Scotties Are Not Good Swimmers!

Back in the day when Wen and her husband had a backyard pool in Texas, they thought that it would be fun to see how well their dogs could swim.  They took each of the dogs in the pool separately and put a hand underneath their chests, just to be safe.

Buffy, the Cocker Spaniel, had a natural talent and she easily swam across the pool and would even retrieve rubber balls that were floating in the water.

Poo, the female Scottie, weighed about twenty pounds and her short legs served her well as she swam, but she tired easily and Wen would only let her swim a short distance with a hand underneath her.

Casey, the male Scottie, was a larger and stockier dog and his attempt at swimming was a near disaster!  He had a very determined and anxious expression on his face as his short legs paddled and without a hand underneath him, he would have sank like a rock!  He literally was swimming for his life.

The Scottish Terrier Club of America, the AKC breed club for the Scottish Terrier, warns people that Scotties cannot swim since they are dense, heavy dogs.  “With their short legs and heavy heads they cannot swim well and easily drown.”

Of course there are exceptions to everything, but Casey was a true example of “Scotties cannot swim” and he was immediately taken out of the water to avert a potential tragedy.

Although we Scotties won’t be going swimming, we enjoy splashing around in a few inches of water on a hot day, so our kiddie wading pool has provided a way for us to play in the water without having to swim.  If we can run around the backyard, jump in and out of the kiddie pool, and then roll in the grass, it’s a good time!

Even though we have a doggie life vest, I am a Scottie and I know that I won’t be doing any swimming or dock diving any time soon (or ever)!  I’ll leave that to the Labradors and all of the other good swimmers!

For more Scottish Terrier information:  www.stca.biz