Swimming Shih Tzus, really? As it seems, everything has been pretty quiet on the home front here at the residence I like to refer to as Casa de Shih Tzu. But the weather has been horrible lately, it’s hot, humid (normally not) and just overall yucky. As a result we have been staying inside a lot… oh we still get our exercise with a lot of running around the house, all I have to do is run around the couches, in and out of the kitchen, dining room and living room, and I have little paws hot on my tail. As you may know many brachycephalic (smooshy nose) don’t do very well in the heat.

I am not a big of a swimmer, actually it’s probably because I don’t like the feel of the hot sun beating on my skin, I belive in saying NO to skin cancer. But I thought it would be great for a couple of the girls to get outside one evening and take a little dip in the pool. I am not under the impression that all dogs can swim. In fact it is believed that as many as 40,000 pets die each year due to accidental drownings in family swimming pools. (For more info about our recently installed pool fence click HERE). So for me safety is always a concern and life jackets are worn when the girls get in the pool. I am slowly introducing the girls to the water, as it can be very scary. Unlike dogs with regular long snouts, Shih Tzus can easily taken in lots of water quickly. So I am building up their confidence slowly.

Riley Learns to Swim

Riley was the first to enter the pool. She has been in the pool before, especially when she was a baby! Heck she just jumped 5 feet into the pool the first time! I was so happy and I thought I was going to have a dock dog, but you know the old saying. Once bitten twice shy.







Trixie Takes a Swim

Next it was Trixie’s turn. After I placed her vest on I put her right in the water, she is so small there is no way she can step into the pool on the pool steps. I was greatly surprised as she seemed to take to the water very well, if you notice in the video her little tail was wagging the whole time. I’m hoping this is a good sign and that she wasn’t trying to use it as a rutter. The funniest thing about her swimming is afterwards. Since her swim she has had this increase in her energy! I think it made her very happy, so we are going to add this to her exercise routine for the next couple of months!





