Need help training my labs?
 

I have a 3 year old yellow lab that will not swim. Yes it sounds funny but she will not get in the water above her belly. I know that you should not toss a dog in the water but short of that how do you get them to like the water?

RE: Need help training my labs?
 

I would try playing with her in shallow water (fetch and such) and keep slowly taking her out till that next toss is just a couple of inches past. try wading out past the dummy so that she see' s you as she goes for the dummy and if that don' t work you could try holding her belly and helping her out then removing your hands as she heads back to shore. Just make sure its a really short swim at first. I used these tricks with my puppy I don' t really know if it will work for a grown dog or not. I do know its all about trust!!

RE: Need help training my labs?
 

My lab was really hesitent about the water for a long while. A trick that I found that works is to find another dog owner who has a dog that loves to swim and can get along with your lab. Take them both to the river, pond, lake or wherever you go swimming and let them play together. If your dog sees that the water is ok for the other dog then she might test it out a bit.

Just FYI, I can' t keep my dog out of the water. We even had to put a gate on our pool so that the dog wouldn' t go swimming un-supervised! [8D] He is such a good pool swimmer, and even uses the ladder to get out. Just like a person!

Good luck!

RE: Need help training my labs?
 

Go in the water with or without waders (depends on the weather) and encourage the dog to follow. DO NOT throw the dog in! This will NOT help but will HURT the situation. Be patient. Show the dog how you can enjoy the water. Tease with his/her favorite training dummy. If the dog has the instinct (which all Labs should) it will get it eventually. Good luck.

Bob

RE: Need help training my labs?
 

Throwing her in will just make it worst. I would try to walk her in on
her leash a little at a time.