IN the last 8 months, we went from being a family with multiple cats
and no dogs to suddenly having two largish dogs.Dog #1 my son brought
home and is a lab/Calahula (sp?) puppy mix and #2 is a golden
retriever pup. Considering we need to go to swimming places in this
heat, we try to take the dogs. Unfortunately, all the places I knew
as a kid where people took dogs are no longer dog friendly. Yes, I
know it is backlash against owners who didnt keep theirs under
control. Still, there needs to be some places dogs can swim without
being hors dourves for gators.
Yesterday, we did manage to find one place with no rules, a beautiful
little spring run with crystal clear icy water. We could sit under
the bridge out of the sun and jump into the water with the dogs who
loved it. After awhile they got cold and wouldnt go back in. Years
ago, before the alligator population explosion, we could go to just
about any lake and swim. Nowadays, there are so many gators that
swimming in many lakes is suicidal. So, the rise of both human and
gator populations, there is hardly any place for doggies to swim.

wrote:
IN the last 8 months, we went from being a family with multiple cats
and no dogs to suddenly having two largish dogs.Dog #1 my son brought
home and is a lab/Calahula (sp?) puppy mix and #2 is a golden
retriever pup. Considering we need to go to swimming places in this
heat, we try to take the dogs. Unfortunately, all the places I knew
as a kid where people took dogs are no longer dog friendly. Yes, I
know it is backlash against owners who didnt keep theirs under
control. Still, there needs to be some places dogs can swim without
being hors dourves for gators.
Yesterday, we did manage to find one place with no rules, a beautiful
little spring run with crystal clear icy water. We could sit under
the bridge out of the sun and jump into the water with the dogs who
loved it. After awhile they got cold and wouldnt go back in. Years
ago, before the alligator population explosion, we could go to just
about any lake and swim. Nowadays, there are so many gators that
swimming in many lakes is suicidal. So, the rise of both human and
gator populations, there is hardly any place for doggies to swim.


When I was a kid, I used to take my dog to a beach at Long Island Sound.
Dog had no problem swimming. No gators, either. Take your dogs to a salt
water beach.

"hk" wrote in message
. ..
wrote:
IN the last 8 months, we went from being a family with multiple cats
and no dogs to suddenly having two largish dogs.Dog #1 my son brought
home and is a lab/Calahula (sp?) puppy mix and #2 is a golden
retriever pup. Considering we need to go to swimming places in this
heat, we try to take the dogs. Unfortunately, all the places I knew
as a kid where people took dogs are no longer dog friendly. Yes, I
know it is backlash against owners who didnt keep theirs under
control. Still, there needs to be some places dogs can swim without
being hors dourves for gators.
Yesterday, we did manage to find one place with no rules, a beautiful
little spring run with crystal clear icy water. We could sit under
the bridge out of the sun and jump into the water with the dogs who
loved it. After awhile they got cold and wouldnt go back in. Years
ago, before the alligator population explosion, we could go to just
about any lake and swim. Nowadays, there are so many gators that
swimming in many lakes is suicidal. So, the rise of both human and
gator populations, there is hardly any place for doggies to swim.


When I was a kid, I used to take my dog to a beach at Long Island Sound.
Dog had no problem swimming. No gators, either. Take your dogs to a salt
water beach.


Up here, with a small population and endless miles of coastline, we still
have a problem.
Every half decent beach where a human may show up has 'Dogs must be on
leash' signs.
I'll take my Springer Spaniel out to an area about half an hour away that
has a series of nice sandy beaches and cool ocean water less than a half
hour drive from my house. The signs are up but enforcement seems to be
minimal...probably when a complaint is called in...or if you happen to run
into enforcement by accident.

On Sun, 14 Sep 2008 10:43:05 -0400, hk wrote:

When I was a kid, I used to take my dog to a beach at Long Island Sound.
Dog had no problem swimming. No gators, either. Take your dogs to a salt
water beach.

You could get one of those four gallon garden sprayers to rinse the
salt off the dog. Or do they even care?

Casady

Richard Casady wrote:
On Sun, 14 Sep 2008 10:43:05 -0400, hk wrote:

When I was a kid, I used to take my dog to a beach at Long Island Sound.
Dog had no problem swimming. No gators, either. Take your dogs to a salt
water beach.

You could get one of those four gallon garden sprayers to rinse the
salt off the dog. Or do they even care?

Casady


When we got home, I just hosed him off with fresh water and a little
shampoo. He was ready to go swimming every day in the summer and
sometimes catch a fish.