is not likely the extent of a Newfoundland’s distance swimming ability, we now know it is at least over 50 mil
I'm thinking the Newfie swim style may be similar to a Polar Bear's, also known to swim great distances. Too bad it has become more necessary due to the receding polar ice.
Breast stroking dog-who would have thought that No dog paddling for those big dogs-breast stroke! If a Newf(their word) was swimming after me- cute Polar bear breast stroking after me-not so cute!
