Dare swimming in Tank

The first swim when to Fox. Small, I could control the dog and make adjustments to the attached leashes. Then Rufus the other SAR dog that belongs to Marty. He too had undergone surgery the summer before...only she has her pool and we could swim all summer long. This was winter and Dare needed a warm and safe pool. The tank was to be his salvation. Still not walking on the leg at all, we were about to swim him back to FULL usefulness.

The leashes were attached for the first swim and hooked to the harness that he wore. We also put a water safety vest to him to help keep him afloat.  At first he simply put his back feet down! So we made a rear floatation device!! The yellow you see is a "noodle" available at Walmart for the swimming pools! Cut and a collar threaded through, it made him have to swim. It had began.

Soon we could take the back one off, and he began to love the tank of warm water. The temps are VERY important. We had it at 80° so it was NOT too cold for the muscles to stretch and work. The first week we worked him twice a day for 5 minutes each time. Adding about a minute extra for each day. By the end of the first week we had worked up to a full 10 minutes twice a day. I remember that call on Sat...Marty was almost in tears...DARE WAS USING HIS LEG! Walking with weight on the leg. Still not a lot, but it was happening faster than I had dreamed. We would continue that schedule.

Dare swimming

That week the back float came off and we changed how the lines attached.  A swivel was attached to the leashes, and a bungee cord was used to keep the lines out of his way. The position of the tank was under a garage door track...so we simply attached the bungee to it and lifted the line...now the dog was free to swim in circles or whatever. The time was up to 15 minutes and holding. The water was still warm. By the end of that week he was fully walking!! I mean striding and carrying weight. Not running, or turning fast, but still, it was great progress.

To this, we also did the massage and slow walking with tape on the other foot. That encouraged him to pick it up...and to do that he HAD to stand on the sore leg. LOL...but I think we cried with joy as the boy made such progress.

In the weeks that followed, we sometimes missed here and there. And often our schedule was tight and he only got one good swim a day. But the progress continued. Now, after 4 weeks in the tank he could run, chase his toys, and begin back into SAR work. We started on article search as it didn't require any heavy running. Each day we could see his return to normal. Our excitement grew. This pup was going to return to real work!! At just 10 months of age, his future was bright again.

Well a year has passed. This dog has passed his basic Track, Basic Air scenting tests, modified agility test (smaller jumps) the Obedience to a CD level, and is working on Cadaver  land/water specialty! He has stayed sound and not shown a limp once. His passion is water...and it is readily seen in the following pictures!

Watch Dare DIVE!! What have we created?? A water dog nut! and a SAR dog deluxe

NOW he is diving!!

Dare loves the water so much, 
he spends most of his summer swimming!

Dare can take things with scent off the bottom of a 4' pool.

Take a look at Dare now!
  He passed his B Level Cadaver Certification (3/18/00).

  The music you are listening to is "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen."