I’ve written about introducing dogs to water before, but I guess with the beautiful weather we are having I have been thinking this over. We got back from a hard run this morning with all our tongues dragging from the heat.
A great way to introduce puppies to water is to get out and run with them until their tongues are hanging and their hot. This in and of itself is great physically and mentally both for you and them. Run them on a lead, or if they will follow, let them run along with you. Finish your run with them on lead at a water body deep enough that they can swim. Lead them right out to into the water up to their bellies. Let them drink for a minute, then, before they cool off too much, lead them out deeper until they are swimming. Let this be their reward at the end of a long hot run. They’ll learn to love it and see the water as a great reward. (Summer is almost here!)
