• I've seen lots of pictures of Basenjis that will swim, and Jack even jumped in the water….once. He will probably never do it again, he hated it that much. Wish mine would swim, congratulations on finding one [a basenji] that likes the water.


  • Love these pics - Roo is too cute! Seti would rather die than swim 🙂


  • Loved the pics.

    The first one with the suspended water drops reminds me of the first time Katie took a dive in the drink after some ducks. The front feet were flying and splashing–-there was no real swimming going on for the first 30 seconds or so, just flailing. We were in the water and she was on leash but still we were totally surprised by her 'leap of faith'. Fortunately, most areas at Starved Rock State Park are fairly shallow. She has not tried it since!!

    Since we do camp and hike occasionally with the dogs, we take her to the lake (Michigan, about 9 blocks from the house) a couple of times a year to remind her how to stay afloat if necessary.

    Again, thanks for the great pics:D


  • Willie has had a couple of accidental swims - he fell off the boat while running around it to keep track of my daughters and their friend while they were in the water. He seemed okay with it - he has walked into water up to his knees if the girls are in the water.

    Rosie, on the other hand, will not - she doesn't even like to get her feet wet and will run from waves when I have her at the beach.

    Those are really sweet pics of your dog.


  • What great pictures, thank you for sharing Jason. I am so happy to see how comfortable Roo looks in the water. I am hoping to get Zaire swiming this year as Charlie just adores the water.


  • I will probably never know if mine would ever swim as we live in the Pacific Northwest and our lakes never do get quite warm enough for me to try them.
    I think they'd object more to the temperature of the water than the water itself.


  • @Robin_n_Jack:

    I've seen lots of pictures of Basenjis that will swim, and Jack even jumped in the water….once. He will probably never do it again, he hated it that much. Wish mine would swim, congratulations on finding one [a basenji] that likes the water.

    Now thats interesting! When Miranda did a search on google images, she could only find two pictures that actually showed Basenji's swimming. We also looked in our copy of The Complete Basenji by Elspet Ford and did not find images of swimming either. Of course most of those images are either in the wild or the show ring. However, there is one image on page 21 of our Kennel Club Book entitled Basenji, written by Juliette Cunliffe.

    So if you do not mind, could you post some links or provide some information that will lead us to those pictures of Basenji's swimming? We would really enjoy seeing them, as I am sure others on the forum would as well.

    Thanks,

    Jason and Miranda


  • @JazzysMom:

    I will probably never know if mine would ever swim as we live in the Pacific Northwest and our lakes never do get quite warm enough for me to try them.
    I think they'd object more to the temperature of the water than the water itself.

    I hear you. We are lucky that the water in our lake warms up like it does. On extremely hot days, I am sure Roo and I will probably enjoy the water even more.

    Jason


  • We have had our B, Sahara, out on our boat about 3 times. She loves to go anywhere were we are. We bought her a lifepreserver and she wears it whenever she goes. My husband put her in the river with him and she didn't object too much, it was a hot, humid day. She went with us last July 4th out on the river to watch fireworks, and she didn't ever object to the loud noises. I covered her ears off and on during the fireworks show so she wouldn't get scared. We plan on taking her for a swim soon, she cut her paw pad so we are making sure it heals completely before we put her out in the river.


  • @youngandtired:

    We have had our B, Sahara, out on our boat about 3 times. She loves to go anywhere were we are. We bought her a lifepreserver and she wears it whenever she goes. My husband put her in the river with him and she didn't object too much, it was a hot, humid day. She went with us last July 4th out on the river to watch fireworks, and she didn't ever object to the loud noises. I covered her ears off and on during the fireworks show so she wouldn't get scared. We plan on taking her for a swim soon, she cut her paw pad so we are making sure it heals completely before we put her out in the river.

    I think the heat of the summer will have a lot to do with how well any dog will accept the water. It certainly helps, that is for sure. A good long walk before hand is probably helpful as well.

    I am wondering how our Basenji Roo will react to the fireworks tonight. I know it scares the pee out of some dogs.

    Jason


  • We keep a little plastic wading pool out for the boys and Eli will get in it and stand on very hot days. He doesn't particularly like to be splashed though and he HATES the water hose.

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