Jump to content
  • GUESTS

    If You  want access  to member only forums on FM, You will need to Sign-in or  Sign-Up now .

    This box will disappear once you are signed in as a member.

Getting Pup to Swim


ctuma

Recommended Posts

I have a 7 month old pup that will go into the water but is a not always willing to swim. He has swam a few times but he still seems kind of afraid jump right in. Any ideas on what I can do to make him love the water?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Does it retrieve? If it likes to retrieve, toss something that floats a little ways out...my Golden Retriever loves retrieving, but had never been in water. I tossed one of his favorite toys out a ways (after making sure it would float) and the dog was swimming like a master to go get it...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not to worry. Just start frolicking around in the shallow water every time you get a chance. Soon he'll join you. When he is accustomed to the shallow stuff, toss a training dummy (bumper) a few feet out.

Please do not worry about this and do NOT force the dog to go into the water. He'll do it on his own. Trust me.

Patience. At all times, patience. wink.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, patience is the key to water introduction. If you push the dog to hard, you will have even worse problems than you do now.

I had the same troubles with my pup, same age, and after going to the lake several times with a few other dogs she t got the hang of it. Now we throw the dummy and she doesn't want to come out of the water. She associates having to come to shore means going back in the truck which = home! grin.gif

It's tough, I been there done that. Just be consistent with your training and the pup will come through.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My pup is 6 months and didnt like the water at first. Be patient. Started throwing the jolly ball in the water and it was hot out. He all of a sudden liked the water. I cant drag him away from the water now, he puts the anchor down and pouts if we have to leave. He could swim all day now if I let him.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Patience is a must and make it fun at the beginning. Two weeks ago I gave my setter it's first introduction to real water. He's a year old and I know I waited too long for this, but it still needed to be done. It was a battle to be sure. I made it a game with his tennis ball on the shore, and slowly I tried to coax him in the water. At times we brought the lab out for the competition factor and that did nothing. He wanted nothing to do with the lake water. Two hours later after on and off again playing at the water's edge he finally decided the water was ok. He would at least walk in up to his belly. I kept tossing the ball out just a little further (the lake had a very gradual drop in depth). Then, just like a switch turned on, the water was too deep to walk and he was swimming. An hour later, he was swimming out past the dock without hesitation. It took three hours! It tested my patience, there was a point I pretty much said to heck with it, but I kept everything positive and fun the entire time with lots of breaks. Now I need to continue with some mild water work just to make sure he stays comfortable. By no means do I want or even expect the dog to hang with the water dogs in the water, but I certainly want to make sure he understands water is no big deal. Pateince and keeping it fun was the key. Fetch it up, pup!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

the shorthair i once had just loved the water. Took maybe 2 outings he had it. patience got him and he was hooked, by 6 months i would carry him over to my fiances grandparents(they have a lake house on waconia) and would look out the window and couldnt find him to save my life. I got up and ran outside looked out in the water and he was just laying there, just soaking it up. He loved the water so much and it was so hot he would actully just go lay in the shallow water about 8 inches deep and cool off. Being a shorthiar with its energy you could throw bumpers all day long for him, none stop. Her grandparent would tell me "your gonna kill that dog" and i would return back with "no he's gonna kill my shoulder" you couldnt get him to stop and when you did he would just go back to laying in the water waiting. Great dog. Ended up letting him go to a guy out in burnsville. Said he killed 75 birds over his head his first season out. (Contact Us Please) good dog he was.

Just thought id share

Daniel

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

I got the pup to swim after taking a young pigeon and tossing it out in the middle of a small pond. The pup charged right in the water and grabbed the bird and swam back to me with it. I did this several more times without any problems. I guess the bird drive in the pup helped him overcome the fear of the water. Thanks to all who responded.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.


  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • leech~~
      Nope not me.  May want to go nextdoor and ask around?  
    • smurfy
      Looks to me like Leech brought his chair home!!😅😆
    • Brianf.
      I'm not there, so I can't tell exactly what's going on but it looks like a large area of open water developed in the last day with all of the heavy snow on the east side of wake em up Narrows. These two photos are from my Ring Camera facing north towards Niles Point.  You can see what happened with all of snow that fell in the last three days, though the open water could have been wind driven. Hard to say. .  
    • SkunkedAgain
      Black Bay had great ice before but a few spots near rockpiles where there were spots of open water. It looks like the weight of the snow has created a little lake in the middle of the bay.  
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the south end...   Thanks to some cold spring weather, ice fishing continues strong for those still ice fishing.  The bite remains very good.  Most resorts have pulled their fish houses off for the year, however, some still have fish houses out and others are allowing ATV and side by sides.  Check social media or call ahead to your favorite resort for specifics. Reports this week for walleyes and saugers remain excellent.   A nice mix of jumbo perch, pike, eelpout, and an occasional crappie, tullibee or sturgeon being reported by anglers. Jigging one line and using a live minnow on the second line is the way to go.  Green, glow red, pink and gold were good colors this week.     Monster pike are on a tear!  Good number of pike, some reaching over 45 inches long, being caught using tip ups with live suckers or dead bait such as smelt and herring in 8 - 14' of water.   As always, work through a resort or outfitter for ice road conditions.  Safety first always. Fish houses are allowed on the ice through March 31st, the walleye / sauger season goes through April 14th and the pike season never ends. On the Rainy River...  The river is opened up along the Nelson Park boat ramp in Birchdale, the Frontier boat ramp and Vidas boat ramp.  This past week, much of the open water skimmed over with the single digit overnight temps.   Areas of the river have popped open again and with temps getting warmer, things are shaping up for the last stretch through the rest of the spring season, which continues through April 14th.   Very good numbers of walleyes are in the river.  Reports this week, even with fewer anglers, have been good.  When temps warm up and the sun shines, things will fire up again.   Jigs with brightly colored plastics or jigs with a frozen emerald shiner have been the desired bait on the river.  Don't overlook slow trolling crankbaits upstream as well.   Good reports of sturgeon being caught on the river as well.  Sturgeon put the feed bag on in the spring.  The bite has been very good.  Most are using a sturgeon rig with a circle hook loaded with crawlers or crawlers / frozen emerald shiners. Up at the NW Angle...  Ice fishing is winding down up at the Angle.  Walleyes, saugers, and a number of various species in the mix again this week.  The bite is still very good with good numbers of fish.  The one two punch of jigging one line and deadsticking the second line is working well.   Check with Angle resorts on transport options from Young's Bay.  Call ahead for ice road guidelines.  
    • CigarGuy
      With the drifting, kind of hard to tell for sure, but I'm guessing about a foot and still lightly snowing. Cook end!
    • PSU
      How much snow did you get on Vermilion? 
    • Mike89
      lake here refroze too...  started opening again yesterday with the wet snow and wind...  very little ice left today...
    • Hookmaster
      A friend who has a cabin between Alex and Fergus said the lake he's on refroze. He texted me a pic from March 12th when it was open and one from 23rd when it wasn't. 🤯
    • SkunkedAgain
      I don't think that there has been any ice melt in the past few weeks on Vermilion. Things looked like a record and then Mother Nature swept in again.   I'll give my revised guess of April 21st
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.