Dog's water obsession

joolsveer

Our new dog Nala has a problem with water, the sea, the canal and puddles. She jumps in the water barking constantly and refuses to come out. She doesn't swim in it but rushes up and down at wading depth. No matter what I do I cannot get her to come back to me.

We have her about a month now and we were told by the rescue centre that she always upended her water bowl. Since she has been with us this trait has not been an issue. She was described as a Labrador cross and weighs about 17kg.

What can we do to solve this problem as everywhere I go she manages to find water in ditches etc.?

shinikins

She's beautiful!!

The only thing i can suggest is limiting her exposure to water when out. Keep her on the leash, and tell her no firmly, when she pulls. Its just a matter of training her to know when she can and can't jump in. It'll take some time, but she'll soon get that she needs your permission to go for a swim. It might not stop her from splashing through every puddle she see's-i once had a dog like that and she just loved getting her paws wet, she would dip them into her water bowl and then bark for a fresh supply!

tk123

I use a treat to lure our guy out - eg a gravy bone/markie etc - something he's well able to see and would see as high value. I call him and show him the treat he'll come out and sit in front of me waiting for his reward - then I quickly get his lead on and jump back before he shakes and dronws me! :pac: If it's a case that he's not to get in the water I keep him on his lead so he can't jump in until we pass the water.
How's her recall when she's not in the water? I practice our guys recall all the time eg at home go into the other room and call him, or when he's on his lead I'll take a step or two away from him and call him and treat etc. He's really improved at it now since I improved my technique eg always calling him in a happy/excited voice and never cross - he'll come charging over to me and sit for his treat almost all of the time.

Zillah

She's gorgeous! And that's hilariously weird behaviour. It sounds obvious, but have you tried luring her out with a treat? Or distracting her with a treat as you pass by water sources?

joolsveer

Thanks for the suggestions. I have tried every treat I have to get her out of the water but it seems she just switches off when she is in this mode. Her recall is usually quite good and I have been taking her to obedience classes to improve my behaviour?

Yesterday when she was running up and down in a sea water pool a small dog joined her and his owners could not get him to return to them. He completed ignored their calls until we managed to catch Nala.

We have another dog who did not join in Nala's antics so it is hard to guess what the problem is.