# Introducing pups to water



## EvanG (Apr 26, 2008)

Because of the discussion of pups refusing water, or just being reluctant, I thought it might be useful to discuss different ways people introduce pups to water. The later training will tend to reflect the attitude a pup comes away with from its introduction. Was it positive and stress free? Or did the trainer just start throwing things and expect the pup to go on its own?





 
EvanG


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

with Tito, it was a matter of just getting in the vicinity of water and next thing we knew he was in the water, off and swimming. He has always loved water. Same for my Tiny. My Toby could take it or leave it.
Same love of water is in Tito's puppies, at least the ones that I know of. Two of his puppy owners have told me similar stories about their shock when the puppy dove off the boat or dock into the water, under 3 months old...they weren't expecting it!
Thus I do believe a certain amount of water attitude is genetic.

I've posted this before....taken last summer.
Tito's water attitude:


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## Claudia M (Aug 8, 2012)

Thank you Evan for this video. Rose loves jumping in the indoor tub full of water (or empty - she would just jump in and look at the water spout waiting for the water to come out - I will be in huge trouble is she ever figures how to turn the water one) but we have yet to take her to the lake to swim. We are planning to take her this spring and see how she does. Big difference between the tub and a swim in the lake though IMHO.


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## EvanG (Apr 26, 2008)

hotel4dogs said:


> Thus I do believe a certain amount of water attitude is genetic.


I agree. The end result...the working career of a dog and the attitude seen in their water work, is influenced by both the natural love of water, and how the trainer either promoted or diminished that tendency through daily training. That all begins with initial exposure.

The puppy in that clip was my dog Moose at 4 months. He showed reluctance at first, but is now an exceptional water dog. He's very honest and eager. Of course, he was water forced during Basics, and has had that well maintained. I don't do water forcing simply because a certain dog shows a need for it as a cure. I do it as a matter of course because I know the benefits.

EvanG


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## texasx96 (Mar 13, 2013)

I decided to introduce Rowdy to water last week at 11 weeks. I took him out to my pool and jumped in (it was pretty chilly still even though it was about 80 deg outside). Once, I was in he came to the edge of the pool. I didn't want to force him in, so I just waited for him. After a brief hesitation, he jumped in and swam around me then came to me. I put him back out a few minutes later. Soon after he jumped in again on his own. We didn't stay in much longer as the chill was getting to me. He didn't seem to want to stay in too long either time (I'm hoping because of the water temperature), but I took it as a good sign that he jumped in twice of his own accord. Did I handle his introduction ok? 
My only other experience was with my dog, Jake. He was a Cairn Terrier and never took to the water. The only time that I remember him getting in was when we were walking by a pond. He noticed some ducks out in the middle and started running to them. He had a Wile E. Coyote moment where he got a few feet into the water before he realized it wasn't solid ground and plunged in.


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## Alaska7133 (May 26, 2011)

I noticed your water was brown and your dogs can't see into it. Up here most water is transparent and during salmon season the dogs will look under the water for the fish and try chasing them. Since the older slower fish are bright red and easy to see, sometimes the dogs will catch them. This really seems to entice them into the water when the pups see what's going on out there in the water. The funner you make it the more they enjoy it. Now if our water was a little warmer that would help! Lucy will be 11 months old at her first introduction to open water. I hope she enjoys it like my boys.


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## Vhuynh2 (Feb 13, 2012)

I admit I wasn't careful about introducing Molly to water. I never thought I'd be doing field work with her. I was a bit pushy when she was afraid of the current/waves at the lake. When she was 5 months old, we were in Idaho and it was 90 degrees and she just dove in after the ball and never looked back. She doesn't mind the waves at all anymore. 


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## gdgli (Aug 24, 2011)

I really liked your video and I liked your petting and reassurance in the water.


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## Tuco (Jan 3, 2013)

With Macin he was scared of the water until he was 3 because that's when we got Max and Macin was very protective of him as a puppy so he jumped right in, after that they were all good. Tuco stilled hasn't been at the beach yet, but when I go camping this summer that should change 


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## MarieP (Aug 21, 2011)

This was Riot's intro to water, before he was even "Riot." I think he was 5 weeks old at this point  Later, at about 9 weeks, we started tossing sticks into the water for him to play with in the shallows. One throw got a little too far away, and before we knew it, the leash had slipped out of my hand and Riot was off and swimming. His water attitude has been great from then on!


