Dog paddle

[Stevenloan]

Hi everybody! I want to ask my friend if he can swim the stroke like a dog does. Are the questions below used correctly in this case?

1. Can you do the dog paddle?
2. Can you swim the doggie style?

Your answers would be greatly appreciated.

StevenLoan

[Erik_Kowal]

I've always known this as the doggy paddle:

"Can you do the doggy paddle?"

[Shelley]

If I were asking this question, I would shorten it to "Can you dog-paddle?"

Not touching that other one . . .

[trolley]

It's "dog paddle" over here. Steve, we should warn you about your other choice. When you use the term "doggy style"...well, perhaps you should just look it up. I did get a pretty funny picture in my head as I thought about swimming doggy style.

[Shelley]

. . . perhaps you should just look it up.

Geez, trolley, don't tell him to look it up! He'll just get a virus or something!

Stevenloan, go there if you must: I hope you're well protected. That's the last I'm going to say on the matter.

[Rufus Miles]

regardless of all that, in British usage it really is doggie paddle...

[trolley]

On a side note, I’m not so sure I’d call the dog/doggie paddle a “stroke”. It’s really just a notch and a half above drowning (when performed by humans). I think of strokes as long, full movements…breaststroke, backstroke, sidestroke (whatever happened to that?). Steven, it would seem more natural that you would ask your friend whether they could swim, or not. If they can swim, then they can do the dog paddle. If someone can only swim the dog paddle, then they can’t really swim.

[Stevenloan]

Thank you all so so much for your help. I really appreciate it.

StevenLoan