# Excessive Water Intake while Swimming



## byounglove (Mar 2, 2005)

We have a young dog that swallows large amounts of water while retrieving. He swallos so much water when he is working that he is like a tank when he returns with a retrieve and has to vomit up the water before he can even deliver the bird or bumper. Our vet does not see any physical problem in his throat. The dog has no problem with eating or drinking.
The dog is 14 mos. old and has Great potential.
Does anyone have any experience with this issue ??????


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## jimmyp (Aug 21, 2008)

there was another post about this not long ago, with good information.
jim


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## Jennifer Teed (Jan 28, 2009)

I was actually going to stop up the same kind of thread, and my 9 mos old constantly coughs and gags as she swallows water on her way back. 

I'll try to search up the previous thread.


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## dogcommand (May 22, 2003)

I had that experience with my first lab (yellow female). We tried all kinds of different bumpers and things and never did find a solution, though a big fat duck seemed to help. You really need to watch them. She was a hunt test dog. I would have been afraid to run her on some of the big FT water setups.

It definitely is scary.


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## JKL (Oct 19, 2007)

byounglove said:


> We have a young dog that swallows large amounts of water while retrieving. He swallos so much water when he is working that he is like a tank when he returns with a retrieve and has to vomit up the water before he can even deliver the bird or bumper. Our vet does not see any physical problem in his throat. The dog has no problem with eating or drinking.
> The dog is 14 mos. old and has Great potential.
> Does anyone have any experience with this issue ??????


Yes, and he got better about it with age.
He was fine going out but coming back swallowed huge amounts of water. He would be so bloated he groaned.
This is how I dealt with it. If he was bloated when he came back, whether it was the 1st or last mark, I let him burp, throw up, whatever it took, even threw a happy bumper to get him to burp. Then after he did I sat him down and he got the next mark. I never used the large bumpers, small ones only, but I did use ducks.
Over time he got so much better. I never worried about his long term water attitude.


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## FOM (Jan 17, 2003)

JKL said:


> Yes, and he got better about it with age.
> He was fine going out but coming back swallowed huge amounts of water. He would be so bloated he groaned.
> This is how I dealt with it. If he was bloated when he came back, whether it was the 1st or last mark, I let him burp, throw up, whatever it took, even threw a happy bumper to get him to burp. Then after he did I sat him down and he got the next mark. I never used the large bumpers, small ones only, but I did use ducks.
> Over time he got so much better. I never worried about his long term water attitude.


How did you handle it in a trial situation? Assuming you ran him in trials?

Lainee


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## JKL (Oct 19, 2007)

FOM said:


> How did you handle it in a trial situation? Assuming you ran him in trials?
> 
> Lainee


I did run him. He had qual win at 22 months and another at 26 months, 2 back to back derby wins. He also had Open and Am placements. He was extremely talented and had a great water attitude. I did what I did in training to keep that attitude. When he was bloated he would no go sometimes because it hurt. I realized that asap and changed my routine with him.
In the trial if he bloated I took my time on line allowing him to get comfortable and burp.
Usually we train on more water than you ever see in a trial. For the purpose of time management, 3 big swims is hardly ever seen unless I am judging!


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## Cayuga Dew (Nov 30, 2014)

byounglove said:


> We have a young dog that swallows large amounts of water while retrieving. He swallos so much water when he is working that he is like a tank when he returns with a retrieve and has to vomit up the water before he can even deliver the bird or bumper. Our vet does not see any physical problem in his throat. The dog has no problem with eating or drinking.
> The dog is 14 mos. old and has Great potential.
> Does anyone have any experience with this issue ??????


I have the same issue with my 16 month old. 7 Years later how did you make out with this dog?

Sincerely,
Duane


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## Mark Littlejohn (Jun 16, 2006)

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## mrman (Feb 12, 2016)

Mark Littlejohn said:


> View attachment 29146
> ................


This is flat wrong...but SOO DANG FUNNY!!!


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## John Lash (Sep 19, 2006)

I had one that would grossly fill up with water. He'd look scared and come in and throw up water. A lot of water. I got him as an older dog. 16 months. In a month or two he figured it out and it never was a problem again.
I think he just would swim with his mouth under the water enough that his momentum would pump water into him. Had to learn to keep his mouth up or maybe learned to keep whatever they do with their esophagus to keep the water out of their stomach.


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## Mike W. (Apr 22, 2008)

Folks, this is serious. I lost a dog who used to take on a lot of water when she swam. Would be bloated and then cough up a bunch of water on land. I lost this dog to a tragic drowning accident. She either died of a heart attack, or some variant of water intoxication which could have choked her while in the water.


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## Cayuga Dew (Nov 30, 2014)

Mike W. said:


> Folks, this is serious. I lost a dog who used to take on a lot of water when she swam. Would be bloated and then cough up a bunch of water on land. I lost this dog to a tragic drowning accident. She either died of a heart attack, or some variant of water intoxication which could have choked her while in the water.


Mike W. thank you for bring the seriousness of this out. I will closely monitor my pup! I hope he outgrows it. He probably has been doing this a lot, but it came up Tuesday on a very long water mark.


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## bshaf (Apr 29, 2015)

When my pup was young, he would gulp and try to eat the water he splashed up, casual swimming was impossible. He never seemed to drink with a bumper but I used a retrieve as an incentive to swim without gulping. In running water, he would lower his mouth and take in so much water, eventually throwing up all over. 

Water intoxication, from what I've read, happens quick and has killed dogs without the owner knowing what happened.


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## Mike W. (Apr 22, 2008)

> Water intoxication, from what I've read, happens quick and has killed dogs without the owner knowing what happened.



It is one of the worst things I have ever experienced in my life. I hope people can learn about this. I have owned dogs for 40 years, and never knew. Pulling a dog out of the water is a terrible thing.


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## Erin O'Brien (Mar 5, 2010)

Both of my dogs do this. They seem to be much worse when it is hot out. I also have found that using smaller bumpers or birds on the water helps, it seems the worst with large bumpers. My vet said they would grow out of it. But at 4 years old, I think it has gotten better but there's still days where she will puke up like a gallon of water. One has also done it at a trial.


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