The beach

[jobartlett]

Hi

Is it ok to take a 3 month old puppy to the beach in this weather?  It's been cold but sunny here.

Thanks

Jo

[elaine.e]

Yes, regardless of the weather he'll probably have a great time

As he's so young be careful about how much you let him run about and don't walk too far or for too long. About 15 minutes is enough at 12 weeks, but you could carry him some of the time if you want to stay out longer.

He might find the sea a bit frightening and it's probably best not to let him go in, or at least no more than a paddle while safely on lead. My current Cockers have never taken to swimming in the sea and I'm very pleased about that because one of my previous Cockers used to like going in and swimming straight out to sea . The first (and only) time he did that I really thought he was going to keep swimming away until he became exhausted and drowned but luckily he turned and came back, very tired, after a lot of calling from us. After that he had to stay on lead on beaches. Having said that, loads of people on here have Cockers who love to swim and retrieve or just swim close to shore and have a great time.

Don't let him drink seawater or eat dead fish etc. or you'll have a pup with an upset tum and make sure you have a towel and warm blanket for the journey home in case he gets wet and cold.

Apologies if this makes the beach sound like a place to be avoided . It isn't and I love beach walks with my 2.

[jobartlett]

That's great. Thank you very much. We might look to take him in a few weeks if the weather is dry(ish) and sunny

[karendorman13]

Yes it fine we took Kol but he was about 16 weeks old and he loved every minute of it and i am sure someone said they can walk a little further because the ground is much softer so is kinder to the joints.

[sebanelli]

Our four absolutely LOVE the beach no matter the weather and nearby Whitsand Bay, just 15 mins from our house in Plymouth is absolutely brilliant - huge, perfectly flat, expansive sands with plenty of interesting, swimmable ( for cockers) rock pools. They think jumping the waves is great fun and they will happily chase each other in and out of the water all day if we let them! However, be careful with the air and sea temperature. Right now, the waters just about at its warmest ( around 16C here) but Dylan got caught out in February when he got mild hypothermia from swimming and running about in breezy conditions with air temperatures not much different to today's. We hadn't considered windchill so he spent most of the day at the vet hospital under a heat lamp because of it and we were £ 130 worse off as a result! Turns out he was hypoglycaemic too so we ALWAYS give him something to eat before a beach walk now, just to be safe, and try not to let him actually swim too much. Paddling is the better option in colder weather ( if you can actually stop him jumping in!!).

[kalami]

Molly was a lucky pup her first walk was on the beach

[praia]

I took my pup to the beach for the first time when she was about 3 months and it was in the middle of October.  We did not encourage her to go into the water as it was cold, but seeing the open water and hearing and seeing the crashing waves was a good experience for her.  Being very small at this age and being more sensitive to colder temperatures, I would not allow a pup's first experience with swimming be in cold water or in strong currents. 

We let our pup run about as much as she wanted and for her first trip we were on the beach for 2 hours.  We weren't walking along the beach though, just running retrieves with our other spaniel and letting the puppy run crazy around us.  Puppies that are allowed to play at their own pace will take a break when they're tired and romping on sand isn't very stressful on the joints.  I only followed the 5 minutes per month rule when walking on lead as the pup has no choice but to keep pace, and while walking on harder surfaces that can be rough on young joints. 

[SophieBlueRoanLover]

Our four absolutely LOVE the beach no matter the weather and nearby Whitsand Bay, just 15 mins from our house in Plymouth is absolutely brilliant - huge, perfectly flat, expansive sands with plenty of interesting, swimmable ( for cockers) rock pools.

I was at Whitsand Bay a few weeks ago - wonderful beach! My pup loved running around in the sand but did get a bit cold afterwards.

[jobartlett]

That's great thanks guys.  We were looking to take him this weekend in the morning to Minnis Bay (recommended to us by a fellow gentleman walking his dog we met on Saturday) but he's currently got an upset tummy so will have to see how he is before committing to anything. 

I agree I think a walk along the beach will do him good but not let him in the sea incase it's too cold.

As always your opinion and advise is great.

Thanks
J

[kalami]

Take a backpack with fresh water and a fleece.
I'm not keen on my dogs drinking sea water so carry fresh water
Puppies get cold easily Molly was a worry even from cold wet grass, having shovered her down my top in an attempt to get her warm on more than one occasion (not pleasnt) I opted for carrying a small fleece blanket, (I cut a throw into 4, but a jumper would do.

[Abbi]

That's great thanks guys.  We were looking to take him this weekend in the morning to Minnis Bay (recommended to us by a fellow gentleman walking his dog we met on Saturday) but he's currently got an upset tummy so will have to see how he is before committing to anything. 

I agree I think a walk along the beach will do him good but not let him in the sea incase it's too cold.

As always your opinion and advise is great.

Thanks
J

Minnis Bay is a good place to walk on the beach and we often go down a bit further to Broadstairs - Dumpton Gap. Dogs can go on the beach all year round and very much a dog walkers paradise. Lots of socialisation and also Sam's Place is lovely for a snack or a hot chocolate! Would love to live closer as most people seem to be locals and would love to be able to stroll along the beach every day. Both are safe for off lead playing.