Home Bouvier des Flandres Water rescue dog
Where’s a will, there’s a way! PDF Print E-mail

Water rescue work (German TV-Video)

For centuries the dog has been on man’s duty and still nowadays is a reliable co-worker because of  his intelligence, joyful learning and adaptability. Especially the bouvier des flandres according to his history has been a working dog in the first place.
Starting as the farmer’s helper in Flandres, herding  the cattle or carting his products to the market place; as ambulance dog or carrier in two world wars or as a  watch dog, search dog or disaster dog nowadays : his versatility and strong character make for multiple fields of work. Only in water rescue work  there seemed to be no motion at all…at least not here in Germany.
Longstanding training programmes of the Newfoundland waterwork group NRW in neighbourhood of the lido in Duisburg called ‘Poseidon’, shared activities and events in cooperation with the DLRG (German Life Preserver Association) brought about a process of rethinking and led to a fertile collaboration:
May 30th the first trained and tested dog-man-teams of the waterwork group NRW ran water patrol at the ‘wolfsee’! Of course a profound preparation had been necessary: During the winter season water rescue aspirants had to pass an intensive schooling and exams for the ‘life preserver’ to be fit and competent in real life. Their dogs, all coming from the water sports discipline-that means they used to be sent by their handlers to act (alone) in various situations- had now to relearn, as they aren’t allowed to go alone in water rescue work, but only as ‘helper’s helper’, so to speak, only in a close man-dog-teamwork!
Realistic training for the case of emergency in a recreational area like the 6-lakes-district necessarily includes bathing accidents, collisions of divers and surfers, salvage or reanimation of victims.
As for a genuine bouvier lady, this challenge is an absolute ‘MUST’ for Bryana! Maybe it’s the old guarding  instinct and protecting drive besides her uncredible curiosity and observation skills:  Sitting on the beach she forgets playing and goodies,  only watching the water surface her neck seems to get longer and longer, but jumping up abruptly as soon as she notices uncontrolled strange behavior, arms slashing around wildly or screams of bathing people.
New friendships have been contracted today on her first operation- a bunch of kids, of course