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Alfie & Mia are Rottweillers owned by Jane & Gary. They come swimming for fun & general fitness and have gradually built up their stamina by swimming regularly. However, Gary and Jane have to be careful when they get home, as Alfie wee's for Britain after every swim!
Shell & Louie are a 10 yr old Labrador and a 4 yrs old (estimated) X breed owned by Ann & Rose, respectively. Shell is an X working Lab, who just loves to swim. Rose rescued Louie from Granada in the West Indies a couple of years ago, having found him covered in dog bites and having had his tail half dismembered by a local with a machete! Rose took him to the local vet, got him patched up and brought him home to Britain - complete with repaired tail. Louie was not particularly fit or energetic, and didn't really know how to play. Rose thought swimming might help him, despite a serious dislike of water. He was quite nervous at the beginning, but gradually, session by session, got used to it, and now loves it. He spends the whole session retrieving a toy, and will hardly come out for a rest - he wouldn't want to waste valuable swimming time. He is also more energetic, playful and sociable at home too, so a great success all round. I'm sure if Louie could speak, he still couldn't find the words to express how grateful he is to Rose for saving him and completely changing his life.
Lucky is a 4 yr old Border Collie, rescued as a puppy by Sue & Roy. After suffering a problem with his hip, he underwent surgery to remove the Femoral Head (the ball part of the ball & socket that forms the hip). Lucky loves water and took to swimming immediately, but was very reluctant to use his bad leg in the water, and out. We did a lot of racing him to his toy, ensuring we all got very fit(!), and gradually his usage increased. Lucky now swims for the whole of his 30 minute session and is using his leg well on land and in the water. When he went back to his specialist for a checkup at 11 weeks, they were very impressed with him, as he was at the stage they would expect to see him at 26 weeks! We are all overjoyed with Lucky's progress.
Kennedy is an 8 yr old Flat Coat Retriever, owned by John & Angie. Kenny had a Cruciate Ligament repair and started to swim to aid his recuperation. Initially not keen, Kenny quickly decided he loves swimming. He swims best with us walking around the pool holding his toy, and loves to anticipate which way we're going to turn. Totally comfortable in the pool, he is also particularly good at treading water, while he waits for us to decide which way we're going next!
Charlie is a 9 month old Labrador owned by Sarah. He took to swimming immediately, despite not having swum before. These pictures were taken on his very first session, which he started by walking into the pool room, walking straight onto the ramp and into the pool to swim. Even experienced swimmers rarely take to it this easily. Charlie is swimming for fun and general fitness (but the fun bit is all Charlie cares about!).
Bella & Beau are both Bernese Mountain dogs owned by Steve & Roma. Beau is a puppy and was rather splashy during this, her first session. Bella, however, has been a few times before and has really got the hang of it. These could actually be before and after photos of Bella, as she started off just the same way as Beau was on this occasion. Hopefully, Beau will progress to enjoying her swimming and playing with toys just as quickly as Bella did.
