[sloane]

hi all,

I bought a little pool for Murphy (3 month mini poodle). Well, its really not a pool but a under the bed plastic bin that i put water in so he can climb in if he wants to.

but he hasnt climbed in. he has drinking from it, but has not climbed in.

should i just pick him up and put him in or do i wait till he goes in by himself?

or maybe I should just bring him to the little lake by my house where he can get his little feet wet. Im just worried if he will drink the lake water...he still hasnt gotten all his shots yet so i dont want him to drink the dirty lake water yet.

I really want him to like swimming.

any ideas on how i should introduce him to this?

FYI...the water in the bin isn't deep at all im just thinking maybe i should pick him up, put him in, cool him down, and he might like it....

or of course he may get PTSD or from it.:dont-know::dont-know:

 

[Fluffyspoos]

Dunking him might be a little scary for his first swim, how I introduce my dog to swimming is playing with her toys around the water, tossing them around the water and what not, and when she was comfortable playing around it I would toss her toys in the water.

I would throw them in right at the edge at first, the gradually start throwing them in further each time, forcing her to go further and further in. She associated the swimming with something fun and now loves the water!

Though she'll rarely jump into water without a reason, either we have to be in it calling to her, throw something for her to fetch, or tell her to go get something in the water. I did that for this picture, and she came back with some rogue stick she found randomly. Gotta bring something back to mom!

 

[AgilityIG]

Do not just put him in. Try putting your pool on a bit of a hill or something and just put a little water (only an inch deep or so) and set him in the dry end - have plenty of treats/toys on hand. If he wants to go in the water - great. If not, try throwing a treat on the edge of the water to see if he will go after it. Don't ever force the water thing - you will just scare them.