How to Teach a Dog to Swim

Video Transcript

"Hello my name is Nancy Cusick and I'm a professional dog trainer in Austin, Texas. You can visit my website at trainmydogs.com. Today we are going to talk to you about water introduction. One of the most important parts about this experience for a dog is that it is a positive one. So we've come to a place where you can just kind of walk out into the water. Lexie, good girl, good girl. So I'm going to call my dog to come towards me but really I don't want to do a lot of talking but really I don't want to do a lot of talking so I'm just going to walk around and let her frolic around. It really helps for her to have friends that are here with her that know how to swim. So Bugsy, good girl, good job. If your dog is confident in the water you can talk to them all you want. If they're feeling a little bit shy, a little bit nervous when you talk to them they have a tendency to run out so try not to talk to them if they're feeling nervous about being in the water but rather just walking back and forth and getting them used to the area. I'm going to try to entice Bugsy to play with the ball. It got stolen. Good job, ready Bugs ready? Look at that we've got a swimmer. Good girl, good job. Swimming is great exercise for your dog. It is low impact on the hips and joints and just fabulous when you are in a place like Austin, Texas so the best thing to do is find a spot that you can go out and just walk out that it gradually gets deeper enticing your puppy if they are confident to come out and join you. This is how you would introduce water to your dogs."