# Teaching your Golden to swim??



## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

It takes them a while to figure it out. And you know sometimes when adult dogs haven't swam all winter, the first time they get back into the water they forget their sealegs or panic when they get water up their nose.

Just make sure she doesn't go too deep before she figures it out. And keep her out of strong currents.


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Some Goldens don't instinctively know how to swim and many don't like water. 

I have a small beach at the end of my road where I take my dogs swimming in the ICW. I adopted Remy last year from my County H.S., I knew very little about his background, so I wasn't sure if he liked to swim. The first several times I took him down to the beach, I got in the water with him and most of the time still do.

The Currents can be pretty strong here on the Coast, I always watch out for them, that's part of the reason I get in with them.

Have you considered getting a life jacket for Sadie?


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## Suni52 (Jan 18, 2012)

I thought about a life vest for her, but I really think, once she grasps the concept of kicking her hind legs, swimming will be fine for her. I think I'm just being cheap, and don't want to invest in one, because I'm hoping its very temporary. It feels good knowing she's not the only golden that didn't take to swimming like white on rice. Luckily, she seems to love the water, despite being a spaz in it, so thank goodness her lack of swimming abilities haven't deterred her yet. 
Maybe when the weather warms up a bit, I'll get in there with her and try holding her hind quarters up and see what happens. 

BTW the couple we met at the park with the lab were video taping her, so I'm waiting for the video clip to show up on You Tube. It really was kind of funny.


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## Oaklys Dad (Dec 28, 2005)

Not kicking the back feet is a common rookie mistake. They also tend to do a lot of splashing with their front legs. Mine have always figured it out after a while. I think dogs float pretty well. I have seen my two on a wild Canadian goose chase that lasted over 45 minutes of constant hard paddling non stop. I thought for sure they were going to drown but weren't even winded when they finally came back to shore.


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## sdain31y (Jul 5, 2010)

When we first got Darby, he was game to go in the pool but like Sadie didn't use his back legs effectively and splashed more then paddled with his front. He'd get to the middle of the pool and start sinking. I ended up jumping in the pool with my clothes once, Jazz went in and toed him out when he grabbed onto her ruff several times. The next weekend we bought a float and it only took a weekend with it for him to learn, but well worth the cost for peace of mind.


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## vcm5 (Apr 20, 2011)

I know exactly what you are talking about! In my experience they figure it out eventually, I've never done anything special to teach a dog to swim!


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