Mark Whitehouse advises a reader who is concerned about a spaniel who dislikes water
Q: My two year-old spaniel dog refuses to enter water. How can I help my water-shy dog and give him more confidence? (Read more on how to train your dog for water-work.)
Helping water-shy dogs
Water work can be a major stumbling block for all breeds of dogs, and I would recommend it be introduced at an early age, ideally between six and nine months. Here’s a step-by-step guide to training water-shy dogs.
- Locate a shallow entry point along the banking sides of a pond where you can enter the water yourself. This is so you can encourage your dog to wade in alongside you.
- Remember, plenty of praise and encouragement should be given to your dog at all times during this exercise.
- As your dog’s confidence grows introduce short retrieves by throwing a small canvas dummy along the water’s edge.
- Repeat this exercise several times increasing the distance at every throw.
- If your dog at any time refuses to retrieve the dummy or become stressed with the situation, shorten the distances you are throwing the dummy.
- Try to ensure your dog never fails to retrieve the dummy, you can always increase the distance of the throw at a later stage once his…
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