Some dogs are naturally hesitant or scared of water, which requires a little more care and thought to develop their confidence and comfort for getting their feet wet. (Tony J. Peterson photo)
July 06, 2021
Last year I interviewed a dog trainer who specializes in handling Labradors. We got on the topic of water work and he casually mentioned that not every retriever that comes through his kennel is a natural in the water. When I pressed him on that, he said that he trains quite a few dogs each year that flat-out won’t swim. That wouldn’t be all that surprising with some upland breeds, but for a webbed-toed dog with a long history of water retrieves in its job title, it is. While water shyness is not an ideal situation for any hunting dog, it is usually fixable.
Water Intros Gone Wrong
The best course of action for getting any dog to love water is to do the initial introduction correctly. This involves waiting for a scorcher of a day, getting the dog worked up through exercise or drilling, and then moving on to some no-pressure exposure to a warm body of water. If that body of water has a hard bottom that gently slopes, that’s even better. In this case, most pups will go in without much encouragement. They might not swim right away, but they will wade in and start building up confidence. A few rounds of this and they usually walk out deep enough to start paddling and then it’s on.
When your initial water intro doesn’t go according to plan, it’s time to get back to basics and outline a program to create a positive experience and allow your dog to feel safe entering the water. (Tony J. Peterson photo)
This goes wrong when water is far too cold, too deep, too wavy, or otherwise uncomfortable or scary for your dog. Hesitancy or sheer signs of fear should be heeded, and I shouldn’t have to say this, but I will—never force a dog into water. This is the kind of behavior that will get you kicked right out of the dock-diving circuit and is a great way to firmly embed an unhealthy fear of water into your pup. In a testament to how forgivable our dogs really are, even if they’ve had a terrible introduction as a puppy, some just take to the water later as they mature, but not all do, and that can be a problem.
Starting Over
With a lot of dog issues, it’s not enough to take one or two steps back to remedy them. You usually have to start …….
Source: https://www.gundogmag.com/editorial/overcoming-water-shyness/393973