Training a cold water snorkel dog?

[rogerbly]

Does anyone have tips or links on training a dog to swim with you while snorkeling in cold water? I've seen such dogs swimming and diving with their owners at La Jolla off the beach and off kayaks. It seems that training the dog to relax and not paddle the entire time is important. I know Otter Bay makes cold water snorkel dog wetsuits (http://www.otterbaysuits.com) that should give the dog enough warmth and buoyancy to relax.

[LCF]

I don't know, but I know rjack and his wife do a lot of water dog training with their Newfies -- maybe some of that would be adaptable?

[rogerbly]

Surprisingly, I cant find much on the interweb about this. For breed, I'm guessing Labrador or Newfoundland. The Newfies might get a bit warm in San Diego, but should be able to tow me back to shore if needed

[rjack]

Yes we train Newfies on the side, for the NCA water test which is a bit contrived but still fun.

One exercise is to swim out 50ft without touching the handler. Then turn and tow the handler driectly to shore. Its pretty hard to keep a dog from climbing on you while swimming. The slower you go, the more they want to climb on you because they can't tread water at all. They don't have rotating hip or shoulder joints so they always go forward.

I would start by conditioning the dog to understand a clicker on dry land. This usually doesn't take long for a food motivated dog.

Assuming you use a vest or something to give the dog bouyancy is a good start but getting them to not exhaust themselves is going to be difficult. I would try in a pool or shallow water with Costco meatballs. Then use your clicker to shape a relaxed state with minimal leg movement. If she can't learn to relax and float you are going to be towing her back!

Even if you dog isn't swimming constantly and exhausting herself, I would build up your excursions slowly.

Good luck,
Richard

[rogerbly]

Thanks Richard. Yes, the dog would need some sort of buoyancy for a long swim. I've seen a dog in a wetsuit able to float on the surface without padding all the time. It seems like that would take food/clicker training in the pool as a puppy.

[rjack]

The Costco meatballs are a key piece. Our Newfies will do anything for those things! I am not sure what's in them (except for grease) but they are pre-cooked in the frozen section. Although our 2 love the water so much I don't think they would sit still for me even for meatballs.

[Celt5494]

Today they had the Del Mar annual surfing dog competition next to the fairgrounds at dog beach.