Water
I have a wonderful black lab 2 years (rescue) called Enya. we have been to training classes and she is very well behaved, that is until we go anywhere where there is water, she seems to 'smell' it out . She will go into any water and we just cannot get her out, she goes into her own little world, yapping at the splashes she makes, we have tried all sorts to get her out, treats do not work, walking away does not work. Now we just avoid going anywhere there is water, which is a shame as she loves swimmimg so much. Have you any suggestions?

Hi there Labs were originally bred in Newfoundland as fishermen's dogs and were used to bring in nets from the sea, jump off boats to grab ropes etc. The breed has an incredible affinity with water - and this manifests itself today with some dogs (one of mine included) going 'deaf' when there's water nearby. Basically, Enya has a very strong motivation indeed to leap into water - and the training you have done with her so far at classes has not reached the level whereby she is able to over-ride that urge and respond to you. she's learned to come when called in classes and other situations but not when the distractions (and self-rewards) reach the very highest level for her. She may also have learned that in the past if she has come out of water on command, she's been put straight on the lead and all the fun has ended. (That's good motivation NOT to come!) The sorts of things you can do depend on what sort of walks you go on and how much effort you want to devote to training her. You could just 'manage' the situation and put her on lead if there's water about that you don't want her to leap in. You could also cultivate another activity that she has a very strong desire to do - initially practising away from the competing motivation of water. With a lab, that might well be retrieving - experiment at home with what toys get her excited eg balls, squeaky toys etc. or it may be doing a 'find it!' to root out a toy or food from long grass or undergrowth I would then satisfy her urge to swim by making it 'legal' for her in some situations - take her to some water on a lead or longish line so she can't just jump in and then make her wait for permission to go in. if you combine this with retrieving the favourite object (which you've already built up an obsession with), then suddenly you have taken control of the situation and the game. Make it incredibly fun to play in water with you you will hopefully find that she's sitting willing you to throw the toy into the water, then rushing back with it desperate for another turn. If the water is very shallow, you could start off with her still on the long line and just drop the ball in the water - obviously you need to be careful if she's attached to a line. the advantage of a long line is that she can't just run off and ignore you. practise with it initially away from water and get her hooked. if necessary when she's off-lead have more than one favourite toy, so that she needs to keep coming back to you. One of my labs is utterly disinterested in retrieving on walks, unless water is involved. then suddenly, it's a game worth playing for him. My other two are just mad about leaping into rivers to grab their squeakies or to hunt for toys I've hidden in rushes. they also all love it if I run through the surf at the beach with them, or hurl a ball over the surf so they can leap about and splash after it. Work out what floats Enya's boat and use it to your advantage. hope this gives you some ideas :D

Thankyou, I will definatly try this out

I agree with the motivation aspect entirely. If they know you have a ball or other fav item that can legally be chased into water and brought back the dogs are willing to abstain from entering until you give them the go ahead. Being labs its all a question of being one step ahead when there is water around. Kala takes a flying leap followed by a belly flop - it is so funny to watch but she really means business! Good luck with the ongoing training - let Enya enjoy swimming and water as far as possible and she may just come around soon - she's still only a baby really even though she is 2 years old. Labs need to be all wet and muddy - all part of their make up - ha ha ha :lol:

We are sure that Willow has a devining rod in her - she can smell water from a thousand paces! The only thing I would say to watch out for if your doggie likes to retrieve in water as there is a condition called 'cold tail'. It's where the tail seems to lose all it's stiffness. Willow has had this twice and it is very painful. She was retrieving her training dummies at the time and was very excitable! It's nothing serious and rights itself within about 48 hours but boy did she feel sorry for herself! We've just introduced lil Boy to water - he likes it only if he is in his depth at the moment and bobs his head under like a duck!

Its lovely too see them swimming.Not so good when the wallow in mud :roll: