How to Train Your Dog to Swim

Make sure you put the doggy life jacket on your pet before you get started, particularly if you have a small breed pooch. Make sure their leash is firmly secured.

Begin by both entering a shallow area of a pool, river, or lake. A pool is the best option to avoid currents or naturally occurring hazards. If using a river or lake, make sure the area is clear.

This will be a frightening experience and he might never want to swim again after.

Slowly walk into the water with your dog's leash in your hand. This will get him used to having their paws wet to begin with.

If your pet is reluctant to go in to begin with, give some gentle encouragement. This can be in the form of praise or a favorite toy to get him to go in farther.

Put your arm under his tummy to take some of the weight off and to encourage him to swim on his own. Keep doing this until he swims freely of his own accord.

Your dog can be unleashed once he is able to swim freely of his own accord, but be sure to keep him leashed until he is able to do this.

Once your pooch comes out of the water, be sure to praise him and give a treat to make swimming a positive experience. Give him a rinse down with the doggy shampoo to get rid of anything unpleasant on his coat.

Get your pup to go into the water on command. Start by leading him in and saying ‘swim’, so that he associates this word with the water. Praise him and give him a big reward each time. Especially when he gets to the point of swimming of his own accord without you when you say ‘swim’.

In order to not overload or exhaust your pooch, keep your initial training sessions at 3-5 minutes so that they can get used to the water and don’t become overwhelmed by it.

Although you need to keep your pooch on a lead and swim with him to start with, make sure everything you say is in a calm, positive, reinforcing tone of voice. If your pup senses you panicking, he's likely to do the same.

Once your pupper understands how to swim comfortably and can go a little further away from you without the leash, teach him to come back. If your dog knows recall, use the command and he should come ‘back’ to you as on land. Be sure to give lots of praise when he does.

Although your pooch now knows how to swim comfortably, never leave him unsupervised, as dogs can do silly things and you want to always make sure you’re there for him if he needs you.

Make sure safety comes first and your pooch wears a life jacket the first few times he goes for a swim. Select the correct life jacket from him from a pet store or appropriate online retailer. The life jacket should have handles so you can help keep him afloat and a ring to tie his leash to.

Before you go diving in, put the life jacket on your pooch at home to get him used to it. If he’s uncomfortable in the life jacket, this could impact his ability to swim. Give him lots of praise and treats when he sits comfortably in the jacket.

Start off in shallow water to just get him used to getting his paws and fur wet, gradually going a bit deeper. Be sure to hold on tight to his leash.

Once he’s used to the water, go a little bit deeper and try to get him to swim to you, using a very encouraging, positive tone of voice. When he does it, give him lots of praise. If he looks like he’s having any difficulties, make sure that you go and rescue him without panicking. The training exercise needs to be a calm one.

Make the swimming sessions short; they will be very tiring for your pooch to begin with. It is best to do these steps over a period of week, repeating the following couple of weeks until your pup becomes a strong swimmer and can go it alone--always under your supervision though, of course.