Cleo, our 14.5 week old Presa Canario pup, is not that fond of the water. Our other dog Alex (11+ yr old Rottie mix) loves the water and plays fetch in our pool.

I've been taking Cleo in the pool for short dips just about every day. She seems to be getting more comfortable all the time. I sit with her on the steps and call her to swim to me.

Yesterday, she actually went into the pool onto the first step to retrieve a ball on her own. I praised her to no end.

I also make a big deal of Alex fetching the ball in the pool. Cleo seems to want to get involved; she runs around the pool, barks and crouches down near the edge of the pool.

I feel I am on the right track, but was wondering any of you had some ideas for me.

We live in Hawaii, enjoy the water and are always by the pool or at the beach. I want to make sure Cleo loves the water as much as my other dogs have.

Mahalo,

Eric

Eric,

Just keep doing what you're already doing. Always have it be fun for your new pup and never force her to do anything she doesn't want to do.

She's still very young! It's great that you have an older dog that loves the water and is a good role model for her. From your description, it sounds like she's showing a lot of interest and is going in as much as she's comfortable with at this point.

Just let her take it at her own pace, and keep it fun. Play with her with toys at the edges, on the steps, just like you're doing. Toss the toy, but not to far from you...just a few feet at first.

When I taught my German shepherd pup to swim, we were able to use quiet lakes to start. That's really nice, as there is plenty of shallow water and you don't have to go very far out before they're able to swim and can easily get back to more shallow water. Pools don't have that same feature, so I'd be very careful about letting her decide how much, how far, how often, etc.

It goes without saying to be very careful with her when you take her to the ocean. The waves can be very intimidating<g>. If you can find a quiet lagoon or something, that'd be a great place to start her out of the pool.

You also may want to consider a doggie life jacket. I've got one for my girl, but we only tend to use it when we're on a boat. She thinks she's a lab, anyway<g>.

leih merigian