I think it is imperative to train a yorkie to swim if you have a pool or pond on your property. Even if you try to be there at all times, accidents happen, doors and gates get left open and tragedies occur.
I have taught all my dogs how to swim and not panic if they fall in just as I taught my children when they were very young. Drowning is so common. I let my dogs "accidentally" fall in in a supervised fashion and "show them" where the places are in the pool where they can get out so, hopefully they will not panic if it happened when I was not there.
I also bought the skamperramp.com so that there were more ways for them to exit the pool and they wouldn't have to swim all the way to the steps and maybe tire and not make it.
I also think if you plan to ever take your dog on a boat they should not be allowed on the boat without a life jacket. It takes a long time for a boat to turn around if someone falls off and more than one dog has tired, panicked and sunk before they were saved. |