Dogs Swimming: 5 Must Do Steps For Dogs Who Hate Or Love The Water

There are two types of dogs when it comes to water and going for a swim. Some dogs LOVE water and swimming, and others don’t want anything to do with it. How we teach swimming applies to both kinds of dogs and is different from what you might see others do. Dogs who naturally love to swim can be a challenge, as can dogs who hate water. Help is at hand with my 5 steps for water success for both types of dogs.
00:00 5 steps to water success for dogs who either love or hate being wet.
00:50 The downside of dogs obsessed with swimming.
02:54 Why should we care if a dog likes swimming?
04:10 Using swimming as a high value reinforcement.
06:20 Do’s and don’ts of counter-conditioning being in water for dogs.
08:16 Step One: Kiddie pool practice - getting in and out - starting dry.
09:05 Step Two: Cueing, stimulus control and three behaviors
11:56 Step Three: Garden hose and concrete.
13:09 Reminder: Your dog dictates the pace of these games.
13:39 Step Four: Add a micro-thin layer of water to bottom of kiddie pool.
15:24 Step Five: Raise the level of water to dog’s pasterns.
16:55 Test the behavior in a low stream, then a lake and river with a beach.
17:22 When you should consider using a life jacket.
In the episode you'll hear:
• Why a dog loving water and swimming can be problematic for you and your dog.
• The reason control is essential for swimming and your dog’s safety.
• How helping your dog like water is helping them be comfortable with life skills.
• That the chance to go for a swim can be a high value reinforcer to use to your advantage.
• Why I like my dogs to actually be swim when they are in the water.
• Reasons some dogs don’t like going in the water, including being “John Wayned” aka flooded.
• How you can easily start with an empty kiddie pool for both types of dogs.
• The steps to put going into the water on stimulus control for your dog.
• How your dog knowing sit, down and spin helps with water and swimming.
• The breakdown of all the elements for water loving or water hating dogs.
Resources:
1. KZbin Video: Susan Garrett Riffs on Transfer of Value in Dog Training (and water loving Labradors) - • Transfer of Value in D...
2. KZbin Playlist: Cooperative Care and Consent in Dog Training - • Cooperative Care and C...
3. KZbin Playlist: Reinforcement, Permissions and Transfer of Value in Dog Training with Susan Garrett - • Reinforcement, Permiss...
4. KZbin Video: Target Stick Training for Dogs Part 1 - • Susan Garrett's Target...
5. KZbin Video: Target Stick Training for Dogs Part 2 - • Susan Garrett's Target...
6. Podcast Episode 157: Dog Body Language: Understanding Canine Communication Signals And Emotions - • Dog Body Language: Und...
7. Dog Life Jacket: Salus Skippy Dog Vest - www.salusmarine.com/?products=...
P.S. Subscribe to our KZbin Channel so you get notifications of new videos!
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Dogs That is brought to you by Susan Garrett and the Say Yes Dog Training Team.
Susan Garrett’s interest in animal behaviour started at the University of Guelph where she earned a Bachelor of Science majoring in Animal Science. Since then she has developed into a preeminent dog trainer and canine sports instructor and competitor. Susan is one of the most successful agility competitors of the last three decades. She has won multiple Gold Medals at National or World Championship events with every dog she has ever owned over the past 30 years.
A natural teacher and an entertaining speaker, Susan is world renowned as a leading educator of dog trainers. Her understanding of how to apply science-based learning principles to both competitive and family pet dog training has been pivotal in changing how dogs are trained.
Susan is now helping many thousands of dog owners in 132 countries have the best relationship possible with their dogs. The real joy for her comes from bringing confidence to dogs and their owner through playful interactions and relationship building games that are grounded firmly in the science of how animals learn.
- - - - - - -
Our Website: dogsthat.com
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Twitter: / susangarrett
There’s always something new happening at Dogs That, so if you’d like to be the first to know, visit our website, register to receive updates, and we'll keep you in the loop.
dogsthat.com

[@DogsThat]

Check out our playlist for more great information on Reinforcement, Permissions and Transfer of Value in Dog Training - kzbin.info/aero/PLphRRSxcMHy1IUj_4P54q2PIuLNtnXjFO

[@mariebutler6619]

Thanks so much for this amazing, FREE, content! Love love this way of teaching. My dog is a water baby, unfortunately I've taught him that 'OK then' means go on in the water....I'm the process of changing this cue! Whilst on a walk, I spoke to someone and said, 'ok then' and when I looked for my dog, he's merrily swimming around a filthy stagnant pond, it wasn't pleasant, he thought it was fabulous!

