Moon's Graden

Took my dog, first time, to a beach to try swimming. He got up to his
belly and wouldn't go any  further. I am sure it is a matter of
patience and time...but anything recommended that might expedite his
enjoyment of the water (He is a retriever after all).

The waves sorta bothered him. I am not forcing him in..I am letting him
do it on his own right now. He was with two other dogs and so
desperately wanted to join them...but just did not like getting in past
his belly...yet ;-)

--
John Mitchy
In Beautiful Alexandria, ***ia.

Sent via Deja.com http://www.moonsgarden.com/
Before you buy.

That's a good idea. You don't want to scare him.

Well, I'm sure the retriever people here will have good advice, but I
thought I'd ask if you tried getting in the water yourself? That might
make it seem less freaky.

You might try having him retrieve stuff you throw towards the water,
tossing it out a little further each time. Or how about lateral throws
parallel to the beach?

Keep in mind these suggestions are coming from someone who's never tried
it herself. I'm hoping to take Harlan on a visit to a lake this summer,
to see what he does.

Although, now that I think of it, when the shelter was having a dog wash
fund raiser, they were using kiddie pools to wash them, and he was
afraid to get in until I shucked my socks and shoes and hopped in first.
(Also, my young niece did too, which probably helped even more). And
this weekend, when it was really hot, we tried to mist him with the
hose, and again that worked better when I tried it with him (felt pretty
good, too).

--Terri & Harlan (Nah, I'm not spoiled. Why do you ask?)

--
At least, I have integrity, and admission of my
insanity, is proof of my credibility.

--Jerry "Two Minutes of Abuse" Howe 11/4/99
  http://www.sound.net/~twillis/Harlan/concerns.html

Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.

    How big are the waves? It may take longer with breakers crashing all
around, but once they get to love the water, IME, you can't keep them out,
no matter what. <G>

    With Rudy, I started him in with a ball, throwing it in slightly farther
tosses, every time. He would go out only so far, then I'd move back in. When
he was comfy with the distance and depth of the water, I went farther.
Little by little, and he got it. One thing you can do, what I did with Rudy,
is make a huge funny loud deal about praising them. It kind of distracted
him, and mainly got him so e***d about the ball, that he didn't notice,
and he was swimming. :)

    Ceilidh, OTOH, wouldn't go in past her ankles. One day her fave boy, my
4 yo nephew, was splashed in the face by older brother. She lunged in
without a thought about the water, stuck her head under his arm, and pushed
him to shore!! She didn't even notice the water, at first. But once he was
'safe', she looked back and that was it, I can't keep her out now, with any
water around. <G>

    Good luck, take your time, and have fun !!

MaryBeth

It too my dog Honey AGES before she started swimming. She would play with
the other dogs, they would run in the waater and she would stand in the
ankle deep area (for doggies of course :) ) and yelp and whine till they
came back for her (prolly felt sorry for her). It did help when I went in
the water before her though. Well, kinda! She would swim up to me, go behind
me and nudge me towards the shore and then would swim back and repeat till
eventually either *I* got tired of getting scratched by her nails (she swam
really close) or she would get tired and stand at the shore yelping till I
came out.

It takes time but when they finally start to swim the wait is worth it coz
they are soooo cute :)

Good luck

Serena