Swimming

[wehkah]

Okay so I finally found this great little water hole to take the kids swimming. Now it's swimming 101 with a 7 and 6 yr old. They do well in the shallow cause they get all 4 on the pond bottom. Tweeder is quite braver than Angel once the ball gets out too far. But there is still a lot of room to gain. I'm sure it's just a matter of time before they really get the hang of it but I was wanted to know if anyone had any pointers out there?? Today we had both the tennis balls out of reach (they'd have to swim to get them) and they almost gave up until I started to throw rocks at them. Then Tweeder got brave and got only one of them. Angel didn't want to leave the "comfort zone". Everytime they come in from getting a ball where they had to swim for it they get treats. Is there anything else I can try along with going as often as we can??

Oh and if I coax them as they get to the drop off they turn back before they get a chance to actually swim... so I try to shut my mouth until they actually get the ball.....

[mulroony]

With Shelby I had to swim w/ her before she would leave the shallows. (**She clawed me so bad it looked like she attacked me**) It also helps that Jackson is like a fish in water and whatever Jackson does so deos Shelby. Maybe see if you can find someone to go w/ that has a dog that loves to swim (I think I remember Topper enjoying swimming). Also a really high value toy can help getting them into deeper water.

[briarlow]

Well my youngest boy who is 3 used to love swimming until his coat got quite long and I think too heavy and it's really put him off since. He has now been clipped so I've just bought a wet suit and I will be going in there with him next time to train him how to swim again. It's annoying because he used to love it so much.

Will be training my pup shortly too. We do water training with our breed so I'm glad that the great weather is here and we can get into the water again.

[Lilys_mommy]

at what age should you teach a dog to swim?
I'm getting a puppy in about 2 weeks...she will be 8 weeks at the time so can i teach her shortly after we've bonded (i'm not talking that weekend or anything...) but should you wait till shots have been given? Or if in a pool will the chlorine hurt the puppy at all?

[bigdoglover]

This is just me, but I would wait. Not only because of her shots, but also being so young. Get her used to the water in the tub, and maybe invest the $5 or so in a small plastic kids pool. JMO

[Novel]

Originally Posted by Lilys_mommy

at what age should you teach a dog to swim?
I'm getting a puppy in about 2 weeks...she will be 8 weeks at the time so can i teach her shortly after we've bonded (i'm not talking that weekend or anything...) but should you wait till shots have been given? Or if in a pool will the chlorine hurt the puppy at all?

Jazz who is 7 months old now was swimming at 14 weeks in icey cold water. I wouldn't recommend that, but she just jumped in after my older male, Topper. Spirit, who is now 5 months, has been swimming for a bit over a month now, and is not a fan of it, but neither are her parents or most of her siblings.

I would worry more about the chlorine then I would exposure to bacteria or other illness, however, high algae concentrations can be toxic to dogs, even to the point of death, so avoid the chlorine, but also avoid the muck pond too.

BDL has a good suggestion. I use kiddie pools out in my dog play area, and to further entice the puppies and older kids to get in, I throw fish in the pond too. I use bluegills that I catch in the pond, but in a squeeze, I'm sure goldfish would work too! The dogs love it, and will play in the water for hours.

[sammy]

I wouldn't pressure the dogs to do more. They'll become more adventurous over time. When you put pressure on them to do more than they are happy to do, it kills the fun- which is the whole point isn't it? Swimming is very tiring for them esp when they are just learning too.

Sammy started out just going in the lake for a quick drink, then standing up to his arm pits to cool off, then one day swimming a little , then next thing I knew he was retrieving a ball someone else threw that was WAAAAY out. He seemed to gain confidence watching a young Cheasoeake swim one day. I like that suggestion - if you have a friend with a dog who is really keen on swimming.

Rosie started out going all the way in , swimming a tiny bit but didn't seem to enjoy it. She really only liked the lake as a means of cooling off. (aussies aren't big swimmers usually)Sammy was already much faster than her and she'd let him get the ball whole she just stood in the water. I started holding Sammy back the odd time so she was the only dog going after the ball. That seemed to really help and now all of a sudden she's more intense about retrieving from the water than Sammy is. Her favorite ting is still to retrieve in chest deep water so she can splash and bound through it but still have her feet touching solid ground. It's cute.