[@Kat-and-dogs]

Katherine C 1 second ago I’m so grateful to Susan that I got to learn from her water work with Encore and love of water training with This! So great to be in Recallers! I’ve converted my Rusti from HATE to LIKE water. This podcast taught me yet another or more new ideas Like SPIN and walking around the pool and not jump in without being told. Also love the concept of not swimming out just to retrieve and return for more fetch. We’ve been doing that lots and didn’t realize the effect until Susan mentioned it. Now it would be doubly awesome if there’s a part 2 teaching how to get the dog to understand that we want them to swim and hold the toy without bringing back for more ‘fetch’. Rusti did guard his ball at the beach when other dogs approached. I had to stop the swim with ball before it turned ugly 😬😊

[@DogsThat]

You and Rusti are a brilliant team, Katherine! 💙

[@Kat-and-dogs]

Thank you….I learn from the best 🥰

[@caraschwichtenberg6439]

Thanks so much for this! I have a 2 year old bloodhound that I have done really nothing with in regards to swimming. These steps are going to help a lot!

[@joanneassaly9366]

Thanks for adding this to DoggyFlix line up. So much great information. My GSP Zuka loves water so when you mentioned Stimulus Control my ears perked up! A couple of things of interest for me especially: I intend on starting from scratch and reteach all steps including using cue Dunkeroo with plastic pool which we already use because although she loves loves loves water, she will not sit in the plastic pool. I am thinking that's important so I can ask her to do sit, down & spin when she's in the river we frequent. 2nd thing is shaping the cue Dunkeroo might help me when she sees water that she thinks she has the right to go into without permission. Not quite sure how that will work but will get started anyhow. Any suggestions would be appreciated. 3rd thing I am trying to work out with swimming and Zuka is how to shape the getting out of the water? When she goes into the river, she is SO happy and won't get out. My conundrum is that we have a pool. Zuka now knows not to go in the pool unless I tell her to and she comes out with the word Out. I do get some back talk but ignore it because she does come out. But this OUT has NOT transferred to the river AT ALL. Any ideas or suggestions? thanks again for adding this to DoggyFlix. Loved the series and hopefully will get into Recallers one day soon

[@gretasimmons8987]

Thank you for making things attainable and make sense. In the real world

[@RebeccaAnnFord]

Perfect timing! I have the kiddy pool, it's hot, and I am looking forward to doing this with both of my dogs. Your description of Belief's reaction to water made me laugh because that describes my Annie to a T! LOL

[@theresamcleod306]

Thank you once again. I have been sharing your podcasts with many of my friends. I'd love a second part, as well, on how to get your dog to keep swimming and not get out of the water after one lap.

[@JanisBrown-xd1xv]

This is great ! I am excited for summer for my dogs and swimming. I like hearing all of the building blocks regarding growing the love of water, but what about getting the pooch to leave the pool, stream or lake etc ? What conditioning cue would you suggest ? This lesson will help with learning to enjoy baths too ? What suggestions would you have for getting their heads wet , did I miss this step in another podcast ?

[@simonnelauwers9178]

I have a Basenji : they are like cats : they HATE water even so bad that she won't go into the garden to go pee if the grass is . wet . She won't go outside when it rains . I would be glad the solve THAT in the first place . so thank you for this video and give it a try.

[@dogismycopilot1]

I love this so much! My guys will swim, especially the lab (of course!), but I love the earlier steps…they make a lot of sense to me! And I’ve always wanted my dogs to lie down in the baby pools that are frequently found at agility but hadn’t had any luck training this to date…this video shows me where I went wrong. I too am not clear on how to train duration for a swim, and swimming without fetching. Will there be another video focusing on this?

[@rhegafd]

My dog absolutely LOVES low streams, up to his belly or even higher. Problem is when we get in the pool, he wont get off the steps. He doesnt love swimming. He loves being in the water, cooling off etc. but doesnt care for swimming.

