Guest hankodie Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 hi all, Hank my golden retriever is just over 6 months old at the moment and for the most part his puppyhood has been issue free. One main problem I've had since he was a few months old is his intense fear/dislike of water! He absolutely hates it, which is a little bit funny considering he is a retriever I've tried everything including trying to entice him with treats, doing fun stuff at the beach (on the sand, not in the water), trying to get him to do some tricks near a running hose. I've made sure to start off small and I've tried not to scare him more but I'm having no luck. A couple of days ago it was quite hot here so I thought I'd fill up the clam shell pool for the dogs to see if the heat would entice him to get in the water on his own. Odie (our french bulldog) was having a ball jumping in and out of the paddle pool but poor Hank just ran around it barking at her to come out I don't need him to be a total water dog, I don't mind if he never takes to it completely. But I'd like him to at least be comfortable around bodies of water as we spend a lot of time in summer around the pool at the in laws place. I'd also like to walk him near the waves at the beach without him being so scared! Does anyone else have a former water-phobic dog?? Do you have any advice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minimax Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 One of mine loves the beach, but hated the clamshell pool and would bark at it and not go near it. One day I sat in it, with the other dog that loved it. I played with him and gave him treats and if Max came over to investigate I gave her a treat, but otherwise ignored her. It took ages, but eventually curiosity got the better of her and she jumped up on the side. I just kept doing this, adding her favourite toys to the pool and throwing them for her while I was sitting in it, treating when bought it back close to the Water Them I started throwing the toy in the Water and making here bring it back, and she'd jump in quickly and get it. Lots of praise and treats lol. Now she goes in and splashes around and Boston wishes we never let her in to his quiet pool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salukifan Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 (edited) What happens if you wade in yourself? Still water he can follow you into is going to be the best start. Edited January 1, 2014 by Haredown Whippets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hankodie Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 What happens if you wade in yourself? He just stands there and whines and gets quite panicky We go to an area where the tide is quite calm and still and I've tried wading in knee deep and coaxing him out with treats and lots of praise. He will get his front paws wet but after that he just stands there staring and whining. Last time he even ran off to get my OH to come and "save" me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hankodie Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 One of mine loves the beach, but hated the clamshell pool and would bark at it and not go near it. One day I sat in it, with the other dog that loved it. I played with him and gave him treats and if Max came over to investigate I gave her a treat, but otherwise ignored her. It took ages, but eventually curiosity got the better of her and she jumped up on the side. I just kept doing this, adding her favourite toys to the pool and throwing them for her while I was sitting in it, treating when bought it back close to the Water Them I started throwing the toy in the Water and making here bring it back, and she'd jump in quickly and get it. Lots of praise and treats lol. Now she goes in and splashes around and Boston wishes we never let her in to his quiet pool Tried those tricks minimax but he caught on pretty quick :laugh: I even threw treats around the yard and then casually threw one in the clamshell pool. Hank started to go for it and then screeched to a halt when he realised it had landed in the "pit of evil doom" :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minimax Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 Ours took weeks, doing it quickly won't be helpful if hes unsure, he'll just feel more unsure and more determined that you're trying to trick him into the evilness! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpette Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 We did exactly the same as MM with Baylee. She loved balls and being where her sister Bliss was. So we would throw the ball into the shallow end of the lagoon pool at Kepala for Bliss and she would get it. Eventually the shear frustration and ball drive won over the fear and in Baylee went. We would call her out of the pool via the shallow end and give her heaps of praise, especially if she got the ball before her sister. Her confidence grew and she became the biggest water loving dog ever. We are now doing the same with Dee, except the enticement is her brother. However, we have to ensure that ducks and water birds are not around as her prey drive kicks in and she can suddenly swim very well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 (edited) what about a puddle in his yard?..just a little one ..float some food on it ;) work up from there .... the more you subject him to beach etc ..and the more he has a chance to react badly .. possibly that response will be ingrained ( must admit we do it the tough way .. we have a little landing ..water is shallowish ..we take youngsters who don't try on their own out and place them gently in teh water ..let them feel that it holds them up ..facing the riverbank ... it is only a couple of metres ..and they splash/wade ashore ,where they get HEAPS of play/praise . We repeat a few times... with other dogs ..and very soon.. they swim & enjoy . except for SOME who never do ..my Hamlet was one of those. He would wade up to his belly ... no more, thankyou ..loved wading Edited January 1, 2014 by persephone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Podengo Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 My dog Elsie was terrified of swimming up until she was about 14 months old, when we were away during a very hot summer and I found this deep, still pond and there were no other dogs around. I chucked a stick out for her, and she just jumped in to fetch it, got a bit of a shock but ever since then she has loved swimming.... She often won't swim with other dogs around though, and will only swim to fetch things... She will wade in water up to chest depth for fun though and LOVES splashing through running water and biting the water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minimax Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 Lol love the two rotties in the clam shell ! My two can't swim, being