Swimming not happening :(

luvmynwfy

luvmynwfy

New member
Hi
Okay so I had posted that I would be bringing River up to the lake for swimming lessons and had few ideas how we were going to approach it. She likes going in the water, even laying down in the water but she will not go out where it is deeper than her belly. She was so scared and panicked when I tried to lead her with the leash. We're friends again and she is willingly coming to me but no deeper than her belly. I don't want her to not trust me. I'm giving up doing this by myself - going to get some help from my local club if I can.
Do some Newfs just not swim? She loves the water but she is really nervous about swimming....
Any advice?
Marina
 
NewfieMama

NewfieMama

New member
Cooper does not swim. He'll get his feet wet, sometimes go in to his elbows, but that's it. He panics when I try to get him in further. We got him swimming once at a NCNE clinic but he was in full-on panic shutdown by the time he had to paddle.
 
N

Newfs Forever

New member
Marina,

I have my fourth newf now. My first newf was a puppy and I never really tried training in water. The other three have been rehomes, and I don't think they ever had any puppy experiences in water.

Soooooo, none of them like/liked the water.
 
dumainedogs

dumainedogs

New member
marylouz said:
http://www.squidoo.com/swim-training
Click to expand...
What she said!!! Obie's a reluctant swimmer. Still, he amazed me when went to a water test as spectators.. and at the end of the day were invited to let him into the water for a little cool down.. Someone threw a bumper out for their dog and in the blink of an eye, he'd followed suit and was racing the other dog to the bumper and back. The power of peer pressure and prey drive!
 
L

lmfoltyn

New member
Remember my story of poor Jake...he went in the water and almost stayed on the bottom! LOL...not a swimmer either! Now he won't even go in his wading pool.
 
W

wrknnwf

Active member
My old Yogi didn't swim...at least not intentionally. He took a flying leap into my fish pond one day while going after some amorous ducks. I don't know who was more stunned...the ducks, me or Yogi. He did have a huge grin on his face, but never attempted to fly with the birds again. Especially o'er the waves.
 
Joan Fisher

Joan Fisher

New member
I agree with Patti. A Life jacket does help. Tiika was so reluctant to swim even with watching dogs in the water at the river every day. She wouldn't go within 50 feet of the water. I had registered her for SEOR's water seminar and I even phoned Allan Maniate to say was it worth my while to even bring her. He said of course! When we got there, the 1st thing he asked was where's the dog who's afraid of the water. He had Tiika swimming within a few minutes. He is amazing with the dogs and he's the best instructor ever for Draft and Water Rescue. Now Tiika does everything she's asked to do with water rescue and will swim out when asked to get something with no hesitation. But she still doesn't swim for pleasure. My brother's Newf, Barnacle, and my last Newf, Bonnie, were impossible to get out of the water, but both Tiika and Splash don't seem to like swimming just for the joy of it, only as a duty. SEOR has a water seminar on July 14th and 15th. You should see if there are still some spots. It's in the Kawartha Lakes, very close to your home, Marina. John and I will be there with Tiika.
 
R Taft

R Taft

Active member
Lukey would not go into the water until Mike "drowned".....he pretended quite noisily to be in trouble, with none of the other dogs off leash.....Luke went in to "save" him.He just swam around him in circles and Mike did not grab him, just swam with him. We also already had a jacket on him and it was a really hot day. he still will not go when the others are about, but he will go in to "save" Mike, he will follow Mike anywhere I think.....
 
