Beach Bullies

Quinnofhearts

At the end of the month, my family will be heading down to South Carolina for vacation and since Quinn is extra special, I'm bringing her with us! This will be her first time at a beach. Since we're landlocked and pretty much only have mud and creeks, I wanted to ask you more coastal people, is there anything I need to be careful of on the beach? Any doggie health hazards (besides messing with a grumpy crab or obvious water hazards)? Will I need to rinse her every day because of the sand? Don't want to cause her irritation... She's on flea medication - any other bugs I need to watch out for? And if you use it...personal recommendations for sunscreen? Gotta protect that big bull nose.

Have any of your bullies had the chance to be a beach bum? Would love to see any pictures of your dogs on vacation. B-)

Xtracho

We live on the beach and there is one large section that is approved for doggies. First and foremost make sure the beach allows dogs. Don't want to start off with having to deal with a**hats that think the beach belongs to them and them only. Swallowing salt water can bring about runny stools. Jellyfish can sting. And at certain times of the year there are tiny, almost microscopic crab larvae in the water that can irritate. Very similar to chiggers, or redbugs some people call them. Is she a white bullie?(my feeble mind cannot remember). If so, some sunscreen on her ears. We use the sunscreen for babies and apply a light coat onto Maya's ears.

So yes, rinse her to get the sand and any of those little critters that could cause irritation.

If she is well socialized you should be fine. I know Maya was just a little thing when we first took her and she was a basket case for the entire time. Simply because she had not ever been there before and her socialization was still in progress.

Obviously leashing her goes without saying. Nothing more fun than running along the beach after a bullie that can outrun everyone! Just take your time introducing her and you should be fine. Have a great vacation! 

B-)

MiniJax

We live at the beach as well and although we are still very much in the socialization period we have taken the pups out a few times to run around. We had a little time before May where the beach was mostly empty. Neither pup would venture into the water but both had a blast running around and they both had no problem sticking their faces in the sand.mi think it bothered me way more than them. Since jax is white we had to put sunscreen on his ears and his big beak. Surprisingly after they were finished they really didn't have any sand on them but the had that wet dog funk smell. Good thing it only takes a min for us to give a quick bath.

kat

I took my old BT to Dog Beach in Fort Myers Beach this past January. It is a leash free beach just for dogs. He absolutely LOVED it and we went every day for a week!

philsergeant

Kat, that is a very special photo!

Quinnofhearts

We're headed to Charleston and they do have dog approved times for the beach. Regardless of the rules though, Quinn will stay on a leash no matter what. Her recall is only okay and I wouldn't want to risk it in a strange place + a body of water. Got her a new long leash line so she can roam away from me a bit as I don't trust a retractable leash in a place like that either.

I've been stung by a jellyfish...most certainly would not wish that on anyone, human or dog!! (

She is brindle and white, brindle ears white neck and blaze. Hopefully just a little lotion on the sniffer should do. Sounds like I might need to bring some wipes with me though - she doesn't need to be any more stinky than normal.

Kat your boy looks in total bliss in that photo!! I don't know whether I'll be able to talk Quinn into the water or not, but it would be nice to see her as happy as that.

Stoges_mom

Just a head up, Stoeger is also brindle and white and I've noticed that after being in the sun he gets extremely hot, even to the touch. With the ocean he should be able to jump in and cool off but maybe have some cool water to help.

fontana666

I live on the beach and mountains. That's the northwest for ya. I can tell ya this. Salt water makes them poop pudding, watch out for boards with nails or staples, some people on the beach are not so dog friendly(especially if you have the scary dog in all the movies), watch out for sharks and jellyfish, and have fun.

Quinnofhearts

Hi! Just a quick beachy update! Quinn went nuts her first time on the beach! She tried to hucklebutt, unfortunately I had her on her 5 foot leash instead of her lunge line, so it was a lot of her spinning me around in circles and me trying to keep my arm...boy was she excited! Not a big fan of the water. Likes the foam, but she would run away from the waves. She also likes to stomp on children's sand castles and try to steal their toys. She's received lots of love from everyone too...I think she could get used to this.  B-)

philsergeant

That's gotta be the camera... there can't be a dog that beautiful!

Quinnofhearts

Well I'd say the camera can only capture what it sees! :x

philsergeant

HeeHee... you think us redneck boys haven't heard of Photoshop?

Andreia

Just took Storm to the beach for the first time ever this past weekend. She loved it! Picked up swimming almost right away and was so happy to run through the water chasing a frisbee, a ball or any kids including mine! I did apply baby sunscreen but she still did get a small burn on her ears.

BulliesofNC

They all look like they're having a blast on the beach!

Stoges_mom

Aww! I love seeing dogs swimming!

Quinnofhearts

Love that picture of Storm!! Quinn finally warmed up to the water, we've gone out the past two morning and she's been jumping and running through the waves. I love seeing her so happy.

philsergeant

Their love of life is contagious ..... That's why we couldn't live without them

Andreia

Thanks @Quinnofhearts. I love it too! She was just so happy and enjoying herself so much it's like @philaergeant said their love of life really is contagious .. You must post some pics of Quinn jumping through the waves!

Quinnofhearts

I'm not sure if we got any as I was out there jumping with her!! I always kept her on a lunge line, so one of us had to hold the line and the other person the camera. Not sure my mother is the best photographer... Oh well, guess this means we'll just have to go back to the beach! :-bd

Andreia

Hahaha! Yes sounds like a plan! :-bd

DianeWright

We have two Bullies.  Claxxton, our male, loves the water.  He wants to run straight into the waves.  Willie, our female, could care less about the water.  She doesn't want to get wet.  She's more interested in what she can find on the beach to pick up.  We recently took a trip to Oregon, and came down the Oregon/Ca coastline.  As soon as Claxxton saw the waves he went nuts.  He's our water boy.

philsergeant

Yeah, our can smell the sea air as soon as we get about 1/4 mile from the ocean... normally lying peacefully in the back.... as soon as they get a wiff it's up at the windows wagging.