Help - retriever refusing to get out of water!

RedBern

as title says, my 9 year old retriever was basking in the river on Sunday morning for 35 minutes fetching stones and swimming. Then last night, he refused to come out, and when I did get him on the lead, he slipped it back over his head and headed back to the water.

He refused point blank to come when I called him. Eventually a fellow dog walker lured him out and grabbed him, and I got him home. He's usually ok at coming back when we're out walking (well, as ok as retrievers can be). Any suggestions for how I start to retrain him quickly? ps OH is currently away, so not sure if dog showing off/sulking/missing him.

dandelionclock30

Just keep him on the lead near rivers and ponds and/or walk him somewhere else.
You were lucky that other dog owner helped you. It could have been dangerous if you were trying to get him out by youself, you could have got into difficulty.
Dont put yourself and others at risk.

RedBern

Thanks. It's not a deep or dangerous area and borders on the meadow where we regularly walk. It's just about deep enough for him to swim in.

krlyr

You could use a harness and longline, perhaps. You can give him just enough room to paddle, and take some high value rewards to give him when he recalls to you. Once he's doing that, you can give him a bit more slack on the line. If he does fail to recall, you can gently pull him back towards you, out of the water.

mandragora_2

Is he hot? As a retriever, he'll be fond of the water anyway, but perhaps in the heat the water was the place he felt comfortable in, hence him disobeying rules he normally follows. I wouldn't like to be in a fur coat, charging up and down a field after stones in this weather.

RedBern

possibly - but having got himself thoroughly soaked I'd hoped he'd come out - he was in there 40+ minutes!! He was picking up stones from the water - we were throwing them to try to get him nearer to the bank - not to entertain him. I did try walking away so he'd follow but he really wasn't having any of it!

catkins

My thoughts were that maybe he was hot and the only place he felt comfortable was in the cool water. What time was it? I walked my dog last night at 9.30pm but he was still struggling a bit with the heat so we didn't stay out long. My dog is only young but has a thick long coat so doesn't like the heat at all

zaksmum

Please be careful RedBern. My dog Lucy has been horribly ill after going in a river and drinking from it. I thought I was going to lose her but thankfully she's a bit better now.

A lot of rivers and streams have blue-green algae in them which is toxic to dogs and can even be fatal.

My dogs definitely won't be going in any more rivers, that's for sure!

happysaz133

A harness and long line would be a good option, gives you a bit more control over him.

I can understand why he wants to be in though. I'm not sure where you live but in north west Scotland its roasting and my three want to be in all the time splashing to keep cool. Have you thought of getting him a paddling pool for the garden, with some toys in? Mine have one and adore it!
DSC_0083 by Niseag, on Flickr

zaksmum

happysaz133 wrote: »

A harness and long line would be a good option, gives you a bit more control over him.

I can understand why he wants to be in though. I'm not sure where you live but in north west Scotland its roasting and my three want to be in all the time splashing to keep cool. Have you thought of getting him a paddling pool for the garden, with some toys in? Mine have one and adore it!
DSC_0083 by Niseag, on Flickr

Brilliant idea happysaz!

gettingready

I ordered a garden hose - I do not have a garden, I live in a flat BUT will hose Zara down. via my window..