Learning to swim

[McCoy]

The weather is starting to warm up here in Vermont, and I have been trying to get McCoy interested the water. Using toys and treats, I have been able to get him in up to his chest, but he will not take the final plung. He is five years old, and very cautious. We spend some time by the water this weekend, and after a while, he just took his toy and ran away from the shore and wouldn't come back over to us!

 

I don't think he's afraid of the water, since I've seen his stand up to his knees in the water watching my partner cast a fishing pole.

 

What should I do? Any suggestions are appreciated.

[juliepoudrier]

I would not push him to swim--making a big deal of it could just backfire on you and turn him off to water altogether. Some dogs simply prefer to go up to their bellies (or however far they can go and still touch bottom) and never do become swimmers. (I have one of those.) Some dogs are natural born swimmers--you can't keep them out of the water, and some are indifferent swimmers--they'll do it if sufficiently motivated but don't just swim for the heck of it. I have some of each of those too.

 

I think if you just let him do what he wants, he may eventually decide he wants to swim. If you swim yourself, that may be sufficient motivation to get him out there. I certainly wouldn't force him out into the water, but praise the heck out if him if he chooses to go in, even if it's just a little way.

 

J.

[Kat's Dogs]

With Dazzle, I just played in the tub with her one day (splashing water and all that) and then she LOVED water. But I wouldn't push a dog either. If you REALLY want a water going dog, play in some puddles. then bigger puddles, then the bath tub, the a small pond, then maybe a lake, and if he likes all that, a beach. But you have to go really slow and not make a big deal out of it.

 

With Dazzle, she actually started swimming once but when she chased a stick the ground dropped off really fast and she went under the water. That was pretty scary. I had to go in and pull her out, she didn't look to happy anymore! After her "near death" thing she only goes if she can stand on the bottom - she might swim again one day though, but I won't push her to.

[Tiga's_mom]

With Tiga we just kept exposing him to the water and it wasn't until we went in as well that he swam. We just kept going back to the water throwing a frisbee or stick or whatever, and if I swam out after it then he would follow. Now if we're at a lake you can't keep him out of the water, with or without me.

[GeorgiaBC]

I adopted an adult bc who appatently had never even seen water. Now she runs and dives off the dock, just like on tv. Four words: make it a game. BC's love to play. Find a way to make it a game, so your dog associates water with play. Involve your dog's favorite toys. Start slow. It's just a matter of building up confidence. If you go in the water with your dog, carry him out into deeper water, and let him swim the five or ten feet back to where he can stand. He'll realize he's going to be okay. I worked it the same way with my puppy. Now we literally can't keep them out of the water (hich keeps them clean, too).

[Liz P]

I got mine to swim by finding some other dogs who loved it and setting up play dates. My dogs were so upset about being left on shore they gave in and swam out to join the fun.

 

One of my BCs is frisbee crazy. I gradually threw it farther and farther from shore until she started to like swimming.

[McCoy]

I feel like we're on the right track. We've been doing a lot of what you all suggested already (playing with other dogs near the water, treating, and throwing toys in). I think it's just a matter of time before he goes in. Yesterday we put his life jacket on and put him in the canoe. He went for his first canoe ride Granted, he was a little nervous, but one we got the fishing pole out and started casting, he was very focused on that. In fact, several time, he looked like he really wanted to jump out of the boat and chase it. I'll let you all know if and when he takes his first real plunge

[Keith Ramsay]

I gradually just started more time in the water. Eventually I would walk across where she could wade the stream, then progressively moved up to deeper and deeper water until finally she was swimming across the river. At that point it wasa lot of fun and almost a game to follow.

 

Now Angel will swim when she is hot, and even crosses the river as opposed to a bridge she does not like to walk across!

[Aliki]

Some BCs love the water, and others don't, just like how there is natural variation in humans who like swimming and some who hate it.

 

To get our BC to enter the water for the first time, we found that throwing toys near the shoreline did not help encourage him to go in. Having his "older brother" go in didn't help either (older dog jumped in to retrieve buoys and play in the water, but our BC was not interested).

 

Finally, the thing that convinced him to enter the water was having me, his mommy, wade knee-deep into the water and about 3-feet from the shore, and enthusiastically clap and call him to me. Eventually, the drive to please me took over and he came paddling in and floundered the 3-feet (I held him and praised him and told him he was the best dog in the whole world!)

 

Now we can't keep him OUT of the water! He'll jump into swimming pools, lakes, the ocean, even in the winter when snow's on the ground! Silly puppy!