Aside from the occasional rainy day, it does feel like summer again. More daylight, warmer weather, longer walks, and holidays.
Zeke loves water. When he was an adolescent, whilst wearing his long line, Zeke ambled off a jetty and had an unexpected introduction to open water. I’d already been taking him to the hydro pool, so at least I knew he could swim.
In the Isles of Scilly, travel between islands is on smallish open passenger ferries. We’d been planning to go for a stay, but as I’d recently started a new contract it didn’t feel appropriate to go on leave so soon. I did do some ground work on getting Zeke used to getting on and off the water taxi in the nearby docks, and it was an opportunity for him to wear his life jacket.
Zeke has the Float Coat. He’s comfortable swimming in it at the pool, it suits his deep chest and skinny waist, doesn’t float up into his neck when he’s swimming, it has a grab handle if he falls in, and I can attach a lead. It’s worth trying on a few different styles, at it will depend on the shape and size of your dog, as well as the activity you have in mind.
You can start introducing a jacket to your dog with positive association. I’ve shared this video before for muzzle training. I muzzle train all my dogs in the hope they never have to wear one. The training principles are the same, you are looking to associate the life jacket with positive experiences, which will be reinforced as the dog is out and about doing things they enjoy on or in the water.
Until next time
Jen
