Learning to swim

[Suzanne & Jack]

Jack and I are going to a dog swim this weekend at a nearby park.  Last year we went and Jack enjoyed wading into the "baby pool".  I tried taking him into the deeper water (people can swim with their dogs), but he didn't quite get the whole swim thing.  He climbed up on my shoulders (yes, he is 80lbs) with a look of terror.  I carried him back to the shallow water, and he was fine once he could touch bottom.  So many of you have doodles that really enjoy swimming.  Is there a trick to getting him to relax?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Your Jack and my Jack are landlubbers, lol. JD does not like being in the water at all, but he will tolerate it as long as he can keep his feet on the bottom.

[Charlotte and Bo]

Sorry, can't help.  I can't get Bo to put a toe in:-)

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Our Vern took to water like a duck....Fudge not so much. She does not like to get her head wet. For us, a life jacket really made a difference with Fudge. I think she feels safer and now she is turning into quite the water dog.  Both my dogs are very protective of me when I am in the water and do try to be near me or on me...LOL!! I think you are doing it correctly...just let him wade if that is all he is comfortable with, but maybe the more he does it the braver he will get. It took a long while for Fudge to build her confidence. Good luck!!

[Linda, Webber and Seda]

Laurie's comments about confidence were my experience with Webber.  He learned to jump in, fetch and swim over a period of months in my neighbor's swimming pool.  Once he could paddle strongly enough to keep his head out of the water he seemed to get the hang of it.  There were moments where I would have jumped in to "save" him and my neighbor stopped me.  After he got the hang of it he seemed to love it--especially jumping in to fetch a toy.  I did teach him to swim to the stairs so he could get out if he had to. We put him in the deeper end and made him swim to the shallow.  I did not get in the pool with him.   My other dog, Seda, has been in twice and she immediately got out...but she did swim automatically.  We haven't had any opportunities to work on it; two dogs got too much dirt in the bottom of the swimming pool!  I think it takes repetition and lots of praise.  Good luck and have fun.

[Jane, Rooney & Stuart]

My ALD Rooney HATES water - even wet grass.  He can swim - I once carried him into our pool to make sure but he hates it.  His brother didn't know what to make of our pool until we threw his toy in, then SPLASH.  If your dog likes to fetch - throw a toy that floats. That is all that it took to get this.

 

[Shannon and Finn]

I am thinking if you are in the water, he is not going to relax much...  My previous dog was an amazing swimmer but would get nervous when we swam together and would try to claw me to death "save" me.  He eventually learned the "I'm okay, go" command and would then swim the other way. Finn is able to swim and fetch (but prefers more playing and wading on the shore) but also gets nervous when I am in the water with him and tries climbing on me.  If you want him to like swimming more you may have to bribe him.  Like Jane said, try fetch.  Maybe rubbing a water toy with the smell of his favorite treat and tossing it out to entice him to swim and learn that he is okay and gain confidence???  Swimming dogs are awesome if you are looking for ways to thoroughly exhaust an energetic pup!  It also is nice when they get older and have joint pain.Finn is still sleeping from camping and lake swimming yesterday, it's been a calm day.

[Amy M. and Molly]

We also "taught" Molly how to swim with bribery.  I brought her into the water and held her from the time she was 8 weeks old, and she was very scared at first. We bribed her onto the top step with treats (apples are her favorite, and they float!)  Over the months, she started gaining confidence on the top step,  and then we would float her around on a raft, staying close at first.  We "tipped" her off the raft one day and aimed her toward the stairs, just so she would know where to go.  For several weeks, she thought the only way she could get into the water was from the raft, and not the step.  Now she jumps right off the step and swims almost the entire length of the pool to get her ball. It took time and patience, but now swimming is her new favorite past time!   Stick with it...it may take some time, but worth the effort!

[Adina P]

Somewhere in the swimming group on here I described how I taught Rosco to swim...I think.  My memory is fading, but I used fetch and a long leash and some gentle 'force' to show him it wasn't so bad.  He learned to love it, but not all dogs necessarily will.

[Marnie, Stanlee's Mom]

Funny you should post this, hoping the weather holds out so that I can finally take Stan to the beach this weekend.  He loves his kiddie pool as well so I am hoping the jaunt to the beach goes as good as I hope. As we are still working on our "come" command, I don't know if I will allow him to roam untethered but we will see.  Is the dog swim this weekend with other dogs?  If so maybe Jack can find a good buddy and just follow the leader.  Stay close at hand incase he needs a lifeguard but other than that let him learn from the pros. 

[Elizabeth, Bailey & Bruin]

Bailey took a while to warm up to the water but now loves it.  If it's a lake do as everyone says..play fetch and just let the other dogs be the teachers...

 

Let us know how it goes..

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

Luna has always loved the water which makes it easier, but she has always had a hard time getting her to initially get INTO the water.  She still won't jump into a pool... she has to be lowered in and someone has to help her out.

For swimming in the river, we threw sticks progressively further and further away until she was confident enough to run in to the water.

[Suzanne & Jack]

Well today was the pool party.  It helped that Jack's dog park friends were there, but he still didn't get the hang of swimming.  My arms and chest are red and bruised from him grabbing hold of me.  He was a good sport though so he got a hot dog and some ice cream afterward.  Tonight he is completely tired out.  The next swim is Sept. 8.  I may get him a vest to wear.