Water Wary

We spend a lot of time here:

A portion of the people and dogs who spend Sundays on the lake.
April 2011

Dasher loves boat rides but would rather not deal with the water. Not a sustainable outlook on lake life. I'd like him to be a superior swimmer in case anything were to happen and so he can join his best furry friend in all the fun!

Gracie goes crazy for fetching in the lake!
April 2011

Dasher has become comfortable enough to walk among the rocks at the shoreline. He even lets us pour handfuls of water on his fur. But, as soon as we coax him into swimming, he goes into panic mode, flailing his paws at the air and the water so frantically that he makes huge splashes that inhibit us from helping him. He heads straight for the dock and attempts to climb aboard in places without stairs. During the latest lake attempt, he stopped paddling in order to hoist himself onto the dock and instead went under water! Poor guy. We called it a day at that point and decided a little excursion at the pool might be a better introduction to swimming.

So last night, that's what we did. We hung out on the steps with Dasher for a couple minutes to get him warmed up to the whole experience. As soon as we brought him off the steps, he began to paddle his crazy paddle and head straight for the side of the pool. We repeated this exercise a few times with the same result. By that point, Dasher was worn out and a little frightened of another go of it, and I had stinging scratches from errant paws. I left feeling dejected and wondering what our next step should be.

Internet advice suggests kiddie pool beginnings, life jackets, tons of treats (apparently cooked hot dogs float), a calm environment and plenty of positive reinforcement. This weekend we will try again at the lake without other dogs to distract us or people playing in the water. The most important thing we can teach right now is probably where to get out. Dasher needs to know to go to those locations for a safe and easy exit from the water. Maybe that will relax him and free him up to have some fun! In the meantime, he's pretty relaxed on land:

Dasher, post-pool escapade. Too tired to put his ear down!
June 2012