Leonard and his bud Snuffles

Leonard and his bud Snuffles

Active member
Snuffles is not a swimmer, but can be convinced to for the right toy. Our local public pool was open the Saturday after Labor Day for dogs the first year I had him. They had zero-grade, beach-type entry, and with lots of tennis balls. I did kind of tug him along to get him swimming. Then we also got friendly with Karen and Snuffles' kinfolks where he really latched on to a Kong Wet Wabba. I think he would swimm all day to try to get it. But just to swim, Snuffles doesn't have the drive either.
 
marylouz

marylouz

New member
I have to say - having had Newfs since 1992 I have never had a Newf who would go in and swim for pleasure- I truly think that they are instinctively driven to protect people from being in the water and we shape that instinct to include retrieve articles, but my dogs have always been more than happy to snooze on the beach unless there is a person in the water and then they must be held back. That is why one of the hardest exercises to teach a junior dog is swim with handler - because there needs to be enough of a bond with the handler that the dog can overcome the instinctive need to try and turn the handler around and being them in to shore.
 
Cat

Cat

New member
I love it

River...Sweetheart Supreme. So much good information on this post and newf.net in general ! Our Samson is a fish, but he's had 16 months of training now. We can hardly keep him out of it in any form it takes (and he always manages to go in right when we are getting ready to go somewhere). He wasn't that way when we started. The swim vest helped him get it at the very beginning, but he didn't need\ want it after the 1st couple times and he got the idea. They have to get used to the huge weight difference they experience when their massive coats are wet. It never ceases to amaze us at how heavy the small amount of his coat that we skim from the bottom of the pool is when it settles. We are all so patient and loving. That works the best and that is the reason why we are all here also. Go River !
 
Jeannie

Jeannie

Super Moderator
My Adam will not swim unless he has his life jacket on. I think his coat is so thick it weighs him down.
 
Elund

Elund

New member
My 5 yr old lab would not get into the water for any reason until she was over 1 year. Not if her mother and siblings were swimming or if we were or even to chase a ball. And she would rather chase a tennis ball than breathe. Her father won't get in the water either. Then one day she stepped off the pool steps and she took off. She now swims "laps" for 30-45 min at a time. We don't cover the pool in the winter so she can swim. She gets in when it is 30-40 degrees. The point is pushing her did no good. We bribed and pleaded and tried to force. No good. I think for some dogs it has to be when they are ready. Our 11 week old Newfie puppy has already been in the pool, and sprinkler and water bowl and hose, and even though he hasn't stepped off the steps alone yet, we are taking it slowly. He is interested and I don't want to scare him. He let's me hold him in the water and he paddles a little. I am going to let him lead. And I may get him a life jacket. He does seem heavy in the water compared to my other dogs.
 
marylouz

marylouz

New member
For those people looking at assistive devices for swimming - I would lean towards a ski belt vs. a vest - a vest is going to add buoyancy to the dog's chest and front end, where the issue I have seen with most novice swimmers is that they are not using their rear correctly - a ski belt just in front of the rear legs will add lift and encourage the dog to use the power in their rear rather than trying to reach down and "walk" on the bottom. http://www.amazon.com/Nash-HydroSlide-Water-Sports-Belt/dp/B003WOMGWQ
 
new_2_newf

new_2_newf

New member
Sulley prefers to swim with a life jacket. He also prefers to wade. He will swim if I insist, but we spent a lot of time his first summer with me taking him out and holding him in the water until he relaxed...it's much easier to do that when he has flotation. He does better when he is close to me, but still doesn't really like to swim. Once in blue moon he'll go get a toy, but not very often.
 
luvmynwfy

luvmynwfy

New member
Lots of good advice - and we need it. I never thought of floatation vest/jacket/belt. I will definitely be online looking for one tonight. Thank you Joan for recommending Allan Maniate - I have trained with him before and he would totally be my first choice for help with any Newf training (and of course Peter isn't too shabby either ;)).
My Timber loved swimming and especially at my parents cottage. I loved taking her to the lake. For River I am hoping she'll learn to swim and enjoy it but I think it will really help her with ongoing therapy as well(double knee surgery). If River doesn't want to swim by the end of the summer then I'll leave her be to play and frolic in the shallows, at least she's cooling off. River is a 'sweetheart supreme'. Some days I still can't believe she is ours.
Give us the rest of the summer and lets see what we can accomplish. I will post sooner if we have any success.
thanks all,
Marina
 
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