Everyone who loves dogs knows that border collies are one of the most athletic canines out there. Thier owners regularly praise them for their acrobatic ability, as well as their endurance and speed levels. However, what remains a hot topic of debate among dog lovers is the question, “Do Border Collies Like Water?”
If you own a border collie and you’re dying to hear a definitive answer on this topic, then you’re in luck. This article will explain all you need to know about border collies and how they react to the water and swimming.
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What Do They Feel About The Water?
Generally, pets react to water, depending on several factors. These can be the type of pet, how big they are, how thick their fur is, and so on. For example, we all know that most dogs have a high affinity for water, while most cats will try as much as possible to stay away from it.
That said, most border collies love the water. Most people who own border collies state that when they are put in water, they act lively and enjoy the feel of the water. However, some tend to shy away from deep pools and will instead touch the shallow end of the pool with their feet occasionally.
So, to answer the question, your dog’s love for water depends on your border collie’s personality and how deep the body of water is.
Do Border Collies Like To Swim?
As we mentioned earlier, a good number of dog breeds love the water. Naturally, this also means that dogs generally are great swimmers.
Your pet’s love for swimming is mainly dependent on their passion for water. Naturally, border collies who hate the water will have no interest in swimming. When you try to force them, some may even fight back and attack you.
However, border collies who love the water can’t seem to get enough of the water, even in deep pools! When you get to see a border collie who can swim, you’ll most likely see its owner smiling ear-to-ear, bragging about how they learned to swim when they were just six months old.
Truthfully, all border collies can swim. This fact is due to their agile builds, their endurance levels, and their high adaptability to their surroundings. You may be able to change your unwilling pet’s attitude towards swimming and the water in general, but it may take a little time, effort, and training. Remember not to pressure your border collie to swim, as this can cause them to act out.
Why It’s Good For Them To Swim
Swimming is an extremely beneficial activity for your canine to do, due to several reasons. It helps them work their unused muscles due to domestication, keeping them sharp and ready.
As you may already know, pets need the nurture and care of their owners. They can’t do things such as exercising by themselves. Below are the most important reasons why you should let your border collie swim regularly:
Their health improves
When you allow your border collie to swim, you allow all their organs to function effectively and allows blood to flow throughout their bodies. Ultimately, this can enable the blood volume in your canine to increase.
This happens because, like many aerobic activities, swimming increases the number of red blood cells your dog’s bone marrow produces. As we all know, red blood cells are the cells that carry oxygen around the body. Since more red blood cells are being created, this allows more oxygen to be carried around your border collie’s body. This significant increase will ultimately increase your dog’s energy levels.
Maintains joint function
A lack of exercise could mean bad news for your joints. It can make them feel more creaky, making it harder to move over time. The same applies to your canine.
Since swimming is one of the most strenuous exercises, it can help keep your border collie’s joints feel lighter and keep them in good shape. Remember how good your joints feel after a good swim? Your border collie feels this too, which is why you should take them swimming. Over time, swimming will even strengthen the joints of your border collie by slowing down the wear and tear process significantly.
Stress and pain relief
Not only is swimming going to help your border collie’s physical fitness, but it will also help them feel less stressed. This fact is because any exercise helps your border collie to produce healthy amounts of endorphins. Endorphins help boost your dog’s motivation levels, allowing them to adopt a more positive outlook on life over time.
Swimming also helps to relieve pain by helping to stretch their legs and muscles effectively. Stretching helps to protect from cramps and sprains, which are bothersome conditions to get.
Their cardiovascular system stays healthy
The cardiovascular system is one of the most important systems in any organism’s body. If it is not properly taken care of, it can produce negative repercussions that may be life-threatening.
Swimming regularly helps to add a few years to your canine’s life by improving their heart health. It helps shed off all the extra cholesterol and fat wrapped around the heart and several essential arteries and veins around the body.
It helps them to expel heat
If you’re a dog lover, you will probably know that dogs don’t have sweat glands. In hot weather, they can quickly get excessively hot, which will make them extremely uncomfortable. To solve this, they may try to pant, but this doesn’t always work. If you leave them like this, it may cause them to develop several heat-related conditions such as heat strokes and rashes. Due to the fact that border collies were reared to participate in agriculture, they developed double fur that kept them warm when it was inter. Thus, the chance of developing heat-related conditions are higher in border collies are higher.
Allowing your dog to swim will make them expel a lot of the heat they have in their bodies. Their fur getting wet will also make sure they stay cool for a more extended period compared to other canines.
It allows them to maintain their weight
Sometimes, your border collie being inactive can’t be helped. It is caused by various factors such as late work hours, going on vacations, or generally being away from your border collie. The inactivity can be quite dangerous to your canine. Over time, the inactivity causes them to gain unnecessary weight, making them susceptible to developing several health complications.
Thus, it is essential you take them out to swim regularly to help them cut away the extra fat from all their body parts.
Why Some Border Collies Detest Swimming
Your border collie may not like water due to the following reasons:
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They aren’t exposed enough
You can’t expect a dog that hasn’t gone near a large body of water to be enthusiastic about stepping in. Instead, your canine gets wary of the water and study how deep it is.
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They are stubborn
At times, your border collie may be adamant about entering the water because they prefer to stay warm and dry. If this happens, then it would be best not to push them into swimming. Instead, try to introduce them to land sports.
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They feel heavy when wet
Since border collies have double coats, this means that they may feel three times as heavy when they get out of the water and when they’re swimming. Due to this reason, many border collies prefer to stick to the land instead.
What To Do When Teaching Them To Swim
When you want to teach your border collie how to swim, and they are willing to learn, it would help if you gradually introduce them to the water. You can do this by playing a game in the water or introducing your dog to its cooling effects beforehand.
You can play games such as fetch, which involves your dog moving to get something. Throwing it into the water will trick them into entering the water.
Alternatively, your dog can also get used to the feel of water quicker if you introduce them to what it feels like beforehand. This option is for border collies shying away from the water or terrified of it.
The best time to teach them how to swim is at a young age. Teaching your dog at a young age will make them get accustomed to the feel of water quicker, which will make your border collie a better swimmer.
The Bottom Line
Your border collie may love or detest swimming depending on their personality and the environment they are in. If you want to teach your dog how to swim, make sure they are open to it. Trying to force your border collie into the water may cause them to bite you.
If you want to increase the chances of them swimming, try to teach them at a young age how the water feels like and how they can swim. That said, the answer is yes for those of you asking “do border collies like water?”