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Originally Posted by Jkpal  Dang, that little sucker can juuummmppp! I love seeing his little legs going 90 under the water. He is soo cute and athletic and I've watched the video a few times already! Piper has that same go-for-it attitude; so now I'm thinking we'll shoot for a marina swim so I can be in the water, too, at first. Thank you so much for sharing great video of Jackson!! |
LOL I love to share it. He doesn't always jump that high -- that was one of his better days, usually he's more like this:
https://instagram.com/p/4CvuVfPBhE/
LOL!! But he loves the water. Jumping in didn't come naturally to him though. He wasn't a natural born fetcher and usually just would sit on the top step to cool off and get his belly wet. But when I started jumping in too, he couldn't stand it anymore and would want to jump in after me so bad. I began using toys and treats that he really liked to encourage him. Also the rafts helped a lot, he still feels more comfortable jumping on a raft first then just jumping into the water.
Definitely don't force anything too much, always good to let them to learn to trust you and enjoy it themselves, but at the same time sometimes after a while you just have to give them a tiny 'push'. Like with Jax, the lifejacket had a little handle and with a tiny 'encouragement' pull a bit, I would let go of the handle and he would do the rest and jump in on his own. But I know my dog well and sometimes that's all he needs to realize 'oh hey! this is fun! I like this!' So just play it by ear and how you think she best will respond.
Also I used to put the life jacket on him, I think it helped him want to jump in more, knowing his face wasn't going to go under, but now he never wears it. Almost all dogs naturally know how to swim, the life jacket is just to help aid them a bit, especially when learning how to get out, where the steps are, etc, so they don't wear themselves out and start to panic. I do think all dogs should learn how to swim without the jackets as well so they don't become dependent on them but they are great tools. Also for in dangerous type situations where you have currents etc.
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Originally Posted by matese Just wanna say, I LOVE this video of Jackson and have watched it numerous times, I LOVE how he just FLIES into the pool, (also the music is very fitting) one day I would love to see my Cody do this. My past girls LOVED swimming.
To jkpal, if you try the kiddie pool put just enough water in it to cover the top of her paws, to much water may scare her. I like the marina idea, you get in the water, grantee Piper will come in after you, you know how they always NEED to be near us lol, she will paddle out to you. Let us know how you make out. |
