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Walking onto a boat/fishing doc is pretty scary too. Our last experience was at a lovely lake. I always head to a dock and walk out. Ayita took a couple of steps, felt the movement, heard the water slapping against...no go. Okay, sez me. We will walk down the boat ramp instead and dip our tootsies in the lake. No way sez she. She wanted to go back to the dock on her own terms. She inspected it from the underside, beginning where it rested on the land and down to the water's edge. She then led me back to walk onto the dock. She didn't want to go far, but...wow...what a process :huh:

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thanks for all the feed back we will take our time seems to be anywhere he can see multiple levels opens stairs, a parking area ramp or any bridge ..we went to a new one today and just sat and watched people, dogs, and babies cross and inched up treat by treat ...we got on the bridge....1 plank 3planks ... he looked over the side at the creek and wanted to leave BUT i did see progress....this is gonna cost me a bunch of treats!! thanks thanks.....

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I read an interesting take somewhere, which was "Don't soothe them, but rather play them out of their fear."

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That is working for Chhaya...during thunderstorms now she is nervous but will try to play ball inside...not the best thing inside but hallways work well...we make her sit and stay, then roll the ball back the hallway and give her the command to "go" and she runs after it. If it's a really bad thunderstorm she won't play but I have found if I put her leash on and sit on the floor with her she is calmer and stays right by my side and doesn't scratch at the door.

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I read an interesting take somewhere, which was "Don't soothe them, but rather play them out of their fear."

 

 

I will try that ...he is being pretty stubborn about this fear and he can spot a bridge pretty far off and wants to go waaaaaay around. Once i carried him on and put him down in the middle and he wasn't super freaked out just happy to walk off????

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Once i carried him on and put him down in the middle and he wasn't super freaked out just happy to walk off????

Maybe that's your answer. Combine that with having someone else, maybe someone with a dog, walk with you and tempt your dog to go over the bridge. Competition is a strong motivator.

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I will try that ...he is being pretty stubborn about this fear and he can spot a bridge pretty far off and wants to go waaaaaay around. Once i carried him on and put him down in the middle and he wasn't super freaked out just happy to walk off????

 

That is a great start! maybe you can expand on that! carrying to the middle and working up in increments to staying longer - keep his attention with some kind of play, commands and/or treats?????

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  • 1 year later...

Anyone had luck getting their dog into water, even a kiddy pool? Noquisi is two years old now and he won't have any part of it. When he was little he was afraid of ripples when the wind blew across standing water. It was like he thought the water was alive. Take him to a lake, and he won't get near the lapping water.

 

On the other hand, Kilchii has no issue with the water and went into the lake and will go into creeks and the such. Was hoping Kilchii would teach him, but Noquisi is having no part of that school!

 

Treats don't work to lure him in either.

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Ohhh....when Wyot was 4-5 months old, we'd venture down to the river that is literally 25 feet alongside our house. He hung back, and no amount of cajoling, splashing, etc. could get him to go in. A big part of our life here in the country is hiking and crossing streams to keep going on the trail, or get to our swimming spot. We had to carry him at first, then he got too big, and he watched us go across...and then found a shallow way to cross, way around, but found his way to us (smart dog, lol!).....then, there came a moment when the switch went on, and because we would always keep going to these places, he figured he'd join us! There was one time, where I'd lost footing in my swimming hole, and my balance was off...my squeal of surprise and loss of control got him right up, and he, without a second thought, came doggie paddling right towards me! He herded me to shore, and stayed with me until he knew I was calmed down. After that, there was no going back. He LOVES the water. Plays with the currents, deftly navigates the river where it's safest to cross, and just plays with no fear.

 

Kitchee is a different story; he would go in the water to catch his stick or frisbee...but when we'd cross, he didn't want to swim. We just took him on his leash for that portion, and he just obediently followed us, and in deeper water, he reluctantly swam, and then reached the other side where we would release him off the leash. Now he just goes in no problem, follows Wyot across the shallower parts, and now dives into the water without a second thought.

 

I guess, as with all things, patience is what is needed, LOL! I think eventually, if you keep going to the lake and he realizes this is part of his/your life, he will go in...or do it in a way that is his, like Wyot did.

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This was probably cruel, but I held Nakoma tight to me and just walked into the bay when he was just several months old. (He's 3 now). He squirmed a lot that first time. I let him go when I was chest deep, and he had no choice but to swim back to land (wasn't that far; I'm only 5 feet tall). Fast forward ten minutes from that moment, and the water became a part of his life. We are on the beach almost every morning, all year long. He runs in and out of the water (even when the temps are in the teens, against my wishes... the crazy boy) and chases his toys or his canine pals. When we're not on the beach, we're by the bay, and he'll swim in that as long as he has a mission (fetching a toy or chasing a seagull).

 

Being the ocean is very different than the bay or any lake, there are times when he just doesn't feel right going in. For instance, he'll start walking in and suddenly stop and back out. Being it's the ocean, I will never force him to go in if he is uncomfortable. Rip tides, under currents, storm waves, or even the sharks could be his reasoning. So if his "favorite toy" is floating away, and he decides suddenly not to fetch it, I won't make him.

 

However, he hates pools. .... Go figure. Maybe it's the chlorine.

 

So yes to the ocean (95% of the time), yes to the bay, yes to any lake. .... Never came across a stream (beach life), so I can't say. But no pool. ... ... And it all started with me kind of forcing him in the bay.

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The dog park we go to has a creek and he would never go in with the other dogs. Kilchii goes in and Noquisi stands on the side and watches. So he has the opportunity to get in water up to his belly. He just turned 2 so maybe it will get better. Will update.

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Zuni only likes water that smells disgusting..if its clean water he wants no part....little monster to the core!!

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I am not sure if anyone mentioned this - so SORRY if I am being a broken record!

 

When I had my male husky we had this issue where we would take him potty and walk him around for 30 or so minutes with no success...then we would bring him back inside and he would go to the bathroom everywhere...so frustrating. The trick that worked for us was to take him out, walk him around for 5 minutes only - then we would take him back inside and immediately turn around and go outside again. This trick worked like a charm! Took all of two days to fix the issue! It was a pain because we lived on a 5th floor apartment, so we would have to go all the way up the elevator and open the door then turn around and go back all the way down the elevator haha...but I think two days of work was totally worth it!

 

Hope y'all are able to sort it out!

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