Shes 5 months old. She went to hydrotherapy pool just as a taster session and absolutly hated it, they said they have seen worse but she was shaking at one point in fear she was wailing about etc (not making good use of her legs). Up to this point i had been successfully getting her to jump in and splash about in paddling pool for food.. (she never opted to play in it of her own accord but would for food) Im just wondering if i .. 1. Book her in for learning to swim sessions and hope she gets better in 5 or so sessions (but if she doesnt then its a waste of time and money). or 2. Leave it accept she wont be a water dog, stop paddling pool splashing i do now and stop pushing her to swim..? I only was doing this with intention of her doing splash and dash in future but even then i cant be sure we would go to enough dog shows to warrent it.
I would try letting her play in small creeks or ponds, where she can wade. She may decide swimming is fun. If she retrieves, tossing a tennis ball or stick in the water, a little ways out may entice her to go in further. I would not try to make her swim or place her in the water. If she wants to go in the water she will, but maybe she won't be a swimmer. It is uncommon for Labs to avoid water, but not unheard of. I think a hydrotherapy pool would be intimidating for a dog that did not swim already, but we have never used one, so I'm just guessing. All of our Labs have been swimmers, but some had their own quirks. Ginger would not jump off of anything to get into water, she had to wade in, but she would swim for miles. Tilly would jump off the dock but she always paused to check the landing when we tried the "Dock Dogs" practice dock. Ginger would swim along side our canoe, but Tilly and Cooper want to be in the boat after 100 yards or so.
In my experience dogs are often wary of pools to begin with because they perceive it as a hole. My puppy was cautious even with puddles to begin with and we have just let him go at his own pace. He now happily runs after his friends into the water, but doesnt "swim" yet as such. It's one of those that is for their enjoyment anyway, so I think it's best to let them go at their own pace.
Great information from Avidog on this one: https://www.avidog.com/splish-splash-5-mistakes-people-make-teaching-dog-swim/ A dog shaking with fear is never a place you want to be and no reputable professional would allow that situation to arise. I would not return to this hydrotherapy pool, as clearly the folks there have no understanding. Instead, when the weather is good wherever you live, take your time and follow the steps in that article.
I would also let her take it at her own pace. Our guy was cautious of swimming for awhile, but now LOVES fetch in the water and will even jump in off our boat. He got comfortable a few ways: lots of wading/fetch games where he could touch (slowly going deeper), playing chase at the dog park and accidentally following his playmate a little deeper than expected, and (probably biggest difference) swimming with my husband in a lake - i.e. he could wade in, but was motivated to go a bit deeper to swim after someone.
