[nagdu] Shepherds and the ocean

Wed Jul 29 14:56:21 UTC 2009

Hi Wayne,

I must first off say I'm speaking of a lab/golden cross here, and of course
she's a scrounge girl.  But I have to be careful about what she puts in her
mouth when on the beach.  We often have to take seaweed away from her, and
little dead things are a temptation, too.  If your dog ingests much sea
water, the result is definitely diarrhea.  So I try to be aware of what my
dog is doing, though it's not always easy.  On the positive side, there is
so much for a dog to see...birds, lots of people, games going on the beach.
Dogs usually like all the new activity.  Many like the ocean, but, as Marion
said, you just have to introduce it and see what his reaction is.  My dogs
are used to our pool, so they aren't sure what to make of that moving water.
I'm on the Gulf of Mexico side of the state, where the waves are pretty
tame.  If you're staying on the Atlantic, then you'll have much larger
waves, and your dog might be intimidated by them, unless he's like Marion's
shepherd.  Of course his dog grew up around the    water.  If you go in the
water with him, he may accept it and find he enjoys it.

I have an old harness and leash, and like to use them when I go to the
beach.  I often have visits from the beach police, who come up and tell me
dogs aren't allowed, and then they see the harness, apologize and leave.

It goes without saying that you need to bring water for your dog, and access
to shade now and then is good.  We use a beach umbrella, and my dog can lay
there for hours enjoying her surroundings without getting too much intense
sun.

My first dog, which was half shepherd, rarely would keep her normal eating
schedule when away.  It was a real pain, but it seems that's the nature of
the shepherd beast.  I remember being in hotels with her refusing to eat
unless I lay down on the bed and put the bowl down beside me.  When I took
her to Mexico when I was a college student, we stayed with a family.  I can
still hear various family members saying over and over the Spanish word for
eat, pronounced co may.

I hope you and Guchi have a great time in our very warm but wonderful state!

Sherrill

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org]On
Behalf Of Marion & Martin
Sent: Wednesday, July 29, 2009 8:28 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Shepherds and the ocean

Wayne,
    Greetings from the sunchine State, although the sunshine has been of the
liquid sorts, of late! First of all, I wanted to find out where in our
beutiful state you will be staying! If somewhere near us, we wouldn't mind
connecting!
    As for your question about German Shepherds affinity to the water, as a
afficionado of that breed, all I can say is "It depends!" My current pup
tolerates the water, at best! I can coax her in and she seems to enjoy the
swim while in - or perhaps her enjoyment is in the failure to drown - but as
soon as I stop the coaxing, she is out of there! On the other hand, I had a
Shepherd that would literally body surf! I once lived on an island in the
West Palm Beach area where I was on the Intracoastal Waterway and two blocks
from the Atlantic. My dog, Mike, and I spent a lot of time on the beach. He
was playing in the surf one day when a larger than usual wave came toward
him. As he turned to flee the large wall of water toward the beach, the wave
picked him up and brought him to the shore! He turned and looked at me with
this startled look on his face as if to say, "What the heck was that all
about?", then turned back to the Atlantic to give it another try! He would
paddle around offshore until he found a wave to bring him in! I think I have
pictures around here of Mike body surfing!
    I hope you enjoy your stay in our fine State! Bring lots of sun screen!
I personally recommend Coppertone Sport SPF 45! The temps are currently lows
of mid-70s and highs in the mid-90s. We are getting showers nearly every
day, but they generally only last for an hour or so! Have a blast!

Fraternally yours,
Marion

----- Original Message -----
From: "Wayne Merritt" <wcmerritt at gmail.com>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users"
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Cc: "gsdguides" <gsdguides at yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, July 28, 2009 10:15 PM
Subject: [nagdu] Shepherds and the ocean

> Greetings all. Gucci and I will be traveling to Florida this weekend
> for a family vacation. We'll be staying with my parents, brothers, and
> older brother's family in a large house, which from what I've herd is
> more like a resort. It belongs to a friend of the family. Whenever
> Gucci and I travel to my parent's house in Dallas for holidays and
> such, her eating habits go down. I've learned that since there's more
> activity in a larger space, she feels that she has to explore and
> check things out. When feeding time comes, invariably she won't eat
> all of her food. Often she skips meals altogether. I've learned that i
> have to put her food down, leave for 30 minutes or more, come back and
> if she hasn't eaten, then take her out like normal and then just wait
> till the next mealtime. She'll likely spend much of next week on a
> bedchain or leash given the new environment, the niece and nephews
> running around, and the increasing amount of activity. So, my
> questions are these:
>
> 1. How can I get her more comfortable with the environment?
> 2. What should I know when taking her to the beach and the ocean, or
> do sheperds even like to get in the ocean and on the beach? I know
> most Labs love the water, but I don't know about shepherds?
>
> I think I know how to make her more comfortable with things, but want
> to see what others have to say on this type of situation. If things go
> well, we might get this opportunity for the next few years, of going
> to the beach house that is.
>
> Many thanks as always,
> Wayne & Gucci
>
> --
> My blog:
> http://wayneism.blogspot.com
> My websites:
> www.wayneism.com
> www.whitecaneday.org
>
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