Bull Terrier re-inventing fetch in the swimming pool

Djammy

I posted this under "Bull Terrier Character" because this video shows a lot of Bull Terrier Character indeed - shows once more how clownish and creative those furry little creatures are. On the other hand that they really own ambition and stamina.

Mila is not much of a stoic fetcher, rather likes a little variety in her games. Recently she re-invented fetching in the swimming pool completely on her own.
I think it's hilarious. But, watch and judge for yourself ... stay the two minutes with her until the end, it's worth it.

BulliesofNC

Awesome Video!!!  Such a good swimmer. I have to share this video so others can see just how well EBT's can swim.  :-bd

Djammy

The funniest thing about is that she had many reservations as a puppy when we introduced her to swimming in a life jacket. It took a looong time for her to feel comfy in the pool and to learn how to enter and leave it on her own. But it was a real great trust building exercise and we just gave it the time it took.

If she would have been really scared and nothing but scared - such as Fancy was - of course, we would just have left her alone with swimming and had focussed on other forms of entertainment.

But she is a go-getter, maybe hesitant at first, but once she discovers the fun in it, she can't stop. The only thing she never does on purpose is jump into the pool or dive, because she hates water in her ears. Other than that today she swims like a little froggy.

BulliesofNC

So rare to see a Bull Terrier swimming. I have quite a few Bull Terriers and only a couple of them will actually swim in our pond.

THansen001

How hard is the chlorine on their skin? Do u bath them afterward?

Djammy

I used to rinse her just with clear water afterwards and dry her really thoroughly. As she is in the pool A LOT, at some point she started to show signs of dry skin though and rinsing alone was no longer really sufficient.
I am still only really bathing her - with a dirt removing detergent - once every 7 to 14 days.

But here's what I do on a daily basis: I have increased her daily fish oil supplement as a moisturizer from the inside.
And I am putting a very good conditioner on her after her daily playtime in the pool, leave it on for about 10 minutes, then rinse really well with clear water and rub her feet and belly with a little coconut oil after drying them.
On days she is not using the pool, I don't rinse and condition her. That's just the after-pool measure.
The reason why I am only using the conditioner on a daily basis/ after the pool and not also the shampoo is that the conditioner contains all of the nurturing ingredients for her skin, but NOT the soapy parts of a shampoo that can dry and stress the skin when used daily. So the conditioner is not for cleaning, but only for her body care. Also I am brushing her once a day with the furminator.
It sounds like quite an effort, but it actually does not take a lot of time. She gets her exercise and entertainment and for now all of this also seems to work quite well for her skin. She shines like a new penny and seems to be comfy in her froggy skin.

Djamila had suffered from some allergies on her feet recently and the skin there also seems to really improve on all of those measures.

Now and then I still notice a little bit of dandruff on her flanks though. I will probably start to use a medicated shampoo with an exfoliating agent (with salicylic acid or so) on occasion supplementing the regular shampoo I am using when giving her a full bath.

The products I am currently using are (just in case you're interested):

Nature's Specialties Coconut Clean Pet Shampoo
Nature's Specialties Aloe Remoisturizer Pet Conditioner

These are the larger sizes, they also offer trial sizes - like I said, just in case ... The don't pay me for mentioning all of those details. But they should, because I am giving raving reviews about them.
I swear by this stuff ... to me it's gold! Really nice smell and real good doggy body care. Even the price is ok, because the products last so long. I learned about Nature's Specialties as a product line used by groomers. They carry a lot of different products targeting different issues. I am also thinking about buying their spray-on moisturizer for even longer lasting skin care after the pool time or "in-betweens".

philsergeant

She REALLY didn't want to let them go afterward! Marco likes to pick up two tennis balls, but sometimes he chomps down so hard on the second one that the first "lodges" in his throat with the push of the second..... Do you think if I sent Marco and Isabella over to your BullieCollege for a week, Mila could teach them to swim, I'll pay her a Hundred Bucks ( each!)

Djammy

She carries them around like this all the time. And at some point started to try catching them both at a time in the water.

Since I've shared this video I have heard of a lot of dogs, who like to play with more than one ball at a time.
The balls she gets are bigger on purpose. I could also buy then in tennis ball size. But I don't, because I am afraid she could hurt herself.
She is also stuffing them deeper into her muzzle sometimes.

Sounds scary that Marco's play sometimes causes one ball to get stuck in his throat. But I think you can handle it. Otherwise you would not let him do that, I guess.

Well, swim lessons from Djamila, I don't know ... although she may be willing, I'm afraid as soon as the balls touch the water, which is her magnet to go swimming ... she will just forget that she is supposed to give swim lessons or even that other dogs are around. This girl is crazy.

philsergeant

Seeing as I am totally jealous of Djamila's Aquatic Skills, (My kids will only go up to their necks in the ocean and no where near the Swimming Pool) ... I thought I'd post this delightful photo of my Aquatic Great Grand Niece named Maddie.

Djammy

Awesome picture!!!!!!!!!!! Looks like a shot for a magazine or a photo contest - as the winning photo, of course!  >-

BulliesofNC

Very nice photo. I'm not sure the photo would have come out so good with my camera. Who am I kidding, my camera can't take underwater photos.  )