Nick needs help swimming

zotty

New Member
Hi, Need some help with my 1 year old Doberman Nick. He is in training for dock diving and swimming- he loves it and is so enthusiastic, but.... he is awful at it. He can't swim. The trainer has been working with him. After 3 sessions he still won't paddle with his back feet. He is tall enough that when he gets in the pool his back feet reach the bottom. Soooo... you have a whole lot of splashing with his front feet and no movement- when the trainer lifts his butt up he can swim- but will not do it on his own. (he is not a natural by far- his first jump off the float he sank). But I give him credit for trying. He still loves to get on the float, jump off and try to swim. I am hoping I can get a recomendation for a floation device that is good for the Doberman shape. Something that may help keep his butt up. He just started a group class for beginner swimmers and is still failing miserably- but he could get the award for trying hard.
Background on him- he is a blue, that I adopted in January- i have no clue about his background. He has been a challenge, but his personality is worth it. So any suggestions to help poor Nick make his swimming and dock diving dreams come true, please help!nick.webp
 
Hi there, welcome! My girl was a dramatic swimmer too. Get a life jacket for him until he becomes a confident swimmer! He will soon learn to lean forward into his strokes and swim level once he builds the muscle. Lots and lots of practice and confidence building. You are looking at many more sessions but don't give up, everything takes time and practice.
 
Aww he's such a sweetie for trying so hard.

I honestly don't have any experience with dock diving but @Rits and some of the others might. I bought a Hurtta life jacket for a dog this size but never used it. I can't remember if I sold it either so it might still be tucked away in a closet. :bag:
 
I agree a life jacket would help but my girl got the hang of it without. She also sank her butt, flailed about and got nowhere. She was still a pup and I would be with her and held her so her legs got some traction. What ended up helping the most was to give her something she wanted badly so she leaned forward and thrust with those legs. Now she is an absolutely confident swimmer!
 
Hi there, welcome! My girl was a dramatic swimmer too. Get a life jacket for him until he becomes a confident swimmer! He will soon learn to lean forward into his strokes and swim level once he builds the muscle. Lots and lots of practice and confidence building. You are looking at many more sessions but don't give up, everything takes time and practice.
Do you know what brand I should purchase? I have looking at them, but most look too short for his long body. We are not giving up... he likes it too much to quit. The other dogs in his beginner class may laugh at him, but anything to make him get it
 
I agree a life jacket would help but my girl got the hang of it without. She also sank her butt, flailed about and got nowhere. She was still a pup and I would be with her and held her so her legs got some traction. What ended up helping the most was to give her something she wanted badly so she leaned forward and thrust with those legs. Now she is an absolutely confident swimmer!
Thank you for the encouragement. I am glad there is hope for Nick
 
Do you know what brand I should purchase?
I haven't tried many but I have an outward hound one, older model, that works great. I've also tried the new one and it worked for my girl. She didn't need a life jacket once she was fully grown so I'm not much help there. I think you will want one that has full support with a full belly band. They come in different sizes too so make sure to measure to get more coverage.
 
Hi, Need some help with my 1 year old Doberman Nick. He is in training for dock diving and swimming- he loves it and is so enthusiastic, but.... he is awful at it. He can't swim. The trainer has been working with him. After 3 sessions he still won't paddle with his back feet. He is tall enough that when he gets in the pool his back feet reach the bottom. Soooo... you have a whole lot of splashing with his front feet and no movement- when the trainer lifts his butt up he can swim- but will not do it on his own. (he is not a natural by far- his first jump off the float he sank). But I give him credit for trying. He still loves to get on the float, jump off and try to swim. I am hoping I can get a recomendation for a floation device that is good for the Doberman shape. Something that may help keep his butt up. He just started a group class for beginner swimmers and is still failing miserably- but he could get the award for trying hard.
Background on him- he is a blue, that I adopted in January- i have no clue about his background. He has been a challenge, but his personality is worth it. So any suggestions to help poor Nick make his swimming and dock diving dreams come true, please help!View attachment 127879
Oh my goodness 😂
Brings back great memories.
My first Dobe a red girl was very! enthusiastic about the pool. (Note the avatar 😉)
And much like Nick, wansnt such a great swimmer, lol. Bouncing off the bottom on the back legs and all drama up front.
@Rits os right on with a PFD to get him more into the feel and body position.
Well, and safety of course.

