Took my new 9 week old Lab pup (Scout) to the lease today, and it's the first time I've had him in the water. Scout entered the water the first time on his own with little coaxing, and he actually jumped in several times, but showed no interest in swimming into deeper water. When he wouldn't walk or jump into the water, I'd place him in shallow water and hold him until he felt comfortable. When he showed no interest I stopped and he watched us fish.

I'm a first time Lab owner and I truly hope my new pup can be a solid huting dog and an obedient family pet. It's truly amazing to see how fast he's progressing with obedience training and see him learning more and more each day.






Joe

Great pics! Congrats!

Yes they are. I love those chocolate fur balls. My favorite.

I tried to get my puppy to actually swim for 2 days and he just wouldn't go for it. I was really worried about him. Hard to be a duck dog and not swim. Took him back to the lake a couple of weeks later with a buddy and his lab and that was it. He saw the big dog go in and he went right behind it without hesitation. Has been a swimming fiend for 11 years now.

If you still can't persuade him, find another dog for him to watch.

Good feedback. The guy I lease from has a female lab that just loves the water. I'll have him bring her over next weekend and we'll try again. I also thought about using a small kids pool to get him comfortable being in the water. Any thoughts?

Joe

If you want we are not to far from each other. My Pup is a chocolate to and he will swim where ever the bumper is. You could come by and your pup can watch mine. My pup responded really well when i have a pup who would swim.

Pool is good. Mentor dog much better. Very rarely have we ever had a dog NOT go in the water when other dogs are taking the plunge. In over 10 years of working with Labs, I can only think of three dogs that didn't jump in... and not one of them was a Lab. Any dog your pup enjoys playing with should get him in. Don't expect him to swim right away. Some do, some don't. But if you do want him to try swimming, know that the most common mistake a pup makes is to try to jump while in water. This pushes the hind legs back and down, forcing the dog into a vertical position and negatively affecting his bouyancy. This results in wild flailing and the splashing often scares the pup. To avoid all that, simply lay pup on your forearm, left paws on one side, right on the other.... hold him horizontal in the water til he begins to 'paddle' - then walk as he 'swims' and aid him to reach shore. He'll get a sense of control over the situation which will give him confidence.

GOOD LUCK!