There once was a time when Shazam was not crazy about water. This is hard to believe when we see the dedicated swimming athlete he has become who now takes his training very seriously! This boy is SUCH a character! Of the four siblings, he was the one most apprehensive about water initially but now the most interested in hanging out in it! Persistence pays!
I’m sharing a number of short videos here to give ideas around how you can start with water play to get them confident and where it will eventually end up. Even folks who are land-locked without natural bodies of water to play in can bring out the “inner fish” in these dogs. Heelers have either a “love it” or “hate it” relationship with water and the latter can make life difficult at times so I value spending times like this to get them happy and confident dog-paddling whenever possible.
The last video is the first time that these two Australian Cattle Dog puppies have been actually swimming with four off the floor. There is a bit of apprehension at the beginning but very soon they are all in, having fun and not the least bit concerned. This is a very quiet part of the Sheep River in Foothills County where the current is not too concerning. Just the same, I have flexi-leashes on their collars just in case. Because they are so comfortable and the river is calm I saw no need for life-jackets though I have used them with other dogs where the current was more concerning in the past.