They all figure it out at a different pace if you can even get them to try.
My male isn’t having it. He tolerates a hose bath.

Alter it a bit and get in the water and lift the rear for them a little.
My blue girl currently isn’t nearly as enthusiastic about swimming as my red girl was but is actually a much better swimmer, keeps her hind end up. Her hind end sank the first couple times but a little lift from us and she eventually “felt” the position and swims well when we can drag her in😂
 
Welcome! All great advice!

My Dobe hates swimming but I think it's important she at least knows how for safety reasons so she's had a vest one a few times.

She's a bit on the petit side (24" tall and about 60lbs) but this is an outward hound life jacket. I am sorry but I do not know the size :( they're quite adjustable, though!

PXL_20220517_231124705.webp

Keep up the effort and make sure he's having fun, even if you get frustrated!
 
It's a Dobe thing. Yep, if they can touch the bottom, they won't swim. I've had success by getting them into water too deep to touch bottom, and being in there with them with a leash on and leading them as gently as you can for a brief swim. Then build up.

I've also used their retrieving ability to get them to go swim after a ball or other retrieving object thrown into water too deep to touch bottom. I helps, of course, if you have already worked with them on retrieving and they have a passion for retrieving.
 
No experience here re: swimming or dock diving, but I just want to say Nick has the biggest dang smile I've ever seen!
 
What a happy looking fella! Dobes seem to do everything with a bit of dramatic flair 😜

We haven’t done any swimming type activities with Kaiser but one tip to get them to do something is to do it yourself first. Get in there with him if you can. They pretty much want to do anything you’re doing. They’ll do anything to catch up to you if you get ahead of them - which almost never happens on dry land lol.
 
What a happy looking fella! Dobes seem to do everything with a bit of dramatic flair 😜

We haven’t done any swimming type activities with Kaiser but one tip to get them to do something is to do it yourself first. Get in there with him if you can. They pretty much want to do anything you’re doing. They’ll do anything to catch up to you if you get ahead of them - which almost never happens on dry land lol.
I just posted the video of him in the pool. Yes Nick does have the dramatic flair. The trainer (who he loves) is in the pool with him
 
He does try so hard and seems very willing!

I think a life jacket would not only help keep his back end up but it would probably boost his confidence, too! My lab is a strong and confident swimmer but he still wears a life jacket in dock diving class (and we've even borrowed one from our trainer when we went on vacation near a lake) to make sure he stays confident and helps him from getting too tired too fast!
 
You need to figure out what has the most value to your dog(toy,food,you). Get in the pool with it. Then frustrate him until he gets in. I would start him off on the steps or shallow water that way it isn’t such a literal leap. Whatever the object is make it sexy to the dog. Meaning try to entice the dog with the object and yourself as much as possible.
The first video was last year at almost a year old. With my dog I was obviously the object of her desire. And you can hear her frustration almost go into aggression.
The second video is her now. She would give any lab I’ve owned a run for their money. I timed her one time she swam or treaded water for 6 minutes straight without going to the step.
 
You need to figure out what has the most value to your dog(toy,food,you). Get in the pool with it. Then frustrate him until he gets in. I would start him off on the steps or shallow water that way it isn’t such a literal leap. Whatever the object is make it sexy to the dog. Meaning try to entice the dog with the object and yourself as much as possible.
The first video was last year at almost a year old. With my dog I was obviously the object of her desire. And you can hear her frustration almost go into aggression.
The second video is her now. She would give any lab I’ve owned a run for their money. I timed her one time she swam or treaded water for 6 minutes straight without going to the step.
Beautiful to see! There is hope for Nick. I ordered a life vest for him for starters
 
Beautiful to see! There is hope for Nick. I ordered a life vest for him for starters
I did put her in a vest for all of about 5 minutes when we first started. Maybe it helped show her where her butt should be. But she had enough enthusiasm that she was off to the races after that.
Here’s another video:

And to self critique. Did you notice inconsistency in my inflection on the release?
 

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