How To Get Your Dog To Swim

Teaching Your Dog To Swim

It seems to be the common misconception that dogs are born knowing how to swim. For many dogs and many breeds, this may be true, but it is not a safe assumption to make to say that all dogs are instinctively knowledgeable in how to swim. So if you want your dog to swim, chances are that you may have to teach him.

There are couple different ways in which you could go about teaching your dog to swim, but it is important to remember that not every dog is going to have the skill or confidence to be able to swim in the water. You can get off on the right foot by having enough confidence to go out in the water yourself. If you are not confident enough to get into the water, how can you possibly expect your dog to be confident enough to do so?

Depending on how confident you are in the ability of your dog to swim, you should definitely consider investing in a doggy life jacket or even a companion that knows how to swim, just to show your dog that it is possible.

Most dogs do not know that they know how to swim. If they have never been around water or never had to do so, there is no way for them to know, so you definitely want to be as safe as possible. If you lack the knowledge or patience to teach your dog yourself, there are therapists out there that are designated especially for that purpose.

The worst thing you can do to get your dog acclimated to the water is to force him into it. Submerging him into the pool, the sink, the tub-all of these are bad ideas in reality but seem to be logical ideas to those who want to get their dog 'used to the water.' In reality, this is just a way to embed an unnatural fear into the dog when it comes to water and inhibit your chances of getting to teach your dog how to swim the right way.

Many times, the way to teach your dog to swim is with a toy, if you have a dog that is responsive to those types of things. Toss a toy out there and have him get it, but be prepared to go in after him if anything happens, as you may need to play lifeguard with your pooch.

If your dog is afraid of the water, just give it time. If he is going to learn how to swim, he will do so in his own time-it is just a matter of having the time and the patience to help him do so. Face the fact that not every dog learns how to swim and embrace your dog either way, and you will have the best results that you could possibly have.