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## EvanG (Apr 26, 2008)

Alaska7133 said:


> I noticed your water was brown and your dogs can't see into it. Up here most water is transparent and during salmon season the dogs will look under the water for the fish and try chasing them. Since the older slower fish are bright red and easy to see, sometimes the dogs will catch them. This really seems to entice them into the water when the pups see what's going on out there in the water. The funner you make it the more they enjoy it. Now if our water was a little warmer that would help! Lucy will be 11 months old at her first introduction to open water. I hope she enjoys it like my boys.


I hear you loud and clear (no pun intended). I gave a seminar a few years back in Anchorage, and all our water was still 'stiff'!

EvanG


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## dogloverforlife (Feb 17, 2013)

We had to go in the water to get her to go in. So that might have been stressful now that you bring it up. She loves watee to this day though.
Great retriever. 
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## Brave (Oct 26, 2012)

I will have to watch this later. Bear hadn't been introduced to water yet. We went to the beach once when he was tiny and he loved the sand but he wouldn't go near the water so we left it alone. 


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## sterregold (Dec 9, 2009)

Still waiting for hard water to melt so we can get back to work. Last year I was doing water work in mid-March. Today, during a seminar I was at a librarian who had come from Hawaii for professional development saw it was snowing outside and ran out of the room to experience it and take pictures! She was excited--we are sick to death of it!!

So, because we have had such a long non-swimming season this year I have had to put off doing big water work with Wings--she was still a 6 month old puppy when it started to get cold. 
She did have a baby intro to water and lots of play in water last summer. In the pictures she is 8.5 weeks old. We waded in and played a little bit and by the end of the session she had decided she could swim.

I am interested to see how she will respond to water marks this spring. Her older half brother was just down in Texas, and the pro her dad uses for his FT labrador had not particularly liked him last year. This year he wants him on his truck! He has just matured enough that he has come into himself, and is just hammering his marks, land and water.


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## EvanG (Apr 26, 2008)

gdgli said:


> I really liked your video and I liked your petting and reassurance in the water.


I'm pleased that you pointed that out.:wavey: Little things like that can make a big difference to many nice dogs. I want my dogs not just to do things for me, but to enjoy it as much as I enjoy seeing them do it!

EvanG


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## Brave (Oct 26, 2012)

Thanks for the video!!! I just watched it. We're looking to introduce my 7 month old to water this summer. My locale has cold water and the only dog friendly water ways are beaches with waves. Even slight lapping makes my pup nervous. I am co-conspiring with my friend (who has two water dogs herself) to venture to a more sedate beach and spend the day. I will use the techniques offered here to try to build his confidence. 


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## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

Well assuming it was my dog that sparked this thread let me assure you that she was never forced as a youngster in the water. I never intended on doing field work when I first got her. I started very slow with wading water and got in the water with her. She was raised in the summer and swimming at 12 weeks old. To this day my own dog will swim in freezing cold water all winter of her own choice (I don't throw marks or anything until it warms up). She whines when she sees the water and that usually is the first thing she goes for. Had I never attempted field work I honestly would have thought she was a great water dog because she is drawn to it and a good swimmer.

I believe there has to be some strong genetic component to it. And I've heard it said that goldens can have water courage problems as a breed and I believe I have evidenced that in a handful of them not just my own dog. FWIW I've also seen it in some labs, though I suspect it less common. Personally I think there is some underlying confidence issue not some dislike of the water or bad experiences. Of course, it's easy to judge things from a distance...


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## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

Ok here's my girl as a puppy swimming, 12-16 weeks. You can skip the in-between. She's swimming at 1:04 and 1:48 (I sped up this section, the water and dog are not that fast).






You can ignore the stick. Like I said field work was far from my mind at the time.


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## MarieP (Aug 21, 2011)

GoldenSail said:


> Ok here's my girl as a puppy swimming, 12-16 weeks. You can skip the in-between. She's swimming at 1:04 and 1:48 (I sped up this section, the water and dog are not that fast).
> You can ignore the stick. Like I said field work was far from my mind at the time.



Wow!!! She is fearless!!! I love all the stuff you were doing with her. Nice.


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## Maxs Mom (Mar 22, 2008)

We got our lab from MN in Dec (2009) we introduced her to water in a bathtub because winter was here and we had a dog who got introduced late and took time to be comfortable we didn't want that with this pup. As she got more comfortable the water got cooler and deeper. In April hubby took her to a HRC group training day. I was not there but she went right in, even dove under water for something. No fear!!

When I got Gabby she had put her toes in water with the breeder but didn't seem too interested. Took all our dogs to an indoor doggy swimming place. Gabby held back watching the other dogs. Soon she was in. We could not get her out. She is water obsessed! She doesn't care the temperature of it either. We have to be careful when we take our winter walks by the river. She WILL go in. Gabby NEVER warmed up to the bathtub. We tried. It was just a battle so after the second try we quit. 


