WATER RETRIVE FOR BRITTANY???

[dottie]

I have a Britt that is 100% on land retrives in yard and afield. I want to try water retrives but I don't want to screw it up.
My Springer loved the water ...no problems but the Brittany does not "love" water. He/Zippy has no real problem with being in the water but I have no idea if he would actually retrive from...or across water. Recently he decided to swim across a 30 ft slow moving stream....4 or 5 times and seemed to have no qualms.
I want to encourage him to cross the stream to retrive a doken and return to me BUT ....I am concerned that he may not obey the fetch command .....even if he has always done so with gusto on land.
SUGGESTIONS, OPINIONS, WARNINGS, ALL COMMENTS ARE IMPORTANT!!!!
THANKS

[oldbeek]

If you have access to a fresh water lake when it warms up. Go into the lake yourself at least waist deep and play fetch with the dog. If dog enjoys it move back to the lake shore and go from there. I am not a water dog trainer, but that is what I would do.

[CDN_Cocker]

By fetch command, I am assuming he is force fetched?

[Trekmoor]

Some dogs love water and some do not but I have no problem with that if the dog will always enter water for a purpose. That purpose can be a retrieve or, with the hunting breeds, the purpose might just be to search for birds along the far bank of lesser streams or rivers.

Maybe I cannot train a dog to "love" water but I can train it to love retrieving from in or from over water.

Bill T.

[Roffey]

If you collar conditioned properly in force fetch then fetching would not be the issue. Ask me how I know.
Roffey

[mnaj_springer]

By fetch command, I am assuming he is force fetched?

THIS is the question. If you've gone through FF training, when you say "fetch" you must be willing to enforce it.

[DonF]

Take your dog to the lake and get him retrieving on the bank. Once he's doing well, throw the dummy into the water a short way. First time keep him in water he doesn't have to swim in. Although he may not have a problem with swimming, your's doesn't, don't ask to much in the beginning. i'd take several trip's before he got in to deep. Of course if he just goes running into the water, go for it. i took a friend's dog to a lake, GSP, and as I came around a corner, there was Duke chasing Bodie into the water. Squirt on the other hand is willing to retrieve from water so long as it doesn't come over the top of his feet! Bodie was harder to get to go but i asked nothing until he started really getting use to it. The time he got over it, he ran off a small cliff and landed in deep water where he had to swim. The part it sounds like will be questionable for you is the retrieving out of water. Start in close where he can wade and work him out.

[aulrich]

Equate water = ducks = fun and you are half way there. I was sort of i the same boat with my LMhis first summer fall I had figured I had wreck his water work somehow, he only went for a swim once that first year. The following spring we were opening up the cabin and the ice was just coming off the lake. He spent 3 days chasing ducks up and down the beach and without prompting he was swimming chasing them around the chunks of ice. And though I did take him through FF to force to pile on land if you got a dog that wants to go in , it takes very little to transfer over

Just like un structured romps in the field with birds is an important first step for the upland side for developing prey drive. The same goes for unstructured swamp romps in ponds with lots of ducks to chase around. Those romps will will leverage a Brit’s bucket loads of natural prey drive.

Dockens are nice but you won’t have to ask a dog worth their food twice if you use a live shackled duck at least early on.