TulsaPets Magazine July 2021

42 TulsaPets • July/August 2021 TRAINING TIP Teaching a dog to swim is more than sink or swim! By Mary Green CPDT-KA: Certified Professional Dog Trainer Knowledge Assessed; CDBC: Certified Dog Behavior Counselor; CNWI: Certified Nose Work Instructor, K9 Manners & More Broken Arrow, OK Y ou may find this surprising, but dogs don’t naturally know how to swim. In an emergency, they reflexively kick their legs and “dog paddle,” but that can come with a considerable dose of fear, anxiety and stress. When you introduce your dog to water, you, first and foremost, want to protect them physically and emotionally. One bad experience, like falling off the boat dock or tipping over the kayak, could leave long-lasting emotional scars. Here are some ideas of how to get started swimming safely. Put a life jacket on your dog. If you are boating, or a distance from shore, you should always have a life jacket on your dog. Even the strongest and most confident swimmers and water rescue dogs wear life jackets. There are many different sizes and styles of jackets available, and you want a well-fitting jacket that would be hard to slip out of. Acclimate your dog to wearing the jacket before you head to the water. Let him wear a dry jacket around the house to get used to it. Play fetch! Create positive associations with the jacket away from the water. Soak the jacket and let him play with it when it’s wet; the feel is very different. In a natural body of water, start at the water’s edge and encour- age him to walk along beside you. Let him get his paws wet then get his tummy wet. He may then want to go back to dry land, or he may want to accompany you into the water at the point he can no longer touch the bottom. When he swims without touching the bottom, turn him around so he is swimming toward the shore. Always show him the way out. Swim with a friend! Swimming or water play seems to be one behavior that dogs model off of another dog. I once had a Boxer that was not a brilliant swimmer, but he had a great Lab friend who towed him around while he hung onto her collar. Use a long line. Especially if you are ocean swimming where the current, undertow, steep or quick drop off, or even riptide can happen in an instant. I like to use a Biothane leash, which does not mold and is easily cleaned. Dogs that are comfortable swimming in “dirty water” (lakes, ponds and creeks) may have a different experience in a swimming pool! If you have a pool and pets, you need to have some safeguards. Things like fences to keep dogs out, surface alarms and scamper ramps increase safety. To introduce a dog to pool swimming (whether or not he has been swimming in dirty water), I still recommend a life jacket. If you have a tanning platform, or a step, hang out there and encour- age your dog to hang out with you. Once you step off, again having the dog on leash for safety, encourage him to step off the ledge. Most every dog jumps straight at the chest of their person, and that can really hurt! If they panic, they can really scratch you up. A rash guard shirt or wetsuit can be helpful. Some dogs will float off of the ledge, and it’s easy to let them swim a few feet and guide them back to the ledge—to shake off and compose themselves. Dogs need a minute to recover and process what’s going on. They may take to the water like the proverbial fish, or they may think it’s way too much like a bath and want nothing to do with it. Toys that float are really fun to chase into the water. Pool floats also can be fun and help to build a dog’s swimming confidence. The solid foam rather than the inflatables works best. Now, if your dog is swimming, what’s his style? Is he deep chested and riding low in the front end? Take a short length of a pool noo- dle and stick it under the life jacket at his shoulder blades for some extra lift. Is his rear end sinking? Take a long pool noodle and place it underneath him in front of his rear legs. There are health and safety concerns that you need to be aware of