Spending time on the water is relaxing and always made better with your dog at your side. While some breeds are born swimmers, young puppies may hesitate from their inexperience. However, with careful training and a reliable dog collar, your pet will be safe, excited, and comfortable when it's time to play in the water.
How Can You Make Your Dog Love the Water?
1. Fun Baths
Bath time may be your puppy's first exposure to water, making it the best place to start acclimating them. Use mildly warm water along with treats, toys, and affection to reassure them of their safety and help them associate water with fun.
2. Start Small
While bath time will be a breeze, your puppy may not yet be ready for larger bodies of water, like pools, lakes, or beaches. Instead, introduce them to a kiddie pool.
Start by filling the pool about ankle high and increase it over time as their comfortability grows. Place some of their favorite water-friendly toys in the pool to further attract them. During a few rounds of fetch with your dog, slowly get the item closer to the water until finally tossing it in the pool. Your dog may be excited enough by then to jump in regardless of their hesitation, getting the toy and enjoying the splashes from the pool.
You can also coax skittish puppies into the water with their favorite treats. Allow them a strong smell of the goodies to entice them and offer them up for their attempts to step into the water.
3. Level Up
Once they've adapted to kiddie pools, try shallow bodies of water or pools with stairs for them to ease into.
Since your pet will get wetter and for a longer time at this stage, you should purchase a waterproof dog collar. Traditional collars degrade or rust quickly when exposed to water, making your pet more likely to lose them. The collars also tend to absorb water, holding on to germs and bacteria. They'll keep your dog wet for longer, causing an unpleasant smell. The exposure increases a pet's discomfort by causing skin irritations as they scratch at the collar to dry their fur.
Waterproof dog collars wick moisture rather than absorb it. Many pets prefer these collars even if they aren't water dogs since they are more comfortable and offer a better fit.
4. Join Them
Jump in the pool and enjoy yourself, showing your pet there's nothing to worry about. While the pup may not immediately join you, they'll become more accepting and curious about the water. Further entice them with treats by the pool's stairs, allowing them to join you at their own pace.
You can also have your dog observe water-loving dogs in pools or lakes. Your pet will see their fun and read their body language as they play, helping them see that the water is nothing to fear.
Our waterproof dog collars can handle fun days by the pool, on the surf, and even withstand harsh weather. To find comfortable accessories for your pet, reach out to us at (904) 619-0577.