pugs they sink lime rocks, but at the beach they paddle up to their bellies and in the clam shell too. It's like they know they can't swim ad theyve never tried to go out too deep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpette Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 It has taken us years to get Dee and Fire to swim confidently. The boys were swimming at 4 months old. In the third last photo you can see Dee's head right at the bottom. She would have been 14 months old in that photo and the two dogs entering the water are Zeph and Tank, who were 4 months old. We were teaching the young dogs to swim using the older three and balls as enticement (Mini, Bliss and Baylee swimming back with the ball. Flint, with the blue ball, was easy to teach to swim). Dee would only splash in the very shallow water. Fire on the other hand, would run around the edge, steal the ball from the other dogs when it was on solid ground and hatch it in the plants around the pool. She never went near the water. Go forward three years and both Dee and Fire will now swim, as long as there is a shallow edge for them to get in and out of. It takes time and a lot of encouragement. All of their interactions with water must be positive and fun. Mostly the girls will just wade around the edge, but they will swim given enough incentive. Dee trying to get a stick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpette Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 My dog Elsie was terrified of swimming up until she was about 14 months old, when we were away during a very hot summer and I found this deep, still pond and there were no other dogs around. I chucked a stick out for her, and she just jumped in to fetch it, got a bit of a shock but ever since then she has loved swimming.... She often won't swim with other dogs around though, and will only swim to fetch things... She will wade in water up to chest depth for fun though and LOVES splashing through running water and biting the water. The same with us. We noticed that Dee would venture further into the water after the ball if the other dogs were in another part of the pool, so we started teaching her with only one other dog present. Some dogs just need a bit more time and space :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty Miss Emma Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 If he's happy to go ankle deep at the beach I'd keep doing that and playing with him ankle deep and then one day while you're playing just go a teeny bit deeper so that maybe he accidentally gets wet up to his knees, etc, etc. I found that both my 2 weren't really confident around the water when young (preferred to run in the shallows as you mention) and then all of a sudden once they figured out the water wasn't evil they turned in to water babies! Now I can't let them off lead anywhere near a body of water if I don't want them to have a full swim - regardless of the weather!!! Just take it slowly do fun things in the water and he will ge tbetter eventually, he just needs to have his own realisation that the water is great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starkehre Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 (edited) Yep, find a friend with a water crazy dog, competitive drive works a treat and can be used in many aspects of training, familiarising and building confidence :D Edited January 1, 2014 by dyzney Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HazyWal Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 Have you tried him when the lake's out Hankodie? On the beach side of the bridge you can pretty much walk across it and it's got lots of sand bars he can jump on. My old dog loved swimming in the lake but hated any sort of waves or surge of the ocean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandiandwe Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 Lol love the two rotties in the clam shell ! My two can't swim, being pugs they sink lime rocks, but at the beach they paddle up to their bellies and in the clam shell too. It's like they know they can't swim ad theyve never tried to go out too deep. TBH I find that picture misleading. I can believe that with two dogs that size in the pool that any water would be left. Doesn't it all get displaced? Of mine, only Brandi finds water amusing. The others detest it and, being greyhounds, aren't necessarily all that buoyant. I don't push it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spotted Devil Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 Em took to water when she saw her first duck - talk about instinct kicking in. Zig had never been a big fan but watching Em do water retrieves during training and being rewarded for it piqued his interest. He's no water baby - in fact he swims like a giraffe on roller skates - so I bought him a bouyency vest and now he loves it although if the retrieve is too hard and he's tired I have to send Em for it. She NEVER gets tired. Both of them hate the clam pool yet the ESS pup I looked after for a few months thought it was awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpette Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 (edited) Lol love the two rotties in the clam shell ! My two can't swim, being pugs they sink lime rocks, but at the beach they paddle up to their bellies and in the clam shell too. It's like they know they can't swim ad theyve never tried to go out too deep. TBH I find that picture misleading. I can believe that with two dogs that size in the pool that any water would be left. Doesn't it all get displaced? Of mine, only Brandi finds water amusing. The others detest it and, being greyhounds, aren't necessarily all that buoyant. I don't push it. Neither Dee or Baylee lie down in the clam shell pool. They usually just stand in it while drinking from it. Baylee would occasionally sit in the water, which does displace some of it but nothing like Zeph who lies down in the pool and causes a tidal wave. In that photo you can see the brown water level is just below the step, indicating that the pool needs filling again, hence the presence of the hose :D Edited January 1, 2014 by grumpette Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steph M Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 Gus has always shown some interest but only actually got in for the first time at about 5 months when he was out with other dogs. Rosie had the same deal as Hank. Just wouldn't touch it. We find she's better with other dogs swimming and where she can see land on the other side. Can't say I blame her! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iggy mum Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 My MinPin X Chi likes the clam shell better if the water in either the clam shell or the creek is dirty and she can't see the bottom. Don't know why! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now