Lab puppy

Goosemaster

Goosemaster

Well-known member
My 7 month old lab puppy hasn't swam yet.He is afraid of deep water.Any suggestions? He will wade tentatively in shallow water.I did push him off the end of the dock one time.
 
Goosemaster said:
My 7 month old lab puppy hasn't swam yet.He is afraid of deep water.Any suggestions? He will wade tentatively in shallow water.I did push him off the end of the dock one time.
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He is a lab, he should be swimming by now.He likes to land retrieve.
 
I would suggest not pushing him off a dock anymore. That didn't help your cause any if he was already hesitant around water and likely caused you to make life more difficult now.

I would suggest putting on rubber boots, waders would be better, and getting in the water with him. Bring high value treats, hot dogs, cooked liver, etc. Give him a few on land, then go into the water up to your knees, deep enough that he is still standing in the water but he's getting wet chest deep or so, give him a few more with treats lots of praise, then go deeper so he has to swim. Recall with a happy, high tone of voice, if he swims to you, reward with heavy praise.

Do this WITHOUT your other dog around so he focuses on you and this training exercise.
 
Goosemaster said:
He is a lab, he should be swimming by now.He likes to land retrieve.
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Do your retrieving training on the edge of the water where you can over time get him into deeper water .
get your boots on and get jnto the shallow water with him and have him follow you around

Take your time and don’t rush the process
 
Munster927 said:
I would suggest not pushing him off a dock anymore. That didn't help your cause any if he was already hesitant around water and likely caused you to make life more difficult now.

I would suggest putting on rubber boots, waders would be better, and getting in the water with him. Bring high value treats, hot dogs, cooked liver, etc. Give him a few on land, then go into the water up to your knees, deep enough that he is still standing in the water but he's getting wet chest deep or so, give him a few more with treats lots of praise, then go deeper so he has to swim. Recall with a happy, high tone of voice, if he swims to you, reward with heavy praise.

Do this WITHOUT your other dog around so he focuses on you and this training exercise.
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Ok I will try that thanks.
 
Glock said:
Good advice. Just make sure you choose a location that gradually gets deep. You want him to slowly loose contact with the bottom. High praise and lots of encouragement.
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I have a perfect pond, but it still has ice. It's really strange.Ive owned 4 labs,and they all swam by 16 weeks old. My puppy is now 7 months old.Great nose,smart,just doesn't swim.Strange.
 
Munster927 said:
I would suggest not pushing him off a dock anymore. That didn't help your cause any if he was already hesitant around water and likely caused you to make life more difficult now.

I would suggest putting on rubber boots, waders would be better, and getting in the water with him. Bring high value treats, hot dogs, cooked liver, etc. Give him a few on land, then go into the water up to your knees, deep enough that he is still standing in the water but he's getting wet chest deep or so, give him a few more with treats lots of praise, then go deeper so he has to swim. Recall with a happy, high tone of voice, if he swims to you, reward with heavy praise.

Do this WITHOUT your other dog around so he focuses on you and this training exercise.
Click to expand...
Thanks I have waders.
 
Someone in the retrieving world has a rule that the air and water temperature should add to 120 degrees for any training being done. If you push a dog to train in too cold of water, they are going to hate the water. Water should be fun to be in. If you are hunting then you can have them going into the cold stuff as they will be focused on the birds.
 
Annie, my pup (14 weeks) followed our 3 year old into the water on her first exposure. Stared out with shallow retrieves and gradually went deeper. Once she got to where she realized there was no bottom she turned around shoirt of the dummy. We did some more shallow stuff and she enjoyed it. It was a good first time. I think it also helps to have a role model.
I had to coax Phin, the 3 year old, into the water by getting in and enticing him with treats similar to what Munster said above.
Agree, don't force it.
 
Goosemaster said:
My 7 month old lab puppy hasn't swam yet.He is afraid of deep water.Any suggestions? He will wade tentatively in shallow water.I did push him off the end of the dock one time.
Click to expand...

You pushed him off the dock, which likely was a traumatic experience and now he doesn't trust the water. Good luck with that one
 
Munster927 said:
I would suggest not pushing him off a dock anymore. That didn't help your cause any if he was already hesitant around water and likely caused you to make life more difficult now.

I would suggest putting on rubber boots, waders would be better, and getting in the water with him. Bring high value treats, hot dogs, cooked liver, etc. Give him a few on land, then go into the water up to your knees, deep enough that he is still standing in the water but he's getting wet chest deep or so, give him a few more with treats lots of praise, then go deeper so he has to swim. Recall with a happy, high tone of voice, if he swims to you, reward with heavy praise.

Do this WITHOUT your other dog around so he focuses on you and this training exercise.
Click to expand...
Yes
 
LittleBigHorn22 said:
Someone in the retrieving world has a rule that the air and water temperature should add to 120 degrees for any training being done. If you push a dog to train in too cold of water, they are going to hate the water. Water should be fun to be in. If you are hunting then you can have them going into the cold stuff as they will be focused on the birds.
Click to expand...
Yes, water is very cold up north.
 
TomU said:
Annie, my pup (14 weeks) followed our 3 year old into the water on her first exposure. Stared out with shallow retrieves and gradually went deeper. Once she got to where she realized there was no bottom she turned around shoirt of the dummy. We did some more shallow stuff and she enjoyed it. It was a good first time. I think it also helps to have a role model.
I had to coax Phin, the 3 year old, into the water by getting in and enticing him with treats similar to what Munster said above.
Agree, don't force it.
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He has watched my 10 year old water retrieve many times. I think I need to get him out more without my older dog.They fight over anything that I throw. They will fight over a bird.
 
My buddy had two dogs, both young adults. A white lab, and a black lab mix from Craigslist. The white one swam like a fish. The black mutt would only go in up to his elbows, but they could not get him to swim. I was baby sitting the dogs one day and took them to a lake. I tried to encourage the black dog to swim for a couple minutes but he wouldn't. Then I pulled out the tennis ball and waved it around for 30 seconds and threw it in the lake. Whitey immediately jumped in. When the black one saw that, he ran right in and swam for the ball. He was the dominant dog and couldn't stand the thought of not getting the ball. From then on he would always swim, although he was terrible at it and never got better. He was a wierd dog. Pretty sure he had mental problems.
 
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