Getting my pup to swim?

Does she play fetch/retrieve?  That's how my puppy learned to swim, he was already a good retriever on land - so I just threw his bumper into water...  Honestly though, with a Lab, that's really all you have to do.  I'm sure there is an actual method of training that someone else will come along and tell you about! 

Some dogs can't swim.
 
My secretary used to have a boxer.  He fell out of the boat once.  She jumped out of the boat to help him out.  Found his 100 lb butt walking around on the bottom of the pond.

Nope ... unfortunately Zuni only plays fetch when other dogs are playing ... even then she doesn't chase the ball ... she chases the dog who's fetching the ball ... maybe what I need to do is find a dog to play fetch in the water so Zuni will chase her.  []

Does she follow you around the house?  If so you might try swimming out and coaxing her to go deeper.  You can also walk out with her and use a treat as a lure....

Actually, what you said is a good idea. My Lab loves water/fetching so it wasn't hard to 'teach' her to like water. One of my friends has a Lab mix that doesn't like water, and doesn't really care about retrieving ( lol) so one day when they came over, we took the dogs out to the creek and Montana ( the other dog) went into the water some  while chasing Cassidy. So find a dog that likes water and retreiving, and have your dog play with them, near some water. Maybe if you go to the beach, where the water gets deeper, you can get your dog to go in gradually. Or go in with him with his leash, to show him it won't hurt.

While my dog loved to swim in the lake at the summer cabin, I wanted her to learn to jump off the end of the dock, like our cousin's dogs always would. As for training that, I would throw sticks in and she would really want to go in, but be too scared to jump in by herself. So when she got to the end, I gave her a little push, so that she could learn that jumping into deep water is ok. It took a few times doing that, and then she jumped off by herslef for the first time when she saw some geese in the water.[] After a few more times she jumped off without hesitation after her stick. In that case, it was better for me to show her that it wasn't going to hurt her to jump off than trying to wait for her to do it herself. But I'm not saying to do that at first so that your dog might be scared of deep water. I'm just saying that sometimes once the dog learns its ok, they don't have a problem doing it themselves.

What about a pool?  Is the chlorine really bad for their skin?  I know how chlorine affects MY eyes,  so I'm assuming the same for my puppy?  My mother's new house in FL has a pool and I'm a bit concerned that he might want to go for a swim.

My dogs have never swam in a pool with chlorine, and I was kind of worried about how the dogs would react to that, getting on their skin and everything. I read that after the dog swims in a pool, hose them off with the garden hose, to get all the chemicals off, and they should be ok. Of course, if the dog has some sort of allergic reaction even after that, then you should not have them swim in chlorine, obviously. But otherwise, I guess it would be ok  []

Can Chihuahuas swim?

How big is your dog?  The reason I ask is at one time we had a lab/setter that loved the water.  However, she Could Not swim!  Kuma would jump in the water after me and grab onto my shoulders.  She was too big for me to have on my back in deep water.  I did not encourage her again to jump in!  Start with the shallower water.
 
The dogs I have now have a kids plastic pool in the summer.  I have a boxer/shepard and an australian cattle dog.  My boxer LOVES it.  She gets in and doggy paddles, even though it is only like 6 inches deep - LOL  My cattle dog plays in it, but she is more concerned with taking the toys out of the pool and putting them in a pile.  It is too funny to watch.

ORIGINAL: TAK

Can Chihuahuas swim?

 
my 10 week old can.

Try a bath tub, slowly add inches of water into the tub.  [&:]  Along with some water toys....hehe!  And maybe some treats so she will swim towards your hand.

My dog used to swim a lot when she was younger.  Now she gets tired after a little bit, and i really don't want to push her much and have her end up drowning.  She can't kick her legs a whole lot because of her arthritis. 
 
I got her to swim in a lake when she was very young, she always would go in, but only to the point that the water was up to her neck.  I would hold her slightly and guide her out a little bit at a time.  Next thing i knew she was going into the middle of the lake to chase geese.