“Swimming is not only fun for your dog…but it also does great things for him. The resistance of water makes your dog work harder to swim than he has to work on land to walk or run. He will show improved muscular strength and tone, while working the cardio-vascular and respiratory systems, without the impact of concussive exercise on land and the associated damage that it may cause”.
“It may surprise you to know that for a dog, 1 minutes’ swimming is equivalent to about 4 minutes of running, according to Dr Arleigh Reynolds, a Veterinary Surgeon and Canine Physiologist”. (excerpt from:) http://vividlife.me/ultimate/1142/the-benefits-of-swimming-for-your-dog/
I took my own advice and took my terrier to the local lake today (No Dogs Allowed)
No one is around early in the morning, anyway he did quite well, jumped right in to retrieve his favorite ball and started swimming to get to it. Eventually we lost the ball. We were only there 15 minutes and he seemed energized, so we will try that again. He is showing some signs of mild arthritis and I want to do what ever I can to prevent it from becoming chronic. I will also ask my vet about aqua therapy (swimming in a pool) not sure I can afford it…but will check it out.
