# Advice on teaching dogs to Swim!



## CPH

Looking for advice on teaching dogs to swim. We have a cabin on a lake so this summer our now 10 month old GSD will be spending a lot of time up there and we really want to teach him to swim. The last time he had an opportunity to swim was when he was only about 4-5 months and he would walk in to his chest in the water for the stick but wouldn't go deeper. 

Any advice would be very very helpful.:help:

Thanks!!!


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## Locknload

I don't think you need to worry about teaching him to swim. It's pretty much an instinct with many animals. You might just want to find something that gives him more incentive to go into the deeper parts where he isn't just wading.


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## MrsWoodcock

Locknload said:


> I don't think you need to worry about teaching him to swim. It's pretty much an instinct with many animals. You might just want to find something that gives him more incentive to go into the deeper parts where he isn't just wading.


YES! Like JUMP IN YOURSELF!!!:wild:


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## NancyJ

Throw ball in water just out of reach.


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## ponyfarm

Some dogs like to swim more than others. My lab will not swim, at all. Try getting him nice and hot and then go in together. Stay close to shore and let him go at his own pace for comfort. He should get it, most GSD like to swim.


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## Rerun

jocoyn said:


> Throw ball in water just out of reach.


A word of advice - if the dog really doesn't want to swim, or isn't REALLY ball motivated, be prepared to sacrafice your ball to the lake unless you swim out after it.


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## RazinKain

Step 1: Load your pup in the boat and steer towards deep water.

Step 2: Once in deep water, pick up your pup and toss him in.

Step 3: He swims back to the boat.

Step 4: Lots of praise and treats!


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## CPH

Thanks so much for the advice!! He is VERY ball motivated so I'm hoping that will work. 

I have heard mixed things on throwing them in though, some people say go for it others say you can scar them from the water by doing that.


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## jakeandrenee

Jake's first time was with a friend and a lab pup that is the same age....he was so into playing and biting her last summer that he just went right in after her and next thing he knew he was swimming. The lab puppy was of course retrieving a water toy......

Fast forward to know at one yrs old....I have to spell S W I M because if I say it or he sees any other the water toys he goes CRAZY! I have another friend who's GSD only will get in chest deep.....so it really does depend on the dog. I keep Jake on a really long ski rope line and probably will this Spring because he isn't the best fetcher..(sigh)


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## Rerun

CPH said:


> Thanks so much for the advice!! He is VERY ball motivated so I'm hoping that will work.
> 
> I have heard mixed things on throwing them in though, some people say go for it others say you can scar them from the water by doing that.


It worked for my Akira....she is ball OBSCESSED. The dog will do anything for a ball, 24/7. She used to only wade in water but I finally started using a jolly ball in a small pond, then worked our way up to bigger lakes, and now she loves water and runs right in to swim, but still prefers fetch. I typically use sticks now though, whatever I can find near the swimming spot.


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## RazinKain

CPH said:


> Thanks so much for the advice!! He is VERY ball motivated so I'm hoping that will work.
> 
> *I have heard mixed things on throwing them in though, some people say go for it others say you can scar them from the water by doing that*.


 I was only trying to be cute. Honestly, I don't think a dog has ever been born that doesn't instinctly know how to swim. You might want to make his swimming lessons a group activity (you're gonna have to get wet). If you go out to the deeper water, you're buddy will probably follow you willingly. Make a game out of it and praise generously when he follows you.


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## emsoskar

Oskar was the only one who was a weiner and wouldn't get it the lake. So, I took him out on his leash and just continued to get deeper and deeper until he had to swim. The after that we couldn't keep him out of it! He even swam after the guys when they were out in the boat and on the tube!


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## CPH

RazinKain said:


> You might want to make his swimming lessons a group activity (you're gonna have to get wet).


I am hoping he will follow me in, and also hoping he doesn't try to claw me to death in the process lol


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## spidermilk

I would agree that jumping in yourself will certainly get him in the water. 

And yeah be careful about going over your head when your pup is around because mine likes to swim right up to me and kind of try to rest on me. When we went boating *everyone* (including the dog who is obviously a great swimmer) had lifejackets on just so that when he tried to get close to someone he wouldn't sink them. Plus the handle makes it possible to pick him up and get him back in the boat!