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## Gwen_Dandridge (Jul 14, 2012)

When we first got Maddie as soon as she was old enough, somewhere around three months, we took her to the beach. She was totally and absolutely appalled. The wave noise was terrifying and she wanted nothing to do with it. Six months later she can't be dragged out of any body of water.


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## Leslie B (Mar 17, 2011)

Love the video and I think that there is a second application for it. Our pup that was born in late May last year and had a nice water introduce to water last Fall. However the weather turned quickly and we only had 2 or 3 water sessions before the water was too cold. My husband took her south last month to get a start on the season and she looked at the water like she had never seen it before. It would be easy to think she was being stubborn or that she was not bright. But it was over half her life since she had seen water and she forgot. She had another soft introduction and quickly remembered how much fun it is.


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## Claudia M (Aug 8, 2012)

Ha Gwen - reminds me of my DD in the preschool ages - she was totally appalled to tomatoes but not ketchup until one day when I got two tomatoes for myself and she ate both of them. 
I am crossing my fingers and bracing myself for when we take Rose to the lake. She is totally in love with the baths and the shower - I may be in for a big surprise when it comes to the "big waters".


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## xoerika620xo (May 25, 2012)

Chester has never been introduced to water, besides in the bath tub. And during bath time he just stand's there. Im hoping he will have a easy introduction to the water but with this pup i don't know. Ive been researching for lakes that allow dogs, not too many around here.


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## drofen (Feb 2, 2013)

Claudia M said:


> Thank you Evan for this video. Rose loves jumping in the indoor tub full of water (or empty - she would just jump in and look at the water spout waiting for the water to come out - I will be in huge trouble is she ever figures how to turn the water one) but we have yet to take her to the lake to swim. We are planning to take her this spring and see how she does. Big difference between the tub and a swim in the lake though IMHO.


We will soon be in this boat (haha) too. Maxwell darn near crawled into the tub with my son last night. It won't be long before he's tall enough to get in on his own. That will be interesting.

But this is an issue that I have been thinking about. Maxwell gets bathed pretty often--about once a week. (My wifes prerequisite if he's going to be on the bed with us--and a fair one.) I try very hard to make those interactions as pleasant for him as possible so he doesn't balk at water.

To the OP, thanks for the video, it will definitely be helpful.


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## EvanG (Apr 26, 2008)

xoerika620xo said:


> Chester has never been introduced to water, besides in the bath tub. And during bath time he just stand's there. Im hoping he will have a easy introduction to the water but with this pup i don't know. Ive been researching for lakes that allow dogs, not too many around here.


Do a web search for a retriever club in driving distance. Also check with local vets regarding working retriever clubs. They're your best shot and good training water without interruptions.

EvanG


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## boomers_dawn (Sep 20, 2009)

Last weekend Dee Dee (14 wks old) chased Gladys and Friends into the pond. It was so funny you could see a second delay then OOOOHHH COLD! register, then she high tailed it out and avoided it after that. I think she'll forget and chase or follow them back in, once it warms up I bet I'll need the long line to get her out of the water like I did with Gladys


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## Max's Dad (Apr 23, 2012)

Max loves the water. His first time was at about 3 1/2 months old in the streams/waterfalls on the perimeter of our community lake. We put him on a long lead, and he walked into the streams exploring. A little more than a month later we went back and he started off walking/running along the ledge on the edge of the lake, and then jumped in and swam for the first time. He also has a great time at the beach. Here are a few photos of his first couple of times in the lake.


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## Nairb (Feb 25, 2012)

Bella was 3 1/2 months when she first went in to the water at the Mississippi River Headwaters at Itasca State Park. We waded across a section that was about a foot deep at the most. I walked across backward and lured her across with treats. After that, we had a hard time getting her out. She's yet to swim in a lake, because she had a lengthy bout with ear infections last fall, and there's been ice on the lakes ever since.


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## Nairb (Feb 25, 2012)

Here's a picture of me luring Bella across the Mississippi River Headwaters last August...


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## Bentleysmom (Aug 11, 2012)

Max's Dad said:


> Max loves the water. His first time was at about 3 1/2 months old in the streams/waterfalls on the perimeter of our community lake. We put him on a long lead, and he walked into the streams exploring. A little more than a month later we went back and he started off walking/running along the ledge on the edge of the lake, and then jumped in and swam for the first time. He also has a great time at the beach. Here are a few photos of his first couple of times in the lake.


awwww I love these pics! Look at lil baby Max with a lil rat tail, how adorable!!


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