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Getting a dog to enjoy water....

season

season

Well-Known Member
Last July when Solo was 10 months old we went to the lake over the 4th. Solo wouldn't go in the water on his own but he was at the edge of the dock just looking at the water. So with my "Enter Action with Boldness" attitude I decided to pick him up and jump in the water with him. I think I really damaged his self esteem and caused him to fear water from that point on. Today we went to the lake and he was terrified.
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Nik

Nik

Well-Known Member
season - Love the pics! With this heat I was wondering how to convince Diesel to get in the water. He is terrified of water.
 
T

tmricciuto

Well-Known Member
Mine aren't terrified but they could do without it. Unless it's their water dish...they love to paw in that and make a little cool pool of water to sit in.


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NatalieRose

NatalieRose

Well-Known Member
I'm convinced major think's he's a lab......dog LOVES water. And bringing me stuff.

[video]https://youtu.be/b3oqVaHDd_c[/video]

My roommate is a field trial trainer...she keeps saying that Major seems like a better prospect than half the goldens she's trained :lolbangtable:
 
Rugers-Kris

Rugers-Kris

Well-Known Member
Solo is beautiful and the pictures are great. Ruger adores the water, too. He will jump in immediately and play hard for a long time. When he was a baby, he was a little intimidated by it, too but you could tell he was way interested.. I scooped him up (been a long time since I could do that) and took him in with me and he has been a water dog ever since. Magnum doesn't like water, pool, Ocean, shower, rain...NONE OF IT except of course his white ass will run through mud puddles.


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season

season

Well-Known Member
Nik said:
season - Love the pics! With this heat I was wondering how to convince Diesel to get in the water. He is terrified of water.
Click to expand...

Well, I told u what worked for me.


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T

tmricciuto

Well-Known Member
You did. I brought them into the kiddie pool with me and they walked right out.


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Hector

Hector

Well-Known Member
tmricciuto said:
You did. I brought them into the kiddie pool with me and they walked right out.


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Click to expand...

You can try throwing a toy that they like into the pool. Have very little water in the pool at first, then gradually add more. Have you tried standing in the pool and recalling them and reward for stepping in the pool?
 
T

tmricciuto

Well-Known Member
I started by putting treats in the pool empty and they will go in it that way but the second it has water in it they are a no go. I did have a treat with me and was standing in it when I called them but not interested. I'm not giving up though.


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Hector

Hector

Well-Known Member
tmricciuto said:
I started by putting treats in the pool empty and they will go in it that way but the second it has water in it they are a no go. I did have a treat with me and was standing in it when I called them but not interested. I'm not giving up though.


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Click to expand...

Gotta find the right motivation for the task. Good luck. Do they like ice cubes?
 
cj-sharpy

cj-sharpy

Well-Known Member
You did the exact same thing as Max's hydrotherapist. She gave him a few moments to get in the water himself then she grabbed his life jacket and just pulled him in. Better to get them in while they are unsure rather than let that uncertainty build up to fear.
It looks like Solo is having a ball in the water now.
 
season

season

Well-Known Member
cj-sharpy said:
You did the exact same thing as Max's hydrotherapist. She gave him a few moments to get in the water himself then she grabbed his life jacket and just pulled him in. Better to get them in while they are unsure rather than let that uncertainty build up to fear.
It looks like Solo is having a ball in the water now.
Click to expand...

Yep...all this "put a treat in the pool" etc makes me laugh. You can't learn to swim on a picnic table. Enter action with boldness.


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Nik

Nik

Well-Known Member
I'm not sure that the "tossing in" method will work in the ocean. We don't have any local lakes (close enough for a day trip anyhow) or such that we can visit that I am aware of. There is a pool/ swim training school for dogs not too too far. But, I kind of just wanted to enjoy a day at the beach and have him join me playing in the waves and stuff to cool off rather than having to pay a facility for swim lessons and swim time. I did actually go running into the waves with him unaware of what was up and he proceeded to drag me forcefully away in fear as soon as the waves hit his belly. I think I had him on the back harness rather than on the front lead setting which I put him on in situations where he is at risk of pulling me so I suppose I could try that method again on front lead harness so he can't pull me away again. If I could get Sean to take him in it wouldn't matter which harness he wears but Sean has a good 100 extra lbs of mass, an extra foot of height and much more muscle to him then I do so doesn't really require the extra precautions. The only problem with that is Sean is as bad as the dogs at refusing to go into the water (not for fear just for not liking the shock of the cold). lol :p
 
M

maryl

Well-Known Member
Do you know of another dog that really likes the water? I had one newf that wouldn't go in at all until he saw the others having fun and that was it, he didn't want to be left behind.
 
season

season

Well-Known Member
Put a leash on him and lead him in. Sure he'll put on yeah breaks and try to resist but make him learn to deal with it. Sooner or later he will but if u give in and allow him to resist then he will. For me, doing the whole "baby steps" thing doesn't work. That's why I did the surprise attack method. He didn't have a choice. Now he loves it.


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G

Glasgowdogtrainer

Well-Known Member
What seaon is suggesting is called Flooding and it's not seen as a good way to get over a fear of anything by any rated professional any more. Quite literally in this case, he is suggesting throwing your dog in at the deep end and letting him get on with it. This may work, but the potential fallout is making your dog scared of water. Do as others suggest, go in baby steps in his own time.
 
NYDDB

NYDDB

Well-Known Member
My first dog, a Labrador, actually "shadowed" an older Lab on his first swim, on his own. He had been watching for awhile, then decided to follow him on his virgin swim. That was it; he was a water dog after that (at 12 weeks of age.)

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Mateo, my DDB, got his first taste of water when he was about the same age, when my friend took him out on a paddle board into the bay. Mateo slipped and fell off, and....sank like a stone. :eek: Fortunately, he bubbled right up to the surface and swam back to shore on his own. He's loved water ever since.

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