Say your dog wades but won’t swim. Do you let it go at that, or decide you’re going to teach your dog to swim?  I have no doubt what the answer is for me.  All dogs deserve to experience the joy and the physical and emotional good feeling and freedom that swimming brings them.

Swimming feels good

The water is exciting to dogs. It’s is an entirely different playing field for fetching sticks and romping with buddies. And it feels really good, all year round but especially in summer.  For cooling themselves off, your dog only has three tools at their disposal.  There’s panting – not very efficient especially for short-nosed dogs.  There’s sweating through their paws – also not very quick or satisfying.  And there’s moving to a place that’s cooler than their body temperature. That’s it.  By far the fastest (and most fun) way to lower their body heat is to jump into the water.

Weightless & Pain-free

Think about this too – suddenly your dog is weightless. There’s no pressure on the joints. Your dog can move – and burn calories – as if suspended in air.  Imagine how great that feels for an elder pup, for whom even just walking can be painful?

Swimming Builds Confidence

Confidence is the foundations of all training.  It’s the magic ingredient.  Dogs who have a solid foundation of confidence are eager to learn and do more. Dogs who lack confidence are less likely to socialize and take on other challenges, and are more likely to be reactive and exhibit aggressive behavior.  Dogs who have confidence are happier, less stressed, and less reactive.

How We Taught Mercy to Swim

Our 3 year old rescue Mercy is sweet and tends toward being slightly timid. She loves to play at the beach and till just this summer, she would only wade up to her shoulders.  We could see she was thrilled by the water, and she wanted so badly to fetch sticks thrown a little further than her comfort zone. But she couldn’t overcome her fear of not being able to touch bottom.

Now she’s a swimmer. How did I help her to learn?  It was really simple and you can do it easily too.  I outfitted her in a Ruffwear Float Coat sized to fit her core closely.  She’s 66 lbs and wears a Medium, but you’ll want to size your dog according to his or her girth (circumference of the widest part of the chest). I made sure her Float Coat was snug and buckled securely for the perfect fit. We took her to a calm swimming spot on Upper Range Pond on a hot day with some friends who were eager to help.  We started by throwing sticks within her comfort zone (where she’s still able to touch bottom) to build her confidence and stoke her enthusiasm. One of us went into the water to give Mercy a target beyond the stick, and to be sure she would feel as safe as possible venturing out beyond the paws-still-touch-bottom zone.  We gave her lots of praise, and zero pressure.  Gradually we started throwing the stick a little further beyond, and encouraged her to go get it.

We could see that the prospect of crossing over to swimming was so exciting to her that it was a huge carrot in itself.  It was clear she wanted so badly to be able to get to that stick that she would break through on her own, as long as she felt safe.  Watch the video to see how it went!