[@Danielle-nz9tn]

In the pool, he can’t see the bottom. It’s just a bunch of blue. For people, because we understand how pools work, we can sometimes sort of see the bottom, but dogs can’t perceive the depth. They also can’t really go gradually into the deep water from the edge like they can in a stream or river, so it feels like a sudden drop-off, which is scary.

[@annettefry9347]

I really needed this podcast. Thank you Susan and Team.

[@clarazwarts9615]

Thank you so much for this! Practising hard! Just praying for warmer weather here in Scotland!

[@bevdonoghue6069]

Thank you so much for this. l have been trying to get Max (one year old GS) to get in his paddling pool to cool down and of course I was doing it totally wrong 😁 I added water and tried to encourage him to retrieve his favourite toys. Obviously my approach is a complete failure to now I can do it properly so thank you again ❤️🐕‍🦺

[@fionamanser9391]

this is fabulous. I had a water-shy Labrador retriever...and hubby wanted to John Wayne the water training...Aargh! I caught her before the landing in the water...she's still a bit uneasy in water, but I'll try this to see if I can give her a more joyous experience with water.

[@zizinnnn]

I live in a flat but this is a challenge accepted nevertheless :) my dog gets overheated quickly and could benefit to learn that water is good for her

[@karenh8098]

This is perfectly timed for me! I've been working on getting my 5-month-old Duck Toller used to water in a shallow river close to home, but we're now at the cottage with a steep, rock slope into the lake. Our dogs have always just joyfully bounded into the lake, but this puppy is not quite sure he wants to go beyond his front shoulders. Now I have some tips for how to get him used to the feel of the water on his belly and hind end, and also how to teach him to just "go for a swim" and not drive me crazy with the expectation that I'm the loading dummy machine!

[@nici932]

Thank you Susan for your amazing videos! Do you have any suggestions on how to teach my dog to NOT drink the water? My dilemma is this: We just moved to Okinawa - beautiful beaches out here, but unfortunately the summer months can be incredibly hot and humid, I'm already dreading this time, and the beach will probably be one of the only places out here to exercise our dog in this heat. My dog (4 year old swiss shepherd) loves the beach, especially digging in the sand and chasing after his ball. He doesn't mind the water or getting wet, but also wouldn't necessarily choose to go for a proper swim on his own, only if his ball was 'in danger'. Unfortunately he tends to take little sips of water while he's standing or walking around in it. When he swims he also ingests water, since he retrieves his ball and therefore has his mouth open. (So we don't 'make' him swim often). We always bring lots of water for him, he knows the cue 'get your water', but no matter what we do, he still sips ocean water. Any advice for us?

[@hollyelmendorf527]

Great approach to starting swimming! For those of us without convenient access to a stream, lake or pond, I would be interested in more guidance on how to get them started in a dock diving pool - not for dock diving, but just for free swimming. I have shelties, and they don't seem to be naturally attracted to water or swimming.

[@dvjive]

Really good! Thanks

[@katjordan3594]

Gonna give this a go! We took our boy to a doggy pool a week ago, the hydrotherapist told us to hold him above the water to get him to swim and then guide him to the ramp…he was okay and picked it up, but seemed to hate being IN the water but when he got out wanted to get straight back in but couldn’t figure out how to start swimming. We’ll wind it back and start with this 😊

[@hollyelmendorf527]

We've done a good bit of Hot Zone training and training on getting into and onto things, so that behavior is readily offered. The challenge is getting them out - they know “Break”, but won't reliably get out without cookies. We worked through steps 1 and 2 (no water) and decided that was enough for one session. Maybe a good idea to use a tug toy to encourage the getting out . . .

[@RaptorsGirl]

Holly, that should be a recall. So if they won't come out of an empty pool when called I would abandon the pool work and focus on coming when called ...every time...no matter what!

[@gabrielam2144]

Loved this video! The spin cue on the water to make a little splash is a great tip! Thank you Susan! P.S. Your sound effects make learning really fun, the screaming kid gave us a big laugh at home 😁

[@DogsThat]

Thank you, Gabriela!

