We aren’t sure if Tucker has been swimming before he came to live with us but he is afraid of the water a bit. He gets a little nervous before a bath but settles in once he’s in the tub and seems to enjoy it. He especially likes getting the shampoo massaged into his back. He showed no interest in the water at the river when we hiked down to the edge.
He loves to be down on the pool deck when Michael is swimming, so I wanted to make sure he would be safe. I bought him a life jacket and we will order a dog ramp for the edge of the pool so that he can get out should he fall in. We are approaching this with a baby steps mentality. I started off just putting the life jacket on and seeing how he did. Once he got the hang of walking with it on, he seemed to like it. When I took it off, he laid down on it for a nap.
A couple of days later we put the life jacket back on him while Michael was in the pool. He actually got to go in the water with Michael. He was a little apprehensive at first, but Michael held him tight and talked to him and he settled right down. I took a little video of his “swim” but I ask that you cut him some slack. He’s a beginner. His front paw knows what it is supposed to do though!