# Tai's first swim - with questions



## TAIsMom (Mar 7, 2013)

Hi everyone!

Tai's about 18 mo old now and up to this morning hasn't shown any interest in swimming. He's not scared of the water, he just didn't want to go all the way in. But this AM he realized there are BIRDS in the water. I'm not sure if I can post video, but here's his first swim .....

Now for my questions/concerns. He went right back in and proceeded to chase those ducks for 18 minutes straight. Is that considered a long swim for a V? Also, 100% of his training went out the window. He didn't listen, wouldn't come to me, wouldn't leave it, nothing. He was just focused on getting those ducks. How can I fix that? I really want to be able to take him to lakes without worrying about him going too far and drowning. Thoughts?


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## MeandMy3 (Feb 27, 2013)

Yay for his first swim! Our V - also 18 months, isn't a fan of the water yet, although we can't keep our labs out of the lake. My advice would be to use a check cord for him when swimming to remind him that he still needs to obey your commands. It will also allow you to control how far he swims.


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## awrobinson (Jun 24, 2014)

I wanted to show my spaz Vizsla Finn swimming for the first time. He made us laugh so hard!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COziSOmKI6s


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## Bob Engelhardt (Feb 14, 2012)

Oh, that's funny!


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Finn is way to cute.


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## trevor1000 (Sep 20, 2013)

haha
funny


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## R E McCraith (Nov 24, 2011)

Awr - PIKE @ 11wks at the farm pond ran out and just sat down ( he is a water pup ) took a year V4 he swam like a lab - even after having labs try to drown him on retrieves - they set the schedule when it comes to water


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## trevor1000 (Sep 20, 2013)

This was Bacchus' first swim last weekend
Just over 9 months
He was a bit unsure but he just kept going.
The water was coooooold.
He did good.

"Now for my questions/concerns. He went right back in and proceeded to chase those ducks for 18 minutes straight. Is that considered a long swim for a V? Also, 100% of his training went out the window. He didn't listen, wouldn't come to me, wouldn't leave it, nothing. He was just focused on getting those ducks. How can I fix that? I really want to be able to take him to lakes without worrying about him going too far and drowning. Thoughts?

I'd say an e-collar, so you can have control when you can't get your hands on him.


http://s1029.photobucket.com/user/trev1001/media/June/this_one1_zpsfcb3ccdc.mp4.html


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## R E McCraith (Nov 24, 2011)

Trev - simple answer - BUMPER Drills - land or water - sight or blind - the rules stay the same ! they R your rules !!!!!!!!


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## Bob Engelhardt (Feb 14, 2012)

TAIsMom said:


> Tai's about 18 mo old now .....
> ... chase those ducks for 18 minutes straight. Is that considered a long swim for a V? ...


When our first V was about 2 yo he swam 1-1/2 miles nonstop. Must have taken an hour or an hour & a half. I don't remember him being exhausted. It was a swimming-for-the-joy-of-it speed, not chasing-ducks speed. I wouldn't worry about Tai's swimming to exhaustion and drowning. Ducks are tempting, but it won't take him too long to figure that he's not going to catch them.

Nevertheless, his recall does need some work. One of ours was swimming after some geese once & wouldn't recall - it was SCARY (he was an old man then & I was worried about his endurance).

Bob


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

I look at each dog differently, but it all comes down to recall.
You need to be able to get your dog out of a situation, that could turn bad.
Does not matter if its chasing ducks for to long on a pond, or going towards a road.
Two of my dogs will swim for a while and then head to shore.
The other dog Lucy, will swim until she is so tired her strokes change. She will even yip because she is tired. I have to call her out for a rest, and then let her take off again. I really don't know if her better judgment would kick in, or if she would chase until she was to tired to make it back to shore.


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## WillowyndRanch (Apr 3, 2012)

Intellectual Property removed by Author.


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## R E McCraith (Nov 24, 2011)

Whoa & Here - posted so many times this is the basics of having a great V - land or water - the other commands are just window dressing when you get this right !!!!!!!


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## einspänner (Sep 8, 2012)

WillowyndRanch said:


> That said - that's a **** fine dog!


Not that you're biased or anything. ;D


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## trevor1000 (Sep 20, 2013)

and of course I didn't mean to toss an e-collar on him because he is in the water.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

I'm sure any breeder would see red, if someone was not telling a owner all the steps involved before and during ecollar conditioning.
They have a lot of hopes and dreams tied up in pups they produce.
Willing to bet their heart sinks, if something that is preventable happens to one of them.

While forums are great, you still need to do you own research.
Think (like Ken said) about what your being told, and how it does, or doesn't fit your own dog. Ask your breeder, and look into a good training program that fits your breed. A good many problems are caused by skipping steps in training.
While some are a easy fix, others are not.
I always call it ecollar conditioning, and not training.
I guess its because so much training takes place before it can be transferred over to collar pressure, and even then its under controlled conditions.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Something else I should have mentioned is looking to your dog for direction.
Sometimes when something is not going the way I thought it would, I just sleep on it. Play over in my mind how I thought it was going to play out, and what cues was the dog was giving me before it went a different way. 
Nothing wrong with scratching your head, and debating if you need to take a step back to a already learned part of training, or take a different approach.
Sometimes I even just take a break from training and have a few fun days.
Start back at a later date with a fresh approach for me, and the dog.


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