The Adur Dog Swimming Race 1908

At the start of the 20th century attempts in Britain to establish a properly organised swimming race for Newfoundland dogs had ended in a fiasco.

Newfoundlands are a massive breed, originating in northeastern Canada and were once used to help fishermen haul in their nets. They were thought ideal as competitors for swimming races, as their oily coats are highly water resistant. However at the regatta in ShorehamBy-Sea, a swimming event for dogs was successfully introduced, though the competitors were a mix of breeds.

In October 1908, Shoreham held races in the river Adur for what was known as the southern championship in dog swimming. There were separate competitions for dogs over and under 25lb in weight. There were a fair amount of entries in each category, but the primitive arrangements and a misunderstanding as to exactly where the finishing point was located caused some dissatisfaction among owners. It also brought about the defeat of a local champion, a Beagle cross, in the chief competition. This dog had seemed to spectators to be groomed for swimming, as the fur of its tail was described as being sickle-shaped in appearance and serving the purpose of a rudder. For the past two years in succession the Beagle cross had won the Shoreham race, beating 28 other entrants on the first occasion. Although he was certainly the first to land on the town side of the River Adur in the 1908 race, having covered a distance of between 75 to 80 yards in 78 seconds, the Beagle cross was placed only third. The winner was a larger dog that was a cross between a Greyhound and Old English Sheepdog and the runner up was a flatcoated Retriever owned by a female visitor to Shoreham.

Popular opinion among spectators was that the Retriever would have, with a little coaching, won the race as he had a more powerful swimming stroke than any of the other competitors. He swam with his head well up in the air and appeared to appreciate the task. Another firm favourite for the race had been a Sussex Spaniel, but the smaller, stockier dog had already tired itself out, because it could not be kept out of the water during the preceding events. These activities included the boat race and after the starting gun had been fired, the Spaniel had dashed into the river expecting to see retrieve a fallen game bird for his owner. The Sussex Spaniel is one of the oldest Spaniel breeds originated in the 1700s and first being officially recognised in 1855.

Fox Terriers did very well in the small dog race, and the local champion, Dick scored his third win in succession without being pressed. Great interest was taken in the canine swimming contests with visitors attending from across the county and beyond. A pleasing feature in the Shoreham events was that apart from one Fox Terrier, in the starting line up, every dog finished the course. Six members of the one family took a part, each owning a Fox Terrier, including the woman with the one that did not finish. These plucky dogs appeared to like the exercise so much that they continued to follow the winner. Spectators and owners alike found it was worth the pleasant walk of several miles to reunite with their dogs that had made such light work of swimming the river Adur.Judy Upton’s latest thriller ‘Sniff Them Out, Brownlow!’ about a pet detective and her sniffer dog has recently been published.

Judy Upton

Refs:Express and Telegraph 1908

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