Swimming

7/5/2023

Often our idea of summer in Muskoka includes our dog swimming in the lake. While some dogs take to water naturally, others may take some time to get used to the idea, some may prefer not to swim but to wade and other may have a body type that makes swimming challenging.

If you would like your dog to enjoy the water, then key is planning a gradual introduction, allowing your dog to choose if they want to go in or not, and associating the water and/or swimming with something they enjoy.

Gradual introduction

Falling into the lake can be quite startling, scary and potentially dangerous, so it is best to find a dog-friendly beach or shallow water where your dog can practice walking into the water without immediately sinking. A poor first experience around water can cause some dogs to be quite leery of it in the future.

The Power of Choice

Having the ability to choose whether or not to do something is very empowering to our dogs. It can be hard for us to have the patience to let them explore and decide, however, allowing your dog to enter the water or start swimming when they feel comfortable can actually be faster than trying to get them started by putting them in the water yourself. Some dogs will not only avoid coming near the water if you do that, but will also start avoiding coming near you when you are near the water in case you are going to put them in again.

Enjoyable Associations

If your dog finds playing fetch fun, often going into the water after a toy or stick can encourage them to start swimming. Ideally start with the toy/stick just out of reach when they are standing on the bottom, so that they only have to swim a few strokes to reach it. As their comfort, skill and fitness improves, you can toss it out further.

If your dog doesn't find retrieving inherently fun on it's own, you can teach swimming using treats, in fact, that's how I taught my beagle Reese to swim.

Wade in to a point where your dog can walk around on the bottom without needing to swim.
With your dog on one side of you, encourage them to follow a treat lure in front of your body to your other side, then give them the treat.
Repeat a few times.
Move a little deeper so that when your dog stands beside you they will be touching bottom, but when they follow the treat out in front of you they will be swimming. (You may need to step forward with a big dog to accomplish this.) This allows your dog to swim for just a few strokes before returning to the safety of ground under their feet.
Lure your dog from one side to the other as above, praising as they swim then rewarding once they reach your other side.

Water Safety

If you are heading into a large body of water on a boat, canoe or kayak with your dog, a life jacket is a good idea for them as well. In addition, some dogs find their body shape a little less conducive to swimming, or are afraid to try, and a life jacket can help them enjoy the water safely by adding a little more buoyancy to them.

Enjoy your summer - in or out of the water! If your dog really doesn't like swimming, wading is another great way to cool down.