Any Suggestions on Teaching them to swim?

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OntarioSheltie

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I could use some sheltie swimming lesson advice.

Sadie loves to swim and always showed interest. I tried to teach Ginny how to swim last summer with no success.

I bought her a good life jacket and took her with me in my neighbors above ground pool.

I held her to me most of the time, giving her lots of praise, but she was not happy. I first tried having her in the pool for very short increments, but she never seemed to get more or less comfortable. Eventually I pulled her away from my body and held onto her life jacket, balancing her (one hand on top, the other under her). She stayed completely still and never tried to paddle. I tried to get her to paddle by taking one of my hands away, but she still wouldn't paddle, she'd tip over sideways. If I righted her she'd continue to not paddle. I let her nose touch the water and she panicked and started flailing around. There was never an in between with her, she never seemed to understand the paddling and would only do so when she was in a complete panic. I tried all summer to teach her but she never made any progress.

I bought Toby a life jacket and would like to teach him to swim too but I'm not sure if I'm going about it right, because of Ginny.

He seems to have no instinct to swim either. I stood in the water at a lake and pulled him in the water and let him see what it felt like to not have his feet touching the ground. He too didn't get that he had to paddle his feet so I let him tip to the side a bit. He too started to paddle, but only after he dipped his nose under water. He responded well to praise and didn't seem too upset by the experience.

My goal isn't to try and force them to like the water, which I realize isn't possible. I would like them to be relatively comfortable in the water though and not panicked.
 
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It could just be that every sheltie is differnet some really enjoy it and some not so much. I would just let them decide on their own if they like swimming. Try not to force it. Forcing them could possibly scare them and may never want to go back or will hold it against you and not come to you for comfort.

For example my sheltie Weebo and I were taking our normal walk off leash in the woods near my house. I walked over to the edge of a stream to let him get a drink. The water is probably waste deep in some sections and others just a little over his feet. Before I new it he was just swimming and got so excite jumping around and even walked out on log and jumped in a deeper part. He likes to just walk in the stream while I walk along side him up on land. He never leaves my sight so just in case something would happen I'm always there.
 
It took a couple of sessions with Juliet before she got comfortable in the water. I used a life jacket in the beginning too, but she would paddle her feet when I let go of her.

Why don't you try holding on to her without the life jacket and see if she paddles?

Initially, I gave my dogs treats just for standing in the water or moving an inch. That seemed to help them realize the water's not so bad afterall. Juliet would NOT eat anything at first until she was out of the pool (shows she was really stressed), but now she'll chase my hand and try to eat while swimming! So bring lots of amazing treats! And be really patient!

Oh, I also tried not to pull them into the water, coz they usually freaked out. I would lure with treats or carry them in. I think it's harder for a dog to get used to the water if they go from land to water, without some steps or an incline leading in (like a beach). It's a bigger change for them.
 
My goal isn't to force them to like the water or to force them in, its just to get them used to it enough that they don't panic when they're in water the way Ginny does.

I tried Ginny in the water without the life jacket too, but it wasn't really better.

I think you hit the nail on the head Caro, its an above ground pool so there really is no incline, just two steps and a drop.

I recently discovered a spot on one of our hikes where I might be able to bring the dogs into the water. I'll see if I can start Toby and Ginny off there first, maybe it will be a bit easier on them. I'll bring some turkey hotdog pieces too, maybe it will be more fun for them if they can bob for hot dogs. :smile2:

Sadie took to the water quickly after her stroke when she realized she could still play fetch in the water. Toby and Ginny aren't ball motivated like Sadie is.

Thanks for the advice!
 
I'd just like to say that while Ginny and Toby still don't like to swim, they've definitely developed a love of water, so I believe that my efforts have paid off, especially where Toby is concerned.

Ginny loves romping through the water and has accidentally swam a few time by chasing the bigger dogs into deeper water. At that time she just turned around and swam back to shore, no panicking. EXACTLY what I'd hoped for. When she's feeling hot she'll also wade in and sit or lie down so that only the top of her back or her head were dry. VERY cute. :smile2:

Toby was very nervous of water in the spring, having had no exposure to anything but puddles previously. By the end of the summer he went from staying clear of water completely, to running through it and even playing with it. He's so cute to watch, pawing it like a horse, dunking his muzzle in and swirling it around and ever so slightly bending to wet his belly. On occasions when he found himself accidentally swimming he simply turned around and swam back to shore. I couldn't be more pleased, even when I catch him rolling in mud puddles. :smile2:
 
Bottom line: Oh yeah, she can swim. They all can swim. Layla swam the first time she fell off the kayak into the Pokomoke River at age one.

What you're really asking is, can you train her to like it. Answer: probably not. :(
 
Chris said:
Bottom line: Oh yeah, she can swim. They all can swim. Layla swam the first time she fell off the kayak into the Pokomoke River at age one.

What you're really asking is, can you train her to like it. Answer: probably not. :(
Click to expand...

She was panicking in the water, which concerned me. But if you read my last post you'll see its not an issue. :smile2:
 
Now I have a question for you.... WHY would you want to teach them to swim? :lol: Ok, I'm 1/2 joking... but 1/2 not.

I thought about encouraging Miko to enjoy the water and then after a couple of visits to the dog beach and lifting a WET, stinky, sandy sheltie into the back of the SUV… it him me… Why do I even want him to like it? LOL It's a disaster and he takes forever to dry-off. Where on earth do I keep him while he's drying? (we don't use a crate anymore)

So further to your question about teaching them… My question is… How do you deal with the aftermath when they DO like it?? :wink2:
 
Mikos_Mom said:
Now I have a question for you.... WHY would you want to teach them to swim? :lol: Ok, I'm 1/2 joking... but 1/2 not.

I thought about encouraging Miko to enjoy the water and then after a couple of visits to the dog beach and lifting a WET, stinky, sandy sheltie into the back of the SUV… it him me… Why do I even want him to like it? LOL It's a disaster and he takes forever to dry-off. Where on earth do I keep him while he's drying? (we don't use a crate anymore)

So further to your question about teaching them… My question is… How do you deal with the aftermath when they DO like it?? :wink2:
Click to expand...

LOL! You're too funny. :lol:

I wanted them to be able to swim because we visited my family's cottage this summer. I was worried about them falling off the dock, panicking and drowning and about what would happen in the event of a boat accident. I got them life jackets but wanted them to also be comfortable in the water, instead of highly stressed and panic stricken.

I don't really find it to be a big deal in the summer when its warm outside. If they get muddy or Sadie as well as wet then they get hosed off when we get home. I try to keep them outside till their dry or confine them to one area of the house till their dry. If they need it I'll towel dry them a bit. This ritual is pretty much the same in the winter, except that they get rinsed in the bath tub.

The wet dog smell doesn't really bother me too much. I think because I keep their coats pretty clean, they don't smell as bad. More wet instead of wet and strong doggie smell.

Oh, one more thing, we bought a cover for the inside of our car in order to keep it clean.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-w-Q_cbkUCWM/TeVDQXaosmI/AAAAAAAACMI/x5XmYTDgPy8/s640/IMG_2204.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YWKW3Np26Hs/TeVDQUtA_fI/AAAAAAAACMM/qGlfPwnZqgQ/s640/IMG_2206.jpg
 
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