Brandy’s littermate and sister, Stella, joined us for swim-date today. Sharon McGill and Dan Riggs brought Stella over for pool familiarization.
Brandy and Beckett swim or hot-tub most days now that they water is warm. Stella has really only been in or near a pool one time before. So we were hoping that their relaxed play would inspire Stella to enjoy.
We have a couple of extra Float Coats™ to insure Stella would have a good time. My experience is that poodles are very lean and tend to not float. So they need to learn to churn their tiny feet (compared to retrievers) extra fast to stay afloat. My first two poodles, including Brandy, had trouble learning that they should want to propel horizontally, rather than swim vertically (trying to keep head out of water). So I think a float coat is the way to go.
My recommended Float Coat™ is from RuffWear. It is comfortable, has a handle on top for easy maneuvering. Once it is adjusted, it is easy to put on and take off. I generally order my Ruff Wear items from Amazon. Here is a link for the Float Coat™ by RuffWear on Amazon: link. Brandy and Beckett (both 40 lbs) wear a small, when they use one. We put Stella in a medium all cinched up and it was slightly big for her. Stella is a bit bigger than Brandy at 50+ lbs. Note that Float Coats can be used around rivers and while boating for extra safety, which we feel is justified even though Brandy and Beckett are excellent swimmers.
So our main goal was to get Stella comfortable in the pool and willing to play. Dan started out by just sitting with Stella for a bit in the shallow beach area (about 12 inches deep). After about 15 minutes he moved Stella to sit on the first step. Then after another 15 minutes or so he cuddled Stella and just walked her around the pool.
It wasn’t long after she was swimming along in her float coat. She didn’t have any tendency to go vertical like her sister did when she was first learning. I even detected that she was wagging her tail while in the water.
Afterwards, Brandy and Beckett were playing chase games around the back yard with Stella. I bet the next time she comes, she will race for the ball in the pool like Brandy and Beckett.
Enjoy these pictures (click on them to enlarge):
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