Gundog Training Forum

I wouldn't blame yourself for what you did or didn't do. Some dogs just don't really like swimming others love it. Some years ago I was walking my dogs by a river that was very full and pushing through when a 4 month old bitch tried to shoulder barge a much more muscular dog where the path got narrow. The bitch bounced off the dog and fell off a 4ft sheer bank into the raging water. I was initially in a bit of a panic but watched her sort herself out when she bobbed up and swim downstream to an area where she could get out. I wondered if it would put her off water for life but it hadn't bothered her at all and she always loved water. Others have had the most careful introduction to water but just aren't keen on it.

Thanks Nick. We are on a few weeks' road trip and the moment and she is in and out of ankle deep streams wherever we stop. The rest of training has taken a bit of a back seat while travelling, she is getting more typical dog walks with a few retrieves. Pleased to see she is very portable.

Sometimes a bit of "time off from school" does a lot of good for a young dog.

I've had a couple of dogs who didn't like water, the first one thought she could walk on it and got a rude awakening, she took a couple of years of me trying too hard before she gave in and just swam, since then I've not worried much. My youngest was put off water when one of the olds ran in and stole her retrieve, she didn't go near water for a while but suddenly took herself off and swam like she'd been doing it for years. She still wont retrieve out of water though. (I doubt there'd be a problem with duck!).

The young dog who made me laugh the most in water was a young dog, I took him and his sire to a lake for his introduction just hoping to get him paddling a bit. I chucked a dummy out as far as I could and sent his dad out for it, my plan was to release the youngster when his dad was nearly back expecting him to splash out and possibly try and grab the dummy off his dad. When I let him go he ignored his dad who was nearly back, went straight out and swam in circles looking for the dummy he thought was still out there. I had to lob another dummy for him to retrieve. He did something similar on his first bit of cold game, I let him retrieve a pheasant and then put it back in the game bag on top of a shed roof and took them all for a walk over the neighbouring fields. He suddenly appeared with a pheasant for me and for a second or two I wondered where he had got it from then I realised he had doubled back, jumped a couple of gates and somehow got the game bag off the top of the shed, got the pheasant out of it and brought it to me.

My one rule of thumb with young dogs is - if they really love retrieving they will conquer any problems they might have if there is a retrieve involved. I am always a bit worried if I get one who isn't keen on retrieving.