Does your dog do this?

[Laurelin]

I'm guessing this only applies to small dog owners for logical reasons lol.

Whenever I bathe Mia and pick her up to get her out of the tub, she will start doing 'air doggy-paddling' like she's swimming. If you hold her over the tub, she will start 'swimming' in your hands. It's SO weird. Rose does it too but the others don't Rose is a little less enthusiastic and just barely paddles with her front feet but Mia goes into full blown air swimming.

Weird dog.

[eddieq]

Apparently it's quite common

YouTube - Air swimming dog

[Dekka]

Every dog I have ever had does it. I think its part of the instinctual response to water, which is why dogs can swim without lessons.

[Laurelin]

Originally Posted by Dekka

Every dog I have ever had does it. I think its part of the instinctual response to water, which is why dogs can swim without lessons.

Summer's response to being above water is to cling to me for dear life. The closer you put her to the water, she'll tense up her claws and try her darndest to avoid touching it. (Imagine trying to put a cat in the tub)

And Trey couldn't swim at all- he wouldn't kick. Then again... that was Trey, lol.

[Xandra]

Roman does it. When I took him swimming at a lake I'd hold him in the water and it took him a while to realize that the whole swimming thing was unnecessary at that point

[Juicy]

Yup.

my sister's dog.

YouTube - Honey The Shih Tzu Puppy Doing The Dog Paddle

[TheGoldenRetriever]

Hmmm ... wonder if it is just one of those "small dog thingys"?

Riley, our Westie, does that too upon being removed from a bath. He actually starts just before he's put in the water and acts like he can't wait to get in! He also dearly loves to repeatedly SPLASH his front paws in his bath water while he's in it!! Makes quite a watery mess, but oh well .... at least he likes a bath.

But then everything is a game to him. He's such a happy little guy.

[Amber]

Junior does it. He did it at the beach, once. I got very wet in the end. lol

[Dekka]

The whippets do it too. I just imagine its harder to hold a large dog over water...

[Upendi&Mina]

When Mina was a puppy she would do it. She'd also air run when I'd take her out when she was younger.