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## RazinKain

spidermilk said:


> I would agree that jumping in yourself will certainly get him in the water.
> 
> *And yeah be careful about going over your head when your pup is around because mine likes to swim right up to me and kind of try to rest on me.* When we went boating *everyone* (including the dog who is obviously a great swimmer) had lifejackets on just so that when he tried to get close to someone he wouldn't sink them. Plus the handle makes it possible to pick him up and get him back in the boat!


+10! My old lab (when he was a young dog) almost drowned me at the lake doing exactly what you said. Be careful.


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## NancyJ

If you throw it just out of reach the dog only has to swim just a few feet to get the ball.........the frustration at trying to walk to it will get to him.............

First time his butt may sink and his front legs up in the air but he will get the idea fast.


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## Cassidy's Mom

Going in off the shore is usually easier than trying to get them to jump in. We've always done it by gradually tossing a toy a little further and a little further so that finally they have to swim a few strokes. That's what we did with Dena anyway. With Keefer and Halo we didn't even have to do that, Keefer followed Dena right into the water when she swam for a ball, and Halo did the same with Keefer. 

You could also go into the water with another person, just past the wading point for him, and throw a toy (or stick, if that's his obsession) back and forth. That's how we got Sneaker in the water - she ended up swimming back and forth between us each time we threw a frisbee.


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## Cassidy's Mom

jocoyn said:


> If you throw it just out of reach the dog only has to swim just a few feet to get the ball.........the frustration at trying to walk to it will get to him.............


:thumbup:


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## elisabeth_00117

Stark came home in June so I was able to have the summer playing in the water with him.

What I did was just walk into the lake and call him to me. I even got a photo of him looking kinda upset/nervous/unsure as he approached but once he was in and we walked around a bit and I threw some sticks around for him - he was a pro!

He is a FISH and will jump in any body of water he can get too - except puddles, he seems to go around those...lol.

First time in the water:









About 5 minutes later:









About 1.5 years later (this past spring):



























I personally wouldn't push it - let him go in (or not) at his own pace. BUT do not coddle him if he is afraid. I would throw sticks, balls, etc. in and if he gets them PRAISE like crazy, if not, ignore the behaviour and carry on with what your doing.

JMO.


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## vomlittlehaus

I dont remember how Yoko first took to water. The yard we had when she was a pup would get flooded in one area (kinda like a creek of sorts), and she would run and play in that and loved it. We now live on water. When the neighbors got a new pup and she was reluctant to try out the water, Yoko just showed her how much fun it is. Cant keep her out now.


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## NancyJ

Having another dog who can swim makes it easy. Dogs really do teach other a lot of things for sure.


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## RazinKain

jocoyn said:


> Having another dog who can swim makes it easy. Dogs really do teach other a lot of things for sure.


Very true! Also applies to bad habits too.


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## Stosh

I agree- another dog who likes to swim ups the ante. My last gsd was such a natural born swimmer, but Stosh- not so much. He would walk in the water but not let go of terra frima until his best friend went in. It only took a few minutes of throwing sticks, the other dog swimming around and now he's hooked. Still not as graceful as Omy was [aka Flipper] but he loves the water. I don't think there's a creature alive that won't swim of it wants to


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## Jax08

Jax wouldn't go in the first year. The second year, I went to let a friends dog out while she was at work and he jumped in. Jax followed with a great big splash. Sometimes, you need another dog to teach them.


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## doggiedad

i don't think you have to teach your dog to swim.
you have to entice your dog to go in the deeper water.
you might want to get a life vest for your dog.


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## Cassidy's Mom

The place where we take the dogs swimming most often is an off leash park on the SF Bay, Point Isabel. Tide conditions are not always conducive to swimming because if it's low, you'll have very shallow water for a long way out, or thick mud at the shoreline and no water. This was the first time Keef was around water deep enough to swim in, at 5 days past his 5 month birthday:










We threw the tennis ball, Dena went out after it, and he followed like it was nothing and he'd been swimming for years. We have NOT been able to keep him out of water since! She had been going to Point Isabel for a few months before we were able to coax her out into deeper water, and she was a little older, maybe 8 months old before she finally swam for the first time. 

