here in florida too......this the main reason i wont train Jake to be a duck dog.....i remember one day i was in this lake with my one dog Hank , he got out of the water and would not come back in....i got out , went to get his ball and i saw why he didnt come back in....a gator probably 9-10 foot , bowed up about 30 yards from me.....i have not been in a lake since...but yet i hunt in the marshes and creek beds......lol....