Need some help with swimming/water

[Rocky68]

I have a 7 month old male that don't like the water witch I found out this pass weekend. We went to the beach with some friends of mind that brought their three german shepherds witch are Rocky's buddies and he did not like it at all. He always follows what the other dogs do but not this time lol. Well I was wondering if anybody has any good tips on what I should do to get him to like swimming/water. I also have a nice pond by my house I could use for training just don't know what to do to get him in. I threw a toy he likes in the water and think god a neighbor dog was there to go get or I would of lost it lol. Ive done some reading on here just couldn't find any tips about how to train him...HELP :)

[Nishasmom]

We started taking Nisha to the lake at around 3 months (we had a baby pool set up at home too). At first she just waded around where she could reach the bottom. We never pressured her to go in; I think this is a bad idea. You should let them go in at their own time. Well, one day we were at the park and a stranger picked up her ball and threw it in the water for her (lots of people throw balls for "stranger" dogs). To our amazement she leaped in and went for it . We were so proud!!! This happened when she was about six months old. She has been a fish ever since!!

So...my suggestion; set up a "baby pool" in the yard. Get him used to playing in the water in a controlled environment. Then take him to a lake that has a gradual incline (beach type); this way he can go in as far as he feels comfortable. Eventually he may decide to "go all the way". I have heard it helps if you swim with them.

I have also heard that some Rotties don't like water.

[Terri Lambert]

My dogs learned to love the water by going with my friends Labradors which at first my older one did not like the water but went in with one of the Labs, and I think she has more fun sometimes than the labs. My younger dog learned from my older one and she actually is so crazed by the water that if she smells it she will pull you to it if she could.

[Rocky68]

Thanks! Ill try the baby pool and see how that goes. I always go to the beach, lake and river a lot so I really want him to love the water. Whats funny is that I work for the Houston Fire Dept and he love to ride on the Fire Truck lol.

[hokisteph5]

Two years ago I took mine out to a nearby lake, parked my new (to me anyway) boat on a beach, and thought that the dogs would love the water. Not so much. I got them in the water, but they ran to the beach and stood looking out at me. The next day my wrists and forearms ached so much from the tugging I did because they hated the water.

I then tried a baby pool by my backdoor thinking I would work my way up to the lake. I got Samson to put a front paw in it, but Gretchen thought I was nuts. Neither dog got to enjoy the boat much that first summer because it was usually too hot for them to go out without a cooldown in the water.

Last spring I decided to take them to a semi-local pet resort that has an inground pool with a inflated cover when it's cold. I wanted to see the technique the owner/instructor would use since she gets in the pool with the dogs at first.

She put a lead on their life jackets (which I bought the first summer) and coaxed them into the water via the steps in the shallow end. She gradually moved them to the deeper part of the pool so they had to stop trying to walk on water, realize they wouldn't die, and learn the swimming technique.

After the first session, which lasted maybe 15 minutes, Samson was semi-swimming and Gretchen was still in her "you're nuts" mindset, with a glimpse here and there of what she could do. About a week later Samson was restricted by the vet to no swimming because he had a flare-up around his eye.

In any case, I had put my boat in the water for the summer and took just Gretchen out to work on her swimming. I parked in a cove and made sure I was close to the shore, but far enough that she had to swim a short way before she got to rest. I made sure I kept a lead on her so I could coax her back into the water when we swam back to the boat.

About a month later Samson was able to get back in the water and he was slightly behind Gretchen in his technique, but soon caught up. By the end of last summer, I was working on making Samson wait for me to release him off the back of my boat.

He had fallen in love with the water and managed once or twice to launch himself into the water before the boat's anchor had caught. Gretchen never quite fell in love with the water like Samson, but has a great technique as she swims.