Newfoundland dogs legendarily love water. They may look like giant teddy bears (and can weigh up to 175lb / 80kg) but their webbed feet and water-repellent coats mean they are perfect for water rescue missions. If you’re into open water swimming it’d be a good idea to have one of these guys around, just in case.
But Hobie the Newfoundland clearly loved the water even more than most of his breed. As this video proves, it’s difficult to get him out of the water.
Filmed last week in Wyresdale Park in Scorton, UK, the clip stars Hobie, who was on a water rescue training session run by the Blackpool Working Newfoundlands group, where he other dogs were practising life-saving skills.
But Hobie was clearly enjoying himself so much, there was no way those pesky humans were going to drag him out of the lake.
Hobie let’s them think he’s playing ball as he almost fully emerges, then he makes a break for it, using a nearby paddleboard to aid him in his escape attempt. He ends up floating on it quite happily, looking very please with himself.
Brooke Schofield, co-founder of the Blackpool Working Newfoundlands group, admitted to the Lancashire Evening Post that the breed could be a little headstrong, adding, “They have a natural instinct, if they see a human in water they really don’t like it. They will do anything they can to get the person out.
“We help them get their confidence in the water and do activities like swimming out to people, taking a rope, towing a boat.
“The dogs really enjoy it as it’s what they were bred for.”
She admitted, though, that “[Hobie] really did not want to come out.”
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