Swimming

[vahuntress]

I'm new here, so sorry if there is already a thread for this.

My Lab is a little over a year old and loves water, but he gets a little nervous and doesn't like going in deeper than where he can touch the bottom. We exposed him to water very young, and he always seemed to like it. When he was about 3 months old, he fell off a dock, went under water, but made his way back up. Could that have traumatized him and be the reason why he won't go in deep enough to have to paddle now? What can I do to make him more comfortable with swimming?

[CDN_Cocker]

Get him obsessed with retrieving and throw retrieves into the water. I have a mini dachshund (not know for loving water) that goes nuts for it just because she's focused on the retrieve. I plan to do the same this summer with my ECS.

[Doc E]

Use a wing-clip pigeon.
Couple retrieves on land and then toss the birdie in the water.



.

[EvanG]

Your Lab doesn't know how old he is. He needs first to get introduced to water in a way that leaves him with the most favorable impression possible. Treat him like a pup. Intoduce him carefully, and then take some wing clipped pigeons out for short easy tosses.



EvanG

[RoostersMom]

Swim with him. That always works for every dog I've tried it with...they like to be where you are.

[KCBrittfan]

Swim with him. That always works for every dog I've tried it with...they like to be where you are.

+1 on this

I had a similar thing happen to my current Brittany when he was 3 months old. Twice that day he had jumped on his own into the lake and started swimming all over the place. The third time my cousins kids were playing on the dock, but when he swam over to investigate he got cought up in some rope hanging off the dock. The poor guy panicked and ended up crawling into the dock frame in between the large styrofoam blocks.

Next time we were near water he went right in but he panicked and rushed back to shore when he hit water deep enough to require swimming. This continued over many outings until I finally went in the water with him. I planned things out ahead of time. I chose a gradually sloping area of the lake for this lesson, and I pre-scouted the water to make sure there were no surprises lurking under the water. The last thing I needed was for him to get hung up again. A few repeat lessons like this and he was soon back to swimming on his own. Today he absolutely loves the water.

I hope this helps. Good luck with your lab.

[campgsp]

Get in the water with him. When he sees you swimming he will follow.

[vahuntress]

Thanks everyone! When the weather is warm enough, I'll definitely get in with him.

[DoubleBarrel GunDogs]

Use a wing-clip pigeon.
Couple retrieves on land and then toss the birdie in the water.



.

This method will work when all else fails. Just be sure to have him properly introduced to birds and chasing, before you go to water. I'd also recommend that you don't let anyone put this performance on you tube. Ideally it will just be you, the pup and a couple of clip wing birds. Always use shallow water with an easy entrance and firm bottom when introducing your pup to it.

If for some reason you can't get pigeons, use a mellow, trustworthy dog for encouragement. Give the swimming dog or pup a short retrieve. Pups will feel bolder and follow the example of another dog most of the time.

Don't feel too bad, its actually pretty common. I've seen a lot of 8 - 12 month old labs that don't think they can swim. However, I've yet to see an 8 week old one that can't.

Nate

[Francois P vd Walt]

Your Lab doesn't know how old he is. He needs first to get introduced to water in a way that leaves him with the most favorable impression possible. Treat him like a pup. Intoduce him carefully, and then take some wing clipped pigeons out for short easy tosses.



EvanG

+1! Fun Fun and slowly, never assume it can make things tuff for future retrieves in water.