We all know that Labradors are meant to love water, and considering their original job was retrieving for fisherman in Canada, it’s no wonder. But not all Labs recognise their heritage!
Rem was one of those Labs who avoided puddles and refused to go out in the rain (and I was the mug who bought a large golfing umbrella to keep him dry!). So how did he go from a hater to a water lover? If there’s one thing he does love and would do anything for, it’s a tennis ball, and it was this love that helped develop his water confidence.
Firstly, I didn’t rush into it, as in the grand scheme of things, liking water isn’t essential for his development. But I do feel that knowing how to swim is an important life skill, just in case they ever need it, so I began working on this with Rem at around 18 months old.
We found very shallow waters that were still and no deeper than a small puddle, we’d play with his ball next to the water and occasionally drop the ball into the very edge of the water so he would get his snout just a tiny bit wet and get used to the feeling. Each time we would gradually drop the ball a few centimetres further into the water until he could stretch no more and his front paws tentatively stepped into the water. When he was ready and confident, we found wider puddles or very shallow streams where he had to go through and not round and we would throw the ball the other side and then gradually we introduced deeper puddles.
His main breakthrough came at the beach where he would go deeper and deeper to retrieve his ball until finally his feet left the ground for all of a few seconds and he was able to properly swim for just a metre or two.
At this point, which was around a year later, we knew he was ready to try a proper pool with the help of some calming medicine and a life jacket to support him and avoid panic. His desire to retrieve a ball helped him swim confidently for the first time. With every visit his enjoyment increased and now he happily dives off the side of the pool to retrieve that ball and bring it back every time!
The key to success with this, and most other training goals, is not to rush things. The slower you make progress the better results you achieve!