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2010-01-28 Water Rescue Leonbergers

Leos love water; being part Newfoundland they have inherited the webbed feet and dense water resistant coats that help them during this activity. Their webbed feet help to propel them through the water with ease and speed. Most Leo's take to the water very willingly, in fact, it’s harder to keep them out than to get them in. Water rescue work is a fun and worthwhile activity, but it does require total dedication and lots of enthusiasm from the owners (after all they feel the cold more than the dogs).


Most Leos take to the water very willingly, in fact, it’s harder to keep them out than to get them in...

To do water rescue work one must have special ammunition	Dogs in their special water rescue harness' - humans in special wet or dry suits. Everybody is ready for rescue work!

Water Rescue Work is the training of dogs to retrieve from the water, whether that be a person, a boat, or an object of importance. It is also the ability to take items, like a rescue life belt or a float, out to a person in trouble in the water. This can be a dog instructed to go into the water from land or being launched from a boat (or even from a helicopter) in the middle of a lake or at sea.


For rescue work you also need a boat	Dogs instructed to go into the water from land...	...from water...	...and from a boat

A dog is retrieving "an object of importance"	Leo towing a boat	Dogs "rescuing" their handlers (owners)

The dog is retreaving "a stranger" (it's important to train a dog to rescue ANY person in trouble)	The instructor in the water instructs a newcommer on how to be rescued and to ensure that she feels safe while the dog cames out to get her		Then the instructor follows close behind in case she needs any help

*Rescuing “an unconscious person” - the instructor holds the girl in the recovery position, the dog pulls them both back to shore.*	A girl does a controlled 'man overboard' for the dogs to rescue.	The girl and the instructor in the water - the dog comes up "to rescue" them...	...after that he comes back for the boat

A dog retreiving a boat with children	Nobody can stop a leo when he is eager to "rescue" somebody!	A dog is retrieving "an object of importance"...	*...up to people in trouble*

If the owner wishes he can try to pass 'Water Tests Certificates' that will show his Leo is recognized as a Water Rescue Dog. These tests are taken with a judge and instructor who will assess how the owner with his dog performs, and if they pass each element of a test and gain enough points they will then pass and be awarded a Certificate.


No, this is not a rocket on take off, it's Juno, the irrepressible rocket propelled dog!	Juno does a perfect swim to handler (exercise 1)	Then she goes back out for the boat...(exercise 2)	...and finishes with a lovely and well performed retrieve (exercise 3) and gets her test "A" PASS

WATER RESCUE TESTS REGULATIONS

*Test*	*Exercises*
A	*1 Swim out* *15 metres to handler or stranger* *2 Swim out* *15 metres to boat* *3 Retrieve a familiar object from* *6 metres*
B	*1 Tow handler or stranger from* *20 metres* *2 Tow boat back* *20 metres* *3 Retrieve provided object from* *6 metres* *4 Retrieve of object from* *20 centimetres under water* *5 Controlled swim*
C	*1 Tow stranger from* *25 metres* *2 Jump from boat and tow* *30 metres to shore* *3 Retrieve object from* *15 metres* *4 Controlled swim*
D	*1 Take coil of rope out to a boat and tow it back to shore* *2 Tow a stranger to a boat* *3 Directed retrieve of one of two objects* *4 Search for hidden stranger and tow to shore*
E	*1 Take out life buoy/jacket to stranger* *2 Directed tow of one of two persons* *3 Jump and take a rope to a stranger in another boat and be pulled in* *4 Search for hidden rope and tow boat to shore.*


Zeus starts off into cold water for his "A" Test	Exercise 1 - Zeus brings the handler in	Exercise 2 - Zeus swims 15 m. to the boat and pulls it to the shore	Exercise 3 - Elsa retreives an object from 6 m.

Bonnie and Oakley doing the same Exercises		If the owner with the dog pass each element of a test and gain enough points they will be awarded a Certificate

Our special thanks to Becki Belcher and all leo-fans from Wiltshire Wet Leos Training Group for exceptionally interesting information about Water Rescue Work and wonderful photos, that helped us to make our story more vivid. We are sure, that this information will be of great help to other leo owners who may want to start their own training groups.

We welcome everybody to send us information on Water Rescue Leos and we’ll be glad to input it!

Information on the "WILTSHIRE WET LEOS" is HERE