How Dogs Do the 'Dog Paddle': An Evolutionary Look at Swimming
Sunday, January 5, 2014 - 00:30
in Biology & Nature
Most adults remember their first success in learning to swim using the 'dog paddle'. This classic maneuver has been used to describe swimming in armadillos, turtles, even humans - just about everything except dogs. Dr. Frank Fish, a professor of biology at West Chester University, set out with his colleagues to understand how real dogs perform the dog paddle. Fish has spent most of his career studying the swimming of marine mammals such as whales. But looking at swimming in dogs afforded Fish the opportunity to investigate how swimming in marine mammals may have evolved from walking in their terrestrial ancestors.