Tried to Make me go to Rehab

I am happy to present the LONG AWAITED swimming photos that, despite the reasonable amount of swimming that has been done, my camera(s) tried to make impossible. Actually today I had some pictures taken with only part of the lens cover open (this is what prevented there from being any dog shows photos last weekend), and I snuck some in before the (brand new) battery decided to be low again.

But alas! We took a morning jaunt to the city park with its if not dog-friendly, then certainly dog-ambiguous beach. I live in the Ocean State, and there's really no shortage of tiny beaches along coves and bays and oceans.
Just beyond the wooden patio is a beautiful sandy beach, not rocky like many beaches in New England. It's a cove off a bay, so it's shallow, clear, and generally quite warm, which is perfect for this.

I wade in the water just past my knees, and Clover walks then swims along after me. He had enough leash to swim over to where he can stand and walk in shoulder-deep water - another excellent exercise for post-op recovery. Some rehab places actually have a treadmill they can flood up to this depth - the walking has higher resistance but the water still provides a buoyancy to take weight off the joint. But Clover seems to prefer walking on the sand or swimming.

He has a life jacket - back from when I used to have friends with boats - which is a great because he doesn't feel like he has to work harder to stay afloat. I have to put in a small plug for the Paws Aboard brand here, because this is a pretty awesome PFD. Very buoyant, nice handle, the bottom is mesh that drains well, and both the front/chest and bottom closures are heavy-duty Velcro plus strong plastic buckle closures (like most collars have). I can pick him up and carry him by the handle, it keeps his head above water, and it's as cheap-feeling as some of the other brands I looked at. He is a little too narrow in the front and I have to sort of cross the front flaps and then buckle, but that's a problem Clover has for every coat he's ever had, so I can't hold it against the company. He's also a lot more narrow than most Havs!

The life jacket is important because you don't want them to flail as they swim - especially early on, this can actually cause damage - but a nice, smooth doggy paddle. You want them to be moving those legs, working muscles and flexing joints, upping circulation, all those good things, but in a controlled, non-panicked manner. Even if your dog was a strong swimmer, remember they've lost fitness since they've injured themselves, and need to carefully rebuild it. Especially with a dog who is not used to swimming, start off in the water holding the dog, then once they're comfortable use the handle to guide them, and once they're comfortable you can swim or wade and they can follow along.

I'm at the beach probably 20-40 minutes in a stint, but he only swims in short bursts. I will walk about twenty feet along the shore, then walk in and let him stand on the shore for a bit. Swim back and go a littler further, then sit on the wooden deck for awhile and let him warm up in the sun for a bit. Then I'll repeat another time or two, depending on the day. He is never exhausted or panting, and that's how I want him to be - this is strength training and rehab, not cardio.

I pick him up out of the water (usually by his PFD handle!) carry him over the stand to my towel and into the car, so I don't have to rinse sand off of him. I'm lucky to have this beach about 10-15 minutes up the street from me, so this whole ordeal is maybe an hour, tops. If it's nice enough to swim, it's nice enough to let him towel/air dry; he can get a bath whenever I have time.

By far the best part of this excursion - he's happy, tired, and not limping when we're done.