How do I get my gun dog back into water?

The only way forward is to start in very shallow water and try to rebuild their confidence.

By Mark Whitehouse

Friday, 18 February 2011

Gun dog back into water: A bad experience has left my spaniel afraid, so how do I get my gun dog back into water?

He is even around the shallowest of streams.

I am really keen to get my gun dog back into water soon as possible.

What should I do?

Mark Whitehosue says: Time is a great healer is a valid statement when referring to a getting a gun dog back in water, especially a youngster who has had a bad experience during their training, because this would be the result of pure inexperience.

When an older and more experienced gun dog suffers from a bad experience they become more anxious because they would not normally allow themselves to get into any type of danger.

Older gun dogs have less chance of overcoming these events and could become irreversibly scarred.

The only way forward, getting your gun dog back into water, is to start in very shallow water and try to rebuild their confidence.

Get into the water and coach the gun dog to come to you whilst trying to relay that if it is okay for you then it is still okay for him.

Most gun dogs look up to their handlers for this type of guidance, and for you to lead by example.

You can only gauge these events as they are happening and assess each occasion at a time, hopefully building your gun dog’s confidence back up.

Always give him plenty of reassurance - as you would with any exercise designed to get a gun dog back into water.

Water work can be dangerous to the most experienced of trained gun dogs - frozen ponds, fast running rivers and lakes with foreign objects hidden within all pose hazards.

So always assess the task in hand and never put your gun dog at risk. Good luck with getting your gun dog back into water.