Thanks very much - that's really helpful. We've since been to the beach again and this time the waves weren't breaking too much. So we played with his ball and he made it into the shallows. He was still quite nervous though so we only did a few throws with his ball and will build on that. Thanks for the help.
And if your dog doesn't like the water, well, that's ok. As much as Xena loves the hose, she won't swim - a civilised splash in the shallows is as far as she gets. It's not a big deal, and she still gets immense pleasure from simply wading about. People get a big kick out of my "Labrador who won't swim"
My Tatze won’t swim either. A splash in the shallows on a hot day is the best we get, even ‘tho all her walks are by reservoirs, rivers and lakes.
Our boy wouldn’t swim except to retrieve his ball from a lagoon or beach. But not from our swimming pool - he’d bark and bark until we retrieved it. We discovered that he is uncomfortable jumping into water; he doesn’t mind wading in. Subsequently we put concrete blocks into our pool (converted into a pond now) and he now swims! The blocks made his submersion a gradual experience, and clearly he’s more comfortable this way. He still won’t swim for the enjoyment - other dogs simply love to swim, but unless a ball is involved or it is a very hot day and he needs to cool off in our pond - then it’s the briefest of brief swims. Regarding baths, swampdonkey recommended a watering can (instead of a hose pipe) and we haven’t looked back (along with tons of treats).
It's reassuring to hear there are a number of labs that don't like swimming etc. I always thought they were all water lovers! Thanks
Love the watering can idea - we'll try that! And I think our Wilson may end up being a wader rather than a jumper-in, which is absolutely fine of course. Thanks for sharing!
Our boy does LOVE water, just not swimming. If there’s a puddle or a stream and even the sea, he’s right in it. Just not deep - he likes to be able to wade. But you cannot keep him away from water!
Hehe, I put that badly. I guess I meant swimmers but I can see that wading is just as much fun and means your boy (and others) still loves water
Our first Lab, Ginger would not jump off of anything into water but she would wade in, and loved to swim. She would swim for long distances with us in a canoe, and retrieve tennis balls until she was too tired to move. When she went in the canoe with us, she could not bring herself to jump in, she would hang half way out of the boat, and we would pick up her butt and toss her the rest of the way in. She seemed perfectly happy with that arrangement. Tilly would jump off a dock, but she always had to check first, to see that we had not drained the lake since her last trip down the dock. As a result, she would get 5 or 6 feet distance instead of the 15 to 25 that the real dock dogs got. We eventually gave up on the dock dog thing. When our dogs are in a boat or swimming from a boat, they have life-jackets on, mostly so we have a handle to help them back into the boat, but it also makes them more visible. I would suggest starting with a pond or lake, rather than the ocean. At least in the Pacific NW the beach typically has good sized waves coming in, and even dogs that like water may not like being rolled over by breakers. Ginger used to retrieve tennis balls that we threw beyond the surf line, but Cooper and Tilly don't like being wave handled that much, even though they swim in easy white water rivers.
Thanks so much for this - I love your stories, so interesting! We have been thinking of taking Wilson in a rowing boat later this summer - as long as he is happier with water by then - so a life jacket is a very good idea. We are going to try him in a shallow river as well although since posting we have been encouraged by the fact that he has now got his feet wet in the shallows at the beach!
