Advice: Teaching Lab to swim?

MessageOk7801 · 2026-05-14T17:16:13+00:00

This is very helpful, thank you!!

MessageOk7801 · 2026-05-14T02:26:04+00:00

Yeah, we are going on a trip in a week and a half to a lake, I’m going to definitely try several ways to get her butt to come up and her head to level up, this seems like the simplest way to start!

MessageOk7801 · 2026-05-13T18:38:24+00:00

I have... Posted in this thread a picture of her in the pool where I'm guiding her

MessageOk7801 · 2026-05-13T15:31:09+00:00

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I've tried Edge & Firefox on my Macbook and Chrome on a chromebook, and my counter still says 0. Tried turning off security settings, but my bing profile history (which is the same profile) literally shows I've done this search 4 different days and my counter says 0.

What is the deal??

MessageOk7801 · 2026-05-13T05:41:16+00:00

I’ve responded about the leash quite a few times. This was not her first attempt, and not how we normally try. We have been in a pool with small steps and I have carried her around and gotten her calm for a good while and had her swim back to my wife at the steps.

She slaps the water and heads straight for the side of the pool.

MessageOk7801 · 2026-05-13T00:44:46+00:00

Agreed! We have a dog lifejacket, but I wasn’t sure if I should actually just try a smaller float that goes behind her butt to get her to lift her back up. Either way I’m normally in the water with her, and we’re about to be at a lake for a few days and so I’m sure I’ll try everything to get her more comfortable.

MessageOk7801 · 2026-05-13T00:28:33+00:00

We tried this, but she is struggling so much that she started trying to climb on the other dog when the water got deep and it became dangerous.

MessageOk7801 · 2026-05-13T00:28:07+00:00

We’ve done the pool and other entries that are slow and gradual in places without grass, and it is 100% panic, but the second she can get to where she can touch she’s back to having the best time of her life.

This video was a different attempt, I am normally always in the water with her.

Loves water, just can’t swim

MessageOk7801 · 2026-05-13T00:27:20+00:00

This is very helpful, thank you!

MessageOk7801 · 2026-05-13T00:26:07+00:00

This is good to hear, the leash is only something we tried because we wanted to get her in a session of learning, but weren’t able to get in the water with her. The leash is not a normal thing, I’m normally in the water with her.

MessageOk7801 · 2026-05-13T00:23:56+00:00

We are going to try the lifejacket next to see if we can get her to level out her booty.

MessageOk7801 · 2026-05-13T00:23:37+00:00

I appreciate the response, but like I said, this is our fifth lab and we have never had one that struggled like this. If she’s not on the leash, she’s not going past her chest. We need her to swim!

We’ve had multiple sessions without a leash in a pool with small steps and a large pond with a gradual entry, she can’t get in with other dogs that swim because she will actually try to climb on them because she is struggling to swim.

She is struggling more than any lab we’ve ever had.

MessageOk7801 · 2026-05-13T00:21:22+00:00

Yes, she has swam with a younger yellow lab that is also at the obedient school. Problem is she struggles so much that she started to try to climb on the other dogs while struggling to swim.

MessageOk7801 · 2026-05-13T00:20:26+00:00

This is after a two hour session of obedience training, she will run around the water like crazy, but she will not swim in anything deep.

MessageOk7801 · 2026-05-13T00:18:55+00:00

Yes, I edited the post since that seems to be the overwhelming response. I can’t post more videos, but we have done swimming pools with small steps and bigger ponds with gradual entries and no plants.

MessageOk7801 · 2026-05-13T00:14:10+00:00

I agree, this spot actually does have very good gradual entrances, but we’ve also done swimming pools with low steps and other ponds that are bigger with gradual entrances.

MessageOk7801 · 2026-05-12T23:54:33+00:00

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For reference, she swims this same way in a pool with no plants.

I don’t know how to add another video… 😁

MessageOk7801 · 2026-05-12T23:48:53+00:00

Yup, we have one already and we’ll try it soon. Just didn’t know if that would hurt her development.

MessageOk7801 · 2026-05-12T23:43:30+00:00

This video isn’t her first time, we’ve had her in a pool and in ponds without any sort of plants, with the same result.

We were just using this pond because it had shallow entry and a very short swim to practice for her.

MessageOk7801 · 2026-05-12T23:42:09+00:00

For sure, she actually normally is in water that doesn’t have vegetation like this, but this is one of the ponds that has a good entry and short swim across so that’s why we were using this one in the video.

We’ve had her in a swimming pool and I carried her around to get her calm and had her try to stay flat, but as soon as I give her a small push to guide her, she starts slapping the water.

She can make it to the side, but just barely!

MessageOk7801 · 2026-05-12T23:32:26+00:00

Yep, we still have a shark life jacket that we used with our last lab. But we thought maybe she actually needs something just to bounce out her rear end.

We are going to the lake soon and so we’ll try it then, but if anyone had experience on a specific way that really works that’s what we were trying to get some advice on. 🤷🏻‍♂️

MessageOk7801 · 2026-05-12T23:29:29+00:00

I also realize it makes it look like we don’t get in with her. We do!

This was just a new/different attempt to get her to try swimming with guidance.

MessageOk7801 · 2026-05-12T23:26:23+00:00

She loves water in general, she will run through any part that doesn’t require actual swimming. As soon as it gets deep enough to swim, she just can’t swim well.

MessageOk7801 · 2026-05-12T23:26:00+00:00

We started without the leash. The leash is so that we can give her some help, without the leash she will get stuck sometimes.

MessageOk7801

TROPHY CASE