How would you introduce your dog to water?

[Zizzler]

My dog is 5 months old and he has been to the lake... he has walked around in it and even waded a bit, but no full on swimming. It is now officially too cold for me to feel safe about letting my dog into the water because there is no way I am going in after him if something goes wrong. Me and my boyfriend go on a lot of float trips and we would like to bring the new pup next year... however, we would like for him to live through it. How can I get him to be comfortable swimming in bodies of water? The rivers we go on are somewhat shallow and not very strong, but I still worry. We use rafts/canoes and not tubes... so he would always have a place to hang out and it wouldn't be constant swimming all day long for him. Where could I get a doggy life vest or is that a really stupid idea?

 

[Inga]

No, a doggy life vest is a good idea. Especially if you're talking running water with currents.

Believe it or not, I've had a few Lab fosters that weren't too keen on water play. Labs are supposed to be natural born swimmers.

I have a kid-sized pool that I fill up, toss their favorite toy in. Some will go after it and then you can't keep them out of the water.
I've taken some fosters to a friend's pool and jumped in. They'll usually jump in after me. 1. Monkey see, monkey do. 2. They can't stand to be left out.
If it's raining I'll make it a point to walk through the puddles so they feel the water around their feet. The deeper the better.

Maybe some of this will help you.

 

[Mac]

First of all, a doggie life vest is an amazing idea (and they totally exist!).

Second of all, if he's not afraid of the water at 5 months then you should not have to worry! The only thing I would suggest would be to introduce swimming slowly, and not force him in. If you force him, he'll develope a negative feeling towards it and begin to be afraid of it. So you just have to introduce it slowly, perhaps with his favourite treat or toy?

In all, it's not too difficult, though it may take patience. He'll begin swimming in no time. It's an innate (automatic instinct) to swim, so he won't drown of not being able to swim.

Hope this helps and enjoy