How old should my puppy be before we can work on swimming in a lake? My other labs just jumped in around 4 months old but we didn't really do anything special to prepare them. My husband wants to get our 9 week old pup in the water right away but I'm not sure if it's advisable. A vet told me to wait until 6 months but that seems too long. There is a lot of conflicting info on the web about when to start teaching lab pups to swim.
I'm no expert and not sure if being a lake, shots would be a consideration? We have a pool at home and when we had our other lab Maggie, that we lost 13 years ago, we took her in gently with us very early on and she loved it. We now have an 11 week old girl and have done the same ... Vet said fine, let her go. She's a little more timid than our Maggie was, so we were doing it just a little at a time for a few minutes with my husband holding her. When he lets her go, she swims like crazy to get out! However, that being said, we've had company here with my daughter and her 2 chocolates and our Maui actually jumped in on her own to be with the other dogs! Again, didn't stay long, swam to get out ... but we're getting there. This is Maui after a swim the other day!
Hi Teresa and welcome to the forum. I have two ten-month-olds and they have only been swimming for the last month, but that is purely because where we live, we have a lot of snow in the winter and no access to swimmable water until that has all gone. These are my first puppies, so my experience isn't large; however I know plenty of people on here have introduced their pups to water at a young age. As long as the water is warm, I wouldn't have thought there was an issue introducing the puppy relatively early, with a few caveats. I would let the puppy dictate the pace he enters the water. A very gentle slope into the water so it's easy to inch in a bit at a time would be perfect. You really have to be careful with temperature, because puppies can get cold very, very quickly. In any case, I would limit access to the water to a couple of minutes at first. Make sure you dry him very thoroughly as soon as he leaves the water. Finally, I would choose a small body of water so it's easy for you to get to him if he gets into any trouble. To start off with, I would probably try a babbling brook or puddles in which he can splash and get used to the water without swimming. Also, I would want to ensure I had a strong, trusting relationship and a decent recall with the puppy first, so that he comes to me when I call him out, even if he's having loads of fun. So, personally, I probably wouldn't do it at 9 weeks, and would wait a few more so we've spent more time together first. But I'm sure others would say the sooner the better. With my two, even though they started relatively late, they absolutely love to swim and will do so without any prompting So, I don't think there's any harm in waiting, either.
I didn't word that post right .... Our Maggie was almost 13 when we lost her a few months ago .... not 13 years ago! LOL!
That's a good point about the vaccinations, too. At 9 weeks, she won't be fully vaccinated, so you should wait until she is before putting her in a lake, or indeed on the floor anywhere in public.
Juno was first swimming in our local lake at 14 weeks of age having completed her full course of vaccinations. We found a shallow spot for her so she could go in and out easily and she was happily swimming and retrieving pine cones with very little encouragement. Her first swim was in September last year on a lovely warm afternoon, and not having thought about it we didn't have a towel to dry her off, but she was as happy as can be. we've just been swimming there again this afternoon and she had a great time. Here's Juno swimming at 14 weeks Juno at Dathee (2) by Rosemary McDonagh, on Flickr
Thanks for the feedback. We took him on a walk near the lake and he is so ready to go in! We will wait until he has his shots before we let him go all the way. I don't think he is going to have a problem swimming based on how he reacted to seeing water and playing on the shore. Just need to convince the kids and dad to be patient!
Whats the difference in taking it for a walk by the lake then letting it in the lake? Roxie was exactly 10 weeks when she actually went swimming and did great she loves the water
He saw the vet today. He recommended a Lepto vaccine before putting him in local fresh water. I guess it is common where there are a lot of raccoons and we have plenty of those around in the South. My husband actually let him go in the water a few days ago and he took right to swimming. The vet just prefers we wait a couple more weeks. I never did it for my other Labs but a couple people who live on the local lakes do it for their dogs and agreed it is a risk. We will just have to be patient.
That's right, forgot about Lepto ... probably a good idea to wait until your pup has had all shots before taking a chance in the lake ... also we were told not to even put Maui down on the ground in public places until all shots are done. I read somewhere that Parvo can actually live on the ground for a year and you have no way of knowing what has been on the ground before you got there, even with nothing visible! We have a dog next door that we know hasn't not only completed his shots, but not even had an annual ... and he's like 5 or 6! We don't let Maui out on that side of the yard at all and keep her confined to inside out fence. She swims in our pool ... or I should say, getting used to it! We're looking forward to being able to walk her in the neighborhood ... but not until all shots are done!
Some vets also recommend an extra week after the final shots before taking a puppy out on public paths etc. here in France my vet was happy for Juno to go out the next day so it is always best to check as vets have different ideas and it also depends upon your local area..