[wehkah]

[quote=Novel]
I would worry more about the chlorine then I would exposure to bacteria or other illness, however, high algae concentrations can be toxic to dogs, even to the point of death, so avoid the chlorine, but also avoid the muck pond too.[quote]

I didn't know this about algae but it's a good thing you said something. So I did a little research on the web and found this on the good ol' Wisconsin DNR website that may be helpful to the uneduacted such as myself.

http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/parks/saf...nalgaefaq.html

Thanks for the warning Novel!

[Novel]

Great article, thanks Wehkah... and as always, you are welcome!!

[Clarence]

None of my dogs like the water and i am sure there is nothing i can do but if there is i could use some tips.

[Novel]

Absolutely you can do something clarence... go down to the water, wear shorts, and just spend time near the water. If your dogs like to play fetch, throw the ball or dummy or whatever near the water, but not in it. Keep this up for a few days. Praise them whenever they go in the water, but don't force them. Everytime you go, you get into the water a little further. Don't force them to get in, but just spend your time in it.
If you can, find someone that has a dog that enjoys water. My two older girls LOVE the water, and they encourage the other dogs to get into the water.
In time, your dogs will relax near the water, and eventually get in and swim. Keep it positive, keep it fun, and go in a nice place when it's warmer if you can. This will encourage you and them to have fun!
Ask any specific questions that you may have. Many dogs think they don't like water, but, once they get the hang of it, you can't get them out.
At this point this summer, with us going swimming two or three times a week, they start barking the second we turn on the road with the pond!! Its deafening!

[wehkah]

Well we've been to the pond several times now and I'm out of free tennis balls from the Nationals! Ha ha ha ha!!! This last time was kinda funny cause we went a little late and the sun was starting to go down. We cased a nice spot to jump in (not next to the fisherman) and started to throw the ball a little shallow as always until they get a bit braver. Then Angel went out and the ball got away from here and the next thing we know neither one of them would go get it. So I started to coax them to go get it but we were close to the swimming area. So Tweeder saw a big round boey and thought it was the ball... he almost swam out there to check it out. He did have to check all the little round balls along the string that marked off the swimming area though. It was funny but to no avail :sigh: we left without any tennis balls... gotta go get some more.

[Novel]

LOL... Well, at least you got some use out of them!! LOL! This gang looks at the tennis balls if I throw them and say, "Throw a dummy". They'll get the tennis ball if I absolutely refuse to throw anything else.
Wehkah, you should go get one of those retrieving dummies. The dogs will be able to see them a tad better, and for some reason my kids LOVE them and can't wait to get them, where the balls are so-so.

[wehkah]

Originally Posted by Novel

.
Wehkah, you should go get one of those retrieving dummies. The dogs will be able to see them a tad better, and for some reason my kids LOVE them and can't wait to get them, where the balls are so-so.

I was thinking about it... I checked them out the other day. But then I though I'd wait till they become better at swimming. I went in the pond with them on Thursday! It was just crazy! I found out that my assumption was true and they aren't picking up their buts yet. Looked kinda funny. So Tweeder actually let me lift up his mid section while his front paws were doing all the work. However his back legs were sitting there like a floating frog. So then I lifted him between his legs on his rear and then he start to sorta kick those back legs... Funny thing is that he let me help him float while he went to get the ball!!!!

When they started to get tired they began to think I was a flotation devise... man did I get some good scratches! Ha ha ha ha!

[Novel]

oh yes... those scratches are something, aren't they!!

Just keep giving them practice. They will learn to swim with their whole bodies, eventually.

I agree, I wouldn't want to lose a retriving dummy either, they can be pricer then tennis balls. Many allow you to tie a cord to them, so that you can always get them back. If you have an area where someone else can throw it towards you and the dogs and then pull it away from them as they get near it, you can get them to swim faster, which will help them to use their entire body. But, you'd want them to really really want the dummy first, or they might just give up.
And then of course, there are always live ducks... like the ones they used up at Nationals...

Do you plan on going to Bloomer with me in Sept to try and get their NRDs?? If so, we can get together and train the land retrieve if you'd like. We can train the water retrieve too. You're welcome up here any time!!