Is this normal for a lab? My almost 5 month old Fox Red Lab pup Gibbs doesn't like water. He won't go anywhere near puddles, paddling pool and basically legs it into the house if the garden hose even looks like it might move. As its rather warm at the moment I've got out the paddling pool for my children and was assuming that Gibbs would also cool off in it but nope. If a ball ends up in there and he can't reach it without getting wet then it stays there.
I can relate to this, please don't worry . Sam is now 4 years old but up until 18 months of age, he was afraid of water . Best thing to do is not to make an issue out of it , gentle encouragement with no enforcing is the best way . Eventually , I had to get into the water which in turn , proved too much for Sam and he also got in . Sam still doesn't like the hose pipe either , they are all so different but its nothing to worry about .
Its normal. I've never known a Lab that immediately took to water. Some like to keep their paws on the bottom and are content to charge around in the shallows. Others, like Holly, love swimming. The important thing is not to force Gibbs into the water. If he sees you having fun in the water he might want to join in.
Benson was the same...at 5 months old he really wasn't keen. Now he is 19 months old he is fine, he will never be a water baby like some labs but will swim with his friends and potter around in the shallows
Cheers He doesn't seem afraid of the water, he just doesn't seem to like to get wet lol. I was in the paddling pool yesterday with my 5 year old daughter and Gibbs took one look at us and he had 'you have to be joking' written all over his face before trotting inside. Ah well, will see if he develops a liking for it when older.
Our dog Maggie that we lost a while ago, LOVED the pool ... it was actually 'her' pool, she just let us use it! When we got Maui (3 weeks ago), we introduced her slowly with my husband holding her gently and then letting her go close to the edge where she swam like crazy to get out. We didn't push anything, and still don't. She's 12 weeks today. My daughter was here last week with her two Chocolates who love to swim and although Maui wasn't all over it, she was at the edge all the time and actually went in on her own a few times. We still don't push it as I said, but she was outside today while he was cleaning the pool, and Maui was VERY interested in it all. He just came in and said all of a sudden he looked and she was doing a little swim lap (close to the edge of course!) all on her own! So, I don't know, I think just introduce it and let the pup adjust on his/her own? I know my son made the mistake of throwing his Wiemarana in when she was young and she still won't go near it!
My builders Labrador doesn't particularly like water and will only get her legs wet but not her stomach. Made him very jealous with Juno swimming at 14 weeks and retrieving in the local lake as he wanted to train his girl to retrieve as he goes shooting.....
