Help with Lab pup

[sabmgb]

My girl is 8 months old and is progressing really well on retrieving. Only issue she is timid, not gun shy. She is afraid of the water. She can swim as she has been in a couple times when she was retrieving and chased the ball into the water and it was deeper than i thought. She swam out to turn around and came back with no issues, so she can swim. So how to get her to like the water without scaring her?

[overtheir]

What made her afraid of water as you stated did something happen when she was younger , you state she has no problem chasing the ball in the water well use that to your advantage go to a creek get her feet wet DON T FORCE THE DOG get in with her show her that is fun use here natural instinct to get her going . Once she does get in even a toe give lots of praise positive reinforcement . It may take time but have patients . Good luck

[sabmgb]

I have been taking her to the beach once a week for 6 weeks. She will go in till her chest hits the water with a little help with treats. 2 weeks ago in Ottawa she was playing with a couple other labs. When they went to the river for a swim she just stopped 30ft away and waited for them to come back. At this rate she will be a good field dog until she learns to like water. Looking forward to the early goose season, field hunting.

[dean.f]

I'd try a kid pool in the yard, the $15 special from wal mart. Labs love water, laying in it. playing in it. Especially when it's hot out. I don't have a lab myself, but my girlfriend and her parents have had quite a few and the kids pool is always their favorite "toy" besides the ball. Maybe it will be easier to encourage her to like it.

The way she acts sounds like my shepherd mix, he will go in but he won't swim.

[Candice_h]

Go in swimming and make it look like your having the best time of your life. Worked great for an 8 year old rescued Lab my gf has.

[overtheir]

You state the beach sometimes large bodies of water can mess a pup up some times they need to see the other side(land) they will get use to it

[sabmgb]

I have tried all of these, except maybe the creek to see other side. I have tried to get her in the pool and that doesn't work. Had to take her to vet yesterday, she has ear infections, most likely from the swim 3 weeks ago when we thought the water was shallow. I do appreciate the suggestions. My other lab was 7 months old before he would go near water, then it was like I flipped a switch and I couldn't keep him out of the water. Maybe the same will happen with her. The vet, how has 3 hunting labs, says she has seen them wait a year before they take to water.

[finsfurfeathers]

I wouldn't worry to much about it. Had a brit that I didn't think knew how to swim. That is until I dropped a pheasant in some deep water. She saw it drop and without hesitation ran into the water swam like a marathon swimmer grabbed the pheasant made the turn at which point she realized that she didn't know how to swim. There was quite a bit of dog paddling and flailing about but she made it back in with bird in tow. Think your dog just needs a reason to get motivated.

[Dakota Creek]

Had a young dog that was not able to get into the water until she was almost a year old (a Sept puppy plus surgery recovery) She was keen on a bumper and we had her running into wading water doing retrieves. After several retrieves and appearing to be very comfortable, the bumper was tossed just into swimming depth water .... took a couple a seconds to make up her mind and she was in.


Is there another dog around that is a swimmer .... and also not "possessive" about a thrown bumper? Playing with the other dogs in Ottawa is not the same as her watching another dog retrieve. Repeatedly throw a bumper for the dog who is good in the water and it should only take a couple of retrieves before your dog will want to join in on the fun.

[caddis]

I wouldn't worry to much about it. Had a brit that I didn't think knew how to swim. That is until I dropped a pheasant in some deep water. She saw it drop and without hesitation ran into the water swam like a marathon swimmer grabbed the pheasant made the turn at which point she realized that she didn't know how to swim. There was quite a bit of dog paddling and flailing about but she made it back in with bird in tow. Think your dog just needs a reason to get motivated.

I'm of the same opinion (not that it counts for much). I'd find a quiet pond or slow moving section of river with no distractions (no other dogs or people) and have her do water retrieves - short sessions getting longer at her pace, short retrieves getting further into deeper water at her pace.

She may never "enjoy" water, but if she does water retrieves, isn't that OK? My Lab sometimes enjoys water too much when we're flyfishing and she loves to wallow in mud puddles, so that's the other side of the coin.

Good luck. Keep us posted.