Halo was 15 weeks old the first time she was at Point Isabel, and she went right into the water, but just splashed around close to shore:










It was a few more weeks before she was able to get into deep water, but she was swimming like a fish in no time:


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## Cassidy's Mom

By the time she was 6 months old Halo was confident enough to swim in the ocean:


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## crisp

Lots of good advice already, but I'll add that if the dog is skiddish at all do not force it in the least. My pup swam all of its first summer with us, but something spooked it and the next year wouldn't go in deeper than chest high. Toys, me jumping in, nothing worked. I had to recondition her to trust water again. Got a kiddie pool and it took a few sessions of goofing around just to get her to walk in there. After that it was easier, but still took a bit to get her comfortable again.


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## kidkhmer

My pup went in at about 3 months old - basically the first time she saw water she just followed me in and swam like she had been doing it in another life !  She goes in on her own now whenever she sees the river.

My advice ;

Do NOT throw your dog in. This might just trigger water fear.

Simply walk in saying some nice things and if they don't follow.....let it be. Don't try and coax and coddle and lure. Let your pup to it in their won time .I am sure eventually your dog will go in after you. Try swimming out quite a way. Your dog will probably think you are leaving and go in but yes be careful in deep water - they will think you are an island. !

And don't worry about them sinking. GSDs have a natural life jacket in their coat.


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## lanaw13

Any advice about the pool? We must always supervise Osa (11 weeks) when outside in the yard because of the pool….. She loves the water, isn't afraid and is constantly on the first step. We're afraid she will fall in the deep end though. We taught the boxers (who certainly can swim but don't willingly) to swim to the steps if they fall in the deep end. They get a refresher every spring… We want to teach Osa the same, but don't want to traumatize her…. Suggestions, comments?


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## tim_shebs

*swimming in Cambodia*

We just moved to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Really looking for a place to take our 10 yr old pup to swim. Any info or advice would be great !!!!



kidkhmer said:


> My pup went in at about 3 months old - basically the first time she saw water she just followed me in and swam like she had been doing it in another life !  She goes in on her own now whenever she sees the river.
> 
> My advice ;
> 
> Do NOT throw your dog in. This might just trigger water fear.
> 
> Simply walk in saying some nice things and if they don't follow.....let it be. Don't try and coax and coddle and lure. Let your pup to it in their won time .I am sure eventually your dog will go in after you. Try swimming out quite a way. Your dog will probably think you are leaving and go in but yes be careful in deep water - they will think you are an island. !
> 
> And don't worry about them sinking. GSDs have a natural life jacket in their coat.


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## billsharp

With all the stuff we have to teach them, be thankful that swimming is not one of them. It is purely instinctual, and any dog will swim to keep its head above water and try to get to an egress.

Some GSDs like water and some don't. Our GSD mix Maxie hated water and would only wade. Our 6 month old GSD Liesl just returned today from her first trip to dad's pond and we could not keep her out of the water. She hopped along the edge chasing bugs, laid down in the water to cool off, and did dock leaps off the bank to retrieve her squeaky bone toy. She even started swimming way out trying to catch the dragonflys while she was swimming--talk about futility! 

Bottom line is to let your dog have fun and enter the water at her own pace. Give her praise when she does. Bring a ball or long floating object she can easily grasp and start putting it in just a few feet from the bank. When she's ready she'll jump out and swim on her own. 

Do NOT throw her in. Besides being cruel and unproductive, she could inadvertently land on an underwater reed or stump and be injured.


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## Chrissy_GSD

kidkhmer said:


> My advice ;
> 
> Do NOT throw your dog in. This might just trigger water fear.
> 
> Simply walk in saying some nice things and if they don't follow.....let it be. Don't try and coax and coddle and lure. Let your pup to it in their won time .I am sure eventually your dog will go in after you. Try swimming out quite a way. Your dog will probably think you are leaving and go in but yes be careful in deep water - they will think you are an island. !
> 
> And don't worry about them sinking. GSDs have a natural life jacket in their coat.


Agreed! Every dog is different, some are born water-lovers, and some need a little time to get to that point. My Uncle's girl is an absolute water baby and has always been. My uncle's male however HATES it, but he'll go in if he has his ball with him. 
My girl was very cautious of the water at first. She would only touch the shore and then run back. It was only when my brother swam in and away from her that she swam in to get him (She adores him  ) 
It's true that they use you as an island, so watch the nails!! Wouldn't want to be clawed


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