[@davenportsusana]

You said this podcast was for dogs who love water, too. Our 15mo Golden Retriever *loves* water! That is by far his #1 reinforcement! I am having a hard time trying to teach him how to ask for permission to swim… I've found a creek nearby that I like b/c I can park almost in front of the place where he gets in, so I don't have to be dragged a long ways to the water. But he still shakes from excitement in the car knowing he's at the creek about to go for a swim. We (my daughter & I) make him wait to get out of the car, but once he hits the ground he doesn't listen… Ugh! :( We're planning a beach trip in October… he's going with us; I want a more manageable water dog by then :(

[@DogsThat]

Hi Susana, you can totally do this! There's lots of help in our Reinforcement, Permissions and Transfer of Value playlist: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oKi9qnV3jsppfLs

[@sandralewis3377]

God love ya woman! Great topic. Amazeballs content. My dogs and I thank you. ♥️

[@theamziss]

How would you do this of you're in an appartment? Again, another amazing video

[@dianawaite8206]

My dog loves swimming and at this stage I can't stop him. Will practice this. He prefers flopping around in the shallows or in muddy drain water👃. He will swim out of his depth with me.

[@jaimemiller7950]

Hi Susan! Another great video! :-) I'm getting a 6 month old foster pup, who LOVES water already-...the chance that she will show even the tiniest drop of hesitation or nervousness around water is almost 0. (I will still check her t.e.m.p. of course just in case!) How would you adapt these steps to focus less on the adding value to water, since it's already there for her, and focus more on the not allowing the pup to get into the water without permission? There is a small pond and a creek on my property, so any time I have this foster pup outside, the water will be right there tempting her!

[@corneliadenk173]

Thanks Susan for these great video. My Norwich terrier Wilma does not like water and as we live close to a lake and I enjoy swimming it would be great if she could acompany me. Must try this method imidatly. 🙏🙏🙏

[@positivevibes115]

Hi, I have been watching your videos, and love them. I taught my jack russell to cover her nose with her paw. She got it quickly but doesn’t do it long. Do you have a book or video that shows how to increase duration of a trick. Thanks

[@DogsThat]

Hi @Positive Vibes, that's a super cute trick. Release cues are how we grow duration, here's a video covering the foundations for you - kzbin.info/www/bejne/nX_Rn6KngceHsM0

[@Manaviecreations]

😊❤😊

[@k.t.irigoyen_hernandez6958]

Thank you, Susan Garrett! We averted what could have been a Christmas Eve tragedy... I opened the lower patio gate, the dogs, two 5-year-old 80 lb. rescue Pitties I’ve had only since July, took off running after something, lost their target then began playing. Sammie (m) accidentally knocked Lina (f) in the pool. Because of Susan's swimming lessons, Lina didn't panic, pulled herself halfway up, and by then I was by her and able to help her out the rest of the way! (Podcast # 162). If anyone wondering if the kiddie pool lessons work, yep, you bet they do! When it was time to get them into the cement pool with a life jacket, they weren’t fearful, although they were a bit hesitant at first and weren’t thrilled, it made the transition enjoyable to all of us. AND, today was absolute proof, teaching your dog to swim is a must!

[@DogsThat]

Thank you so much for sharing, we're glad the incident ended up just as a little scare and Lina is safe ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@zdenkafialova8727]

Great theme! What do you gyus do, when the dog bites the water A LOT? I use a toy in the mouth or mark when he just swims without biting the water.

[@pamelamills6772]

I have a cocker spaniel that loves water she is just going two years old but she can not use her back legs only her front. She wants to retrieve a stick but I can only throw it close to shore and she tentatively will dive to get the stick into the deep only if she can reach it on that first jump at it, she gets back but it looks terrible. Today I had to get into the river and save her from drowning coz the stick was a bit bigger and she was in trouble. How do I get her to use her back legs please ?

[@user-dg4ic1fn1y]

Dear Susan, I really love your podcasts! I am from Serbia, and unfortunately, here is really hard to find a positive trainer. My dog is a rescue, and came to us with an extreme fear of water and lot of anxiety about living in a home with people. I was really patient, and he made a huge progress, but not with water. Then, one day I made a huge mistake, and took an advice of other dog owners to just throw him in a river 😢. I ended up jumping in a cold river to help him out, because he didn't know how to swim. I lost my dog's trust that I was building patiently over the months. I really don't know what I was thinking. Is there a way to rebuild his trust again, and do you advise to try this method in your podcast?

