Mileage Conversion for Swimming?

[Guest guest]

Hello All,

Here is a possibly strange question, but do you have a " conversion " of swimming

time to mileage that you give clients? There is a boarding kennel in the area

that has a small pool, and they tell clients that a 5 minute swim is equal to 5

miles (I am unsure if they mean 5 miles of swimming distance or walking). I have

read that marathoners/triathletes feel that running is 1/4 the work of swimming,

but I believe they are comparing the work to move the same distance.

An acquaintance of mine is conditioning her dog there and he swam a total of 18

minutes today (in and out of the pool in several sessions) and they told her he

" went " 18 miles (again, unsure if they are saying he swam 18 miles, or did the

work of an 18 mile walk/run).

Neither of these conversions seem right to me, but I am curious to hear what you

think! It would be nice to give people something easier to relate to than just

minutes swam.

Thanks in advance!

- Dobson CVT, CCRA Candidate

Wisconsin

[Guest guest]

I think your right , I am unaware of any direct equation

that converts swimming energy expended and converts it to walking

miles in dogs. There are calorie burning calculators out there for

humans but I would think this number would not fall so easily into a 1:1 ratio

of swimming min. vs. walking miles, but that is just a guess. Similar to what you said, I would think the

only way you could relate the two exercises is in calories burned… Again, I

don’t know of any numbers like this in dogs. I’d love to hear some beyond daily

energy requirements.

To me, maybe the facility

you speak of is using this as a way to communicate how long a patient or client

has exercised, but IMO this would be a false expression. Instead of making up

numbers, they should probably just say the dog swam (X) amount of min. with or without

(X) amount of breaks that lasted(X) amount of time. Swimming is nothing like

walking anyway, these are two completely different actions, with different

benefits for the patient. Neither of the activities do many people really

understand without the guidance of a knowledgeable professional anyway to help

dictate; when to use or how much to do the activities to achieve a specific goal. People do like numbers that represent things that they can understand, but I'd rather give them real numbers and explain them to them the best way I can, without making up analogies that don't really correlate.

Hope this helps, Robby

J Porter IIICertified Canine Rehabilitation PractitionerLouisiana Veterinary Referral CenterAnimal Rehabilitation CenterMandeville, LA70448Main Hospital: ext. 208lavrc.comtwitter.com/LAVRCfacebook.com/LAVRCyoutube.com/user/LAVRCfacebook.com/louisianaCOP*********************************************************************************************************This document, and any attached information is proprietary,

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Hello All,

Here is a possibly strange question, but do you have a "conversion" of swimming time to mileage that you give clients? There is a boarding kennel in the area that has a small pool, and they tell clients that a 5 minute swim is equal to 5 miles (I am unsure if they mean 5 miles of swimming distance or walking). I have read that marathoners/triathletes feel that running is 1/4 the work of swimming, but I believe they are comparing the work to move the same distance.

An acquaintance of mine is conditioning her dog there and he swam a total of 18 minutes today (in and out of the pool in several sessions) and they told her he "went" 18 miles (again, unsure if they are saying he swam 18 miles, or did the work of an 18 mile walk/run).

Neither of these conversions seem right to me, but I am curious to hear what you think! It would be nice to give people something easier to relate to than just minutes swam.

Thanks in advance!

- Dobson CVT, CCRA Candidate

Wisconsin

[Guest guest]

i would think that mileage is a physical unit, so calculate the phyical distance

one needs to take the length of the pool and convert feet to miles...As far as

what 5 minute (or any timed) swim equates to, it would be different for each

dog. i have some dogs that swim for 10 minutes non stop using all limbs, with

no stops, they are panting and 'done; when finished. i have other dogs that do

a 20 mintue swim, with many stops, and don't use the back legs and (and are

usually not very motivated!) and when then are finished in 20minutes, it looks

like they have done nothing.

Typically when i swim a dog i look at each dog individually, and use their

tongue and heart rate as a barometer for 'workout'. as a very basic guide what i

have taught my staff, is when a dogs tongue is spoon shaped, he needs a rest

(you will also see ripples in the water when he is 'resting' signifying

increased heart rate.)

i believe at some point somewhere, somebody decided randomly that 5 minute swim

was equal to 15 minutes of walking...but for me i really don't think this is

true, it is determinant of the factors listed above.

just my thoughts

tania

CCRP, VT, CAAP, CMT

>

> Hello All,

>

> Here is a possibly strange question, but do you have a " conversion " of

swimming time to mileage that you give clients? There is a boarding kennel in

the area that has a small pool, and they tell clients that a 5 minute swim is

equal to 5 miles (I am unsure if they mean 5 miles of swimming distance or

walking). I have read that marathoners/triathletes feel that running is 1/4 the

work of swimming, but I believe they are comparing the work to move the same

distance.

>

> An acquaintance of mine is conditioning her dog there and he swam a total of

18 minutes today (in and out of the pool in several sessions) and they told her

he " went " 18 miles (again, unsure if they are saying he swam 18 miles, or did

the work of an 18 mile walk/run).

>

> Neither of these conversions seem right to me, but I am curious to hear what

you think! It would be nice to give people something easier to relate to than

just minutes swam.

>

> Thanks in advance!

>

> - Dobson CVT, CCRA Candidate

> Wisconsin

>