We have one dog who absolutely loves the water – you can’t take him in the boat because he keeps jumping out.  And then we have one dog who is terrified of swimming even though we’ve taught her how.  (Interestingly enough the one who likes swimming hates rain and the one that hates swimming loves rain.)

Introduce your dog to water slowly.  With our dog that loves swimming, we started out fetching a toy on land.  Then we tossed it a few feet into the water and eventually threw it further and futher out.  Our dog that doesn’t like to swim, doesn’t like to fetch either, so to entice her into the water we used a combination of her favorite people and treats.  Now if someone she knows is swimming, she will swim out just far enough to touch them with her nose, ensure they are ok and then she beelines back to shore!

Note: it’s best to teach dogs to swim in lakes or other natural bodies of water.  If you decide to use a pool, be sure that your dog knows how to get out and never leave him or her unattended.

Does your dog like to swim?  How did you teach him or her?

Photo by Turtblu.