[@DogsThat]

Hi @user-dg4ic1fn1y, yes, play through all the steps in this video, letting your dog's confidence guide your progressions. And remember that every moment is a new moment. We have a very short video with some inspiration to believe in you and your dog and create new beginnings - kzbin.info/www/bejne/eKe9nqqhg6l0m9U

[@bridgethidget9855]

My dog loves the water… but can’t figure out how to come back to shore ? Not sure why she just wants to keep swimming so far our

[@megsta1994]

Thanks for the best content! Would you say this protocol would be good for getting a nearly 6 month collie used to bath time? Tried it once when he was younger and he hated it and growled when tried to towel dry. He loves the river but think it’s also the handling side of things too

[@DogsThat]

Megan, yes, it will totally help, and we also have another video to help you break down the elements of something like a bath and creating a positive conditioned emotional response - kzbin.info/www/bejne/bXTSe5mDh6uDia8

[@calvingodinho]

hey, thanks for the video. My dog is almost 2 years old. she's a landrace dog and naturally wary of water. but she's grown to tolerate baths. We have been getting her to play with a couple of dogs that love the water and she's slowly graduated to going into almost 'elbow' deep water. any tips that you suggest we could use to get her more comfortable. thanks again for your videos, really love them.

[@DogsThat]

Hi @calvin godinho all the steps shared in the video are going to help you help your dog love water. Give it a try and let us know how you go.

[@dianawaite8206]

Any more steps for keeping dogs from running off to swim without cue

[@DogsThat]

Hi Diana, thank you for asking. Susan did an awesome podcast episode on "the power of permission" a while back, here's the link for you: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZnSbqn2ZotRmnpY

[@annaatkinson5267]

Oh no! I started with the wrong step before I saw this video. I put an inch or two of water at the bottom of the pool to start my puppy off--have I wrecked things? Can we go backwards? She's not scared, just cautious--she will put her front paws in the water to get some cookies, but doesn't want her back paws in. I really want my dog to love to swim--we have a lovely pond that we swim in, and on hot days it's the best! But have I wrecked things? How to I restart? Thank you so much for this video! We're starting Recallers and I'm so excited at how excited my puppy is!!

[@RaptorsGirl]

That’s the cool thing about shaping, we’ve never “wrecked” anything! Just go back and start at the beginning steps you’ll see that confidence grow super fast.

[@lisasignorelli3965]

Love this, so timely for me, however my problem is my 17 month old flat coated retriever will not get out of the water and gets very over threshold. I love the pool idea and I’ll be using that before we head down to the beach again…any other advice??

[@DogsThat]

Hi @Lisa Signorelli these steps will help, and for lots of nuances, visit your Distraction Series in Bonuses in Recallers. Have fun!

[@janetteclark1727]

Hi ... I have a GS who gos kind of "wak a doodle" with water from a hose, sprayer ... bites at it. When water is in something like a pool, large water bowl, river, lake he barks, bites and flings (splashes) the water with his head. He does not have a problem getting in (hoping to get him swimming this summer) what is a good way to help him with his behavior?

[@robinridpath7542]

Hi, new subscriber here. A friend shared this video with me because she knows how CRAZY my dog (GSP) gets around water. I love that she loves water and loves to swim, but she can be a real handful around most bodies of water, to the point of me having to remove her from situations because she is so far over-threshold. I am going to start with these steps and see if I can recondition her behavior. I'm guessing that I will need to slow the process down to where she can show self control at each step before progressing to more and more water? Please let me know if there are any other videos I can watch that show the process of reconditioning a LOVED behavior that has it's own built in reward. Thanks again!

[@DogsThat]

Thanks for subscribing @Robin Ridpath! Yes, you have it, going at her pace will build strong behaviours. The model of breaking down swimming with permissions can apply to many things. Our playlist on permissions and transfer of value has a lot of depth on the concept - kzbin.info/aero/PLphRRSxcMHy1IUj_4P54q2PIuLNtnXjFO

[@robinridpath7542]

@@DogsThat thank you so much. This could be a game changer.

