Stopping Fear/Hate of Water

[BC_MoM]

Mickey and Molly don't like water at all. If you pick up a hose, Mickey crouches and acts as if you are punishing him, Molly will run away and get skiddish.

Tomorrow we are going to the beach and I found that in a section at the beach, dogs are allowed to swim.

I would like to try and use this as a chance to get the dogs less afraid/hateful of the water.

What do you suggest in convincing them there's nothing to fear? Is it even possible? lol

I was thinking of maybe leashing one at a time and bringing them in with me and not giving them a choice except to swim. (Me being right beside them of course in case they really freaked or did not swim)

Or do you think this method would be an extremely negative experience for them and not a good idea at all?

[.sarah]

You shouldn't ever force them in, that's a great way to get them to hate the water more. Let them go in if they want to.

[sandragonfly]

you could try that, maybe it's different than (noisy) hose to them. as long as you don't force them anything. bring treats with you!! praise extra extra.

good luck, I'd like to know how it went. :)

[buttercup132]

Rockee hate HATES water from a hose but she willl run straight into a creek,pond,beach. And Thunder tolerates the hose but he dosent like it but he LOVES the swimming. If it was up to him hed never get out.

[dab_20]

I tried that with Molli and she hates water even more. She was good at swimming, but she doesn't like it. I would try letting them get in the water themselves, don't force them. Some dogs just don't like water and never will.

[luvofallhorses]

You shouldn't ever force them in, that's a great way to get them to hate the water more. Let them go in if they want to.

I agree. Jenny HATES water and I only let her choose to go in the water if she wants, I would never force her in. Although, when we take her to the lake with Rocky, you would never know she hates water. :)

[zoomer]

Georgia, Alaska, and Buddy HATE the hose. They dispize it. Alaska will run away from it, Georgia will cover away, and Buddy will hide. But they all will swim. They don't love it, but they will chase sticks and stuff. It might just be that your two hate the hose, but they like to swim. If not, I would try throwing treats in the water, further and further out. :)

[GreyhoundGirl]

Jenny doesn't like it at all, she becomes all scared. If i want her to swim with me, the easiest way is to go to the beach on a hot day, walk for a while and she will get hot ( being black, duh ) than, she will go in the water to cool off ( she's not dumb, eh? ). If I'm not fast enough to get in the water while she's in, all i have to do is get her confidence up. Bear with me, this is hard to explain.

In steps:

1: throw in a stick about a foot into the water, so she can still reach it from shore.

2: when she returns with it ( if she fetches ) reward her with a quick pat.

3: throw the stick back in the water about half a foot further each time, rewarding when she returns. Obviously, eventually she won't be able to reach it from shore so she'll have to take a step into the water. Each time as the stick gets farther, she will have to swim deeper. but she doesn't mind if you do it in steps.

( this works with my girl, who is fetch-oriented it might not work if they don't like fetch, i suggest doing it 1 by 1 so that they aren't destracted by the other dog )

The strange thing is, with my girl who hates water won't mind it if you take small steps deeper, like above. Example: if you throw a stick out into the lake 20 ft she won't go get it, but if you throw it 1 foot at a time, she'll go get it even when it's 20 ft.

:confused: I don't get it, is this lack of confidence?

Like I said, this works really well for me. Try it see if it works for you. Good luck and i hope it works ! :)