Brittany Spaniels and water

[Huntingonthebrain]

Does any find that their brittany's are nervous of or scared of water? Or do you find that they are ok with it. I never got my pup into the water much last summer (in fact not at all) and he seems to be a little skittish about it now... I hope to solve this by going in with him once the weather warms up. I would be interested in any other brittany owner's thoughts on this.

[Jixer]

My bitch is fine with the water. If you want your dog to want to get in the water, you can try taking him for a run on a warm day, and end at a water hole.

[Maverick]

My two younger ones love the water and will walk in and just lay down to cool off. Both are not hesitate to jump it at all.
Find a place with a slow drop off where the dog can walk in gradually. Wait for it to warm up and get the dog playing and a bit warm. Walk in up to your ankles and play with them there. If they like to play fetch throw the ball in just a few feet, gradually going further until the actually have to swim a foot or two to get it.
It really doesn't take to long and they will be swimming in no time.

Mav.....

[verno]

Things you can try are making sure that the water isnt too cold. If your dog is crazy for retrieving then you can start by throwing a dummy a few feet into the water so that just her belly is getting wet, then progress a bit deeper as she becomes comfortable. Watch that there isnt a huge drop off, so that they can gradually go deeper without falling in over her head all of sudden.
If you have a shallow creek nearby, you can wade through it yourself and just keep walking. The pup will want to follow you through the creek and along the other side so eventually she will cross. Slow and easy is the way to go.

[Huntingonthebrain]

see subject!!!

[verno]

Does that mean it worked?

[Drew Good]

Does that mean it worked?

Kinda wondering the same thing. If you never once had your dog exposed to water you will find that it will be skitish around it, I think this applies to all breeds.

If you have a pair of chest or hip wader's this is what I would do. Since you are in London you are not far from any public swimming area's. These beaches will offer you a gentle slope into the water. Put your wader's on and slowly walk into the water coaxing you dog along. If your pup follow's you in keep backing up into deeper water until the dog is swimming. Do this a couple of time and you should be good to go.

I have intro'ed all my labs this way

Drew

[johnsbritt]

my britt loves the water. from when she was a pup i couldn't keep her out of it. the longer you wait the harder it will be for you. pick a nice day and take her to a calm little creek and just walk around with your waders. i was lucky nikka just jumped right in even though it was winter. i can imagine now that i have misty my lab they'll never come out of the lake at the cottage. if she still a litlle scared bring a dog she knows and have it fetch a few floating toys in front of your dog the odds are she'll follow the other dog in.

[nimkii]

We had a brit that loved water, we would head out in the boat and you could see this little brown head coming after us. He would even retrieve ducks for us...that all ended though after he got his but kicked by a wounded goose. That goose realy laid a lickin' on him...

[Huntingonthebrain]

Took Machaceh to the Dog park a few days ago... was skittish for a while and then he went in on his own... seems to be getting alright with it now...I will have to put my waders on and take him out... Good ideas as always.