Does your dog like water?

Oakley loves it. But when does get drenched, he looks like a wet rat crossed with Sebastian Bach from Skid Row.

Hahaha! Good description!

Triton will go in the water, but he won't swim on his own. I put him in deep enough so he couldn't touch (it was knee deep on me lol) and he actually swam! He was terrified the first time, but he got the hang of it.

Still won't voluntarily go deeper than his knees, but he enjoys chasing sticks into the water. He'll even submerge his head to get a rock from the bottom. It's funny because I think he still inhales underwater LOL

Montycore could swim for hours he dives under water and pulls things up and brings them back to me.Belle not so much but she is getting the hang of it.She hates her head underwater,but loves her baths LOL kind of a strange dog!!!

Gotta love their personalities sometimes...

Jayda82 wrote:Montycore could swim for hours he dives under water and pulls things up and brings them back to me.Belle not so much but she is getting the hang of it.She hates her head underwater,but loves her baths LOL kind of a strange dog!!!

LOVES baths!! Lucky you! I'm just glad Triton is only 8lbs of wrestle during his bath

I'd LOVE to take our dogs swimming somewhere, but the only place we've found (the river) has such steep banks. I have bad knees and can't climb up or down such steep hills.

Does anyone know of an off leash area I can take my girls swimming where it is a beach or has a flat access??? THANKS!

Jackie wrote:I'd LOVE to take our dogs swimming somewhere, but the only place we've found (the river) has such steep banks. I have bad knees and can't climb up or down such steep hills.

Does anyone know of an off leash area I can take my girls swimming where it is a beach or has a flat access??? THANKS!

Terwillegar dog park has access to the river which isn't very steep at all. And it also has some smaller reservoirs which aren't tough to get at either.

Maybe I didn't see enough of Terwilliger park, but that WAS the place I took them. I walk with a cane, so those banks were just too steep. Perhaps I'll look around a bit more for easier access points. I'm just not familiar with that water or the river in general, so was terrified that the dogs might get swept up in a current or something. Cause I'd be the first one in there to help them!

The current there is really tame. I could see a very small dog maybe getting pushed slightly downstream but bigger dogs don't have a problem with it. My Australian Shepherd that weighs a whopping 35lbs swims through the current with ease.

We've never been up to Edmonton for dog parks, but when Triton comes fishing and gets caught in some pretty tough currents, he still manages to fight them. It's a bit of a struggle but I keep him on a leash JUST IN CASE. He's a whopping 9 lbs (apparently 11 lbs today)LOL but usually 9lbs. I wonder what my families been feeding him while I'm gone.... HAHA

Admin wrote:The current there is really tame. I could see a very small dog maybe getting pushed slightly downstream but bigger dogs don't have a problem with it. My Australian Shepherd that weighs a whopping 35lbs swims through the current with ease.

That's good to know. My "puppy" is 80 lbs, so she should be OK. We've been working on her recall lately, but I still feel she's not completly ready for off-leash in a park full of other dogs. She sometimes has "selective" hearing....especially if there is a rabbit around!

Jackie wrote:
That's good to know. My "puppy" is 80 lbs, so she should be OK. We've been working on her recall lately, but I still feel she's not completly ready for off-leash in a park full of other dogs. She sometimes has "selective" hearing....especially if there is a rabbit around!

Triton's also got that "selective hearing" going on. Haha. He's so quick too! He'd be gone in a flash if I let him go and he saw something to chase!

Keep a few small treats with you when you take her off leash. When you call her back and she comes, reward her with a treat. We started doing this with Oakley and it worked wonders when training him. He still gets sidetracked with his puppy curiosity, but he does rather well for only 6 months.

I tried with treats for a while, but I'd rather not treat train because Triton knows if I don't have treats with me, he doesn't need to come because he won't get that reward.. Instead he gets the 'ol chest rub and good boy praising, and he LOVES it. He just has A.D.D. sometimes lol. Still having respect issues too.

First of all, don't start the treat method off right at the dog park. You may need to start off rewarding him for coming to you in a smaller area where there aren't as many distactions. Start him off in an area that is familar to him. Maybe begin in your house first, then move to the backyard and then once he has mastered those areas then move to the dog park. Give that a try.