Most AAT/H proponents (Aquatic Ape Theory – look it up) believe that only humans and aquatic animals can hold their breath.

We know of a dog breed that puts that theory on shaky ground : The Portuguese Water Dog. Not for nothing was this breed called, “Cau de agua” or “dog of water,” by Portuguese fishermen. The dogs were known not only as superb swimmers, but adept divers who could dive as deep as 12 feet to herd the fish towards a net.  PWDs were important crew members on Portuguese fishing boats, and during Portugal’s naval Age of Discovery, Portuguese ships always had a Portuguese Water Dog on aboard. The dogs earned their keep by carrying messages between boats, retrieving objects that fell overboard, swimming fishing floats into place, and guarding the boats and fishing gear when in port.  To the credit of the Portuguese Water Club of America, these traits are preserved and encouraged in water trial programs (find dates for 2018 of approved water trials here).

The video below from ACAP Associação shows a PWD doing his thing:

And there there are individual dogs who also AAT/H proponents look a little foolish. We first heard about “Titti,” a Jack Russell Terrier, back in 2016 when she became famous for jumping into St Peter’s Pool in Malta with her owner, Carmelo Abela. We’d forgotten about Titti and assumed she had “aged out” of swan dives until we read something that said as of a year ago, the now 8 year old was still at it.

 

Take a look at the interview below with Titti’s owner:

 

And finally, we came across this video of a Labrador Retriever diving to the bottom of what’s said is 12″ of water:

 

Guess dogs can hold their breath!