[@silverleaf79]

My papillon isn't keen on water at all and will walk around puddles to avoid them. He's been having hydrotherapy on and underwater treadmill for a year and I didn't have chance to condition him as he wasn't allowed to jump at all and of course being a papillon he's pretty small, so I couldn't find anything with sides that are small enough for him to easily step over. He's all healed now and jumping 12" at agility but I still think a regular kiddy pool is too high for him to be hopping in and out of. I need to find an alternative for him. He's always very keen to get in the underwater treadmill tank now because he knows I constantly feed him his favourite cheese, but you can tell from his TEMP as the water fills up he'd much rather it stay dry in there. He's fine once it's filled and I think once he's already wet he doesn't mind, because he can't get any wetter!

[@RaptorsGirl]

Just build a ramp in and out. You can just use foam since he is so lightweight

[@silverleaf79]

@@RaptorsGirl That’s a great idea, thank you!

[@francoiseallaire2199]

Off to buy a baby pool! My 11 months old Border Doodle will not get her paws wet for any reason - toys or food. She'd rather hop on the paddle board with me for a ride! Now, living by a lac, I see this as a blessing and an opportunity to make swimming both safe and rewarding! She is already under training for urgent recall and we will add these lessons to our daily training routine. She is already wearing a life jacket when on the paddle board but never swam with it as we have never fell in, yet! Best we get to the swiming training asap! Thank you for this great step by step guide, can't wait to start!

[@DogsThat]

What a great opportunity to make swimming fun for your dog, please come back to share how your training is going! ❤️❤️❤️

[@alejandrasuzarte]

My golden love water she swim for a little bit and then only goes if i throw a toy. I like it because she only goes if i go but in want that she enjoy more the water without me throwing anything. How can i do this.

[@DogsThat]

Hi @Alejandra Suzarte, following the 5 steps are going to get you want you want. Let us know how you go!

[@Jenily111]

Awesome! I needed this video like 3 weeks ago lol. I literally just made a video on my KZbin channel about how I plan on getting my dogs more comfortable in the water!! But I'm no expert. This is really just an experiment I am sharing with the world! If you have a chance to check out my video and critique it that would be so appreciated! I don't think I'm too terribly far off from what you are saying here! But I do need to work on "sit" "down" "stand" and "twirl." I really like your idea of hosing down the concrete and putting treats on it. I've had a hard time finding help on this topic that I feel is ethical. A lot of videos I've found were of trainers pulling their dogs into the water with a leash, all while the dogs are totally panicking. No way I'm going that route. I just started a dock diving class and a couple of the dogs are scared to walk down the ramp and get their paws wet, which got me going down this rabbit hole of training my dogs to feel comfortable with water.

[@RaptorsGirl]

I took a look at your video and I’d say yes! You’re on the right track. I’d suggest you take your ramp out and put it on the grass for your one kiddo who was a bit timid of it. Do that to grow confidence just of the ramp before adding it to the pool.

[@Jenily111]

@@RaptorsGirl great! I will do that and also implement your advice from your video. Thanks for checking out my video and writing me back, it really means a lot to me!

[@dosdoggies]

anyone tried this with a cat?

[@user-bt7xb6fe1k]

I can't wait to work on this with Chance. If we asked him today he would say water is something i tolerate as long as i have a peanut butter lick mat stuck to the tub.

[@watchmoivies123]

You have a new puppy ????? How do I see her ? A mixed breed ? Is this a joke ????

[@LindsayHaven]

I don't think it's a joke. I think she said she and Kim are co-raising the puppy. I can't wait to see more. 😊

[@watchmoivies123]

@@LindsayHaven wow. Is it the one in the video ??

[@LindsayHaven]

Yeah. The little tan and brown puppy.

[@watchmoivies123]

@@LindsayHaven and non Border Collie too I am finding a lot of the top trainers are getting little mixed breeds like whippet mix I’ve seen a lot of people have whippet Border Collie mix

[@MegaLokidog]

Thi video is NOT about swimming. It's about getting wet. Soends no real time actually getting into deeper water and swimming.

[@gretavandermey2545]

Oh I think this is going to work. 😃🦮🐶💦🌊 I am so excited 😆

[@DogsThat]

Awesome, Greta! Have fun!