With British summer on the horizon (let’s hope it’s better than last year’s rain-fest) I thought it was time to take another look at water work.
Not only is swimming the perfect way to keep our gundog cool in the summer months, but if you have a working gundog, or you want to enter working tests, it’s essential that they can retrieve from and over water.
Even if you don’t plan to work your pet gundog, swimming is one of the best forms of exercise for dogs, as it’s low-impact and engages a diverse range of muscles, which can ultimately help protect against injuries.
And, provided they’re introduced to water correctly, it’s good fun for them too!
When it comes to water work, first introductions really are essential. So, if you’ve got a puppy or young gundog that hasn’t been for their first swim yet, then in this blog, I will take a quick look at how to get them to enter water confidently.
If your gundog is already a confident swimmer, you can skip to the later part of the blog where I’ll move on to focus on an often-overlooked aspect of water work that, if left untrained, can arguably be even more of an issue than dropping to shake. Together we’ll explore why it’s vital that our gundogs can retrieve over water and how to begin training this if you haven’t already.
Never mind going over, how do I get my gundog to get in the water?
The fundamental skill for you to focus on initially is confidence to enter the water and teaching your puppy or young gundog to swim on their own free will. We want them to think entering the water is fun and to do so without hesitation or pressure.
You will want to find a location with easy entry and exit points at this stage. The best place would be a calm lake or pond with no steep banks and a nice flat bottom, which isn’t too precarious underfoot for you or your dog.
At a minimum, you want to ensure the water has no strong currents, steep banks or reeds. And that no hazardous obstacles are hiding in the water that could cause damage to your dog or you.
It is also advisable to wait until the weather and the water temperature are warmer. This is why our water workshops are always held from the end of Spring and the beginning of Summer.
If your dog does not immediately rush to explore the water and is reluctant to get more than their paws wet, go with them to the water's edge. If you have found some water with a gently sloping bank, I recommend walking into the water as far as your wellies or boots will allow you to.
We want to avoid introducing water to the retrieve chain too soon, so I rarely suggest throwing a ball, or dummy, in for our gundogs to fetch. Instead, I usually recommend using food to encourage our gundog puppies and youngsters to take their first swim.
You can use high value treats, such as chicken or sausage, to lure your puppy, then immediately paying them for entering the water and then clicking and rewarding again for any incremental steps they make. There are some great floating dog treats available, I particularly like to use dried lung which floats well and tastes great!
You need to remember that dogs are all very different from one another. Some will be happy to take themselves deeper into the water. Others might still be reluctant. You must observe your dog carefully and determine how slowly you take this introductory session.
At the end of each session, take note of the point on the dog’s body that they were happy to be submerged, as this will act as your benchmark for your next session. The aim is to build the dog's confidence to submerge slightly deeper in each repetition or session.
Eventually, you will get to a point when their whole body is submerged. At this point, you can start to throw treats out of their reach to encourage them to reach forward and commit to swimming.
Be careful not to throw the food in too far, as if they deem it unreachable, you could halt their progress. Small, progressive steps are better.
You can then work on recalling them from the water and you can also begin to put the shake on cue. This will not stop your dog from shaking when it’s not cued, but it will help you to delay it and teach them that you would like them to shake after they have delivered the retrieve to hand.
But, aren’t all gundogs natural swimmers?
When it comes to genetics, gundogs do have innate attributes that make them particularly suited for water, like water-repellent double coats and webbed feet. That said, not all gundogs are natural swimmers from the start.
Some dogs will want to get in the water and start paddling straight away, while others will be more cautious. Every dog is different. Even the gundogs known for their love of water can take their time to become confident swimmers.
Under no circumstances should you throw, push or drag your puppy or young gundog into water. If you force them and turn it into a negative and scary experience, you may put them off water for life.
Instead, relax and don’t rush. Focus on making it a fun interaction and go at the pace of your individual dog.
This might mean multiple sessions before they’re swimming, but the extra time spent ensuring a cautious dog is comfortable entering the water by themselves will pay dividends in the long term.
Why you need to teach your gundog to retrieve over water and why some dogs struggle
If you are planning to work your dog on a shoot that has a pond, or river, or lake, then there will inevitably be situations where the retrieve will land, not in, but on the other side.
And if you’re not thinking of working your dog, but are looking to enter working tests instead, then these sorts of scenarios will also be purposefully set up to test your dog’s capabilities.
Puppies and young dogs that have been taught to enter the water by repeatedly being sent in for marked retrieves can often get too fixated on the idea that the retrieve will always be in the water.
Instead of swimming across and continuing to run their line, or hunting on the land, they often swim to the bank and turn around, thinking they have missed the article you asked them to pick.
Some dogs can quickly get frustrated swimming in circles, while others will try to retrieve water lilies and sticks in an attempt to pick and return with something.
If you have introduced your dog to water and the activity of swimming with food (as above), then you are less likely to face this problem. By separating the act of swimming from retrieving in the early stages, dogs will not inadvertently learn that water retrieving exclusively involves finding the item in the water.
But, this does not automatically mean that they will understand or think about crossing water, and so it is still a skill you must teach your gundog.
Even for dogs who are happy to swim out over water, there is then also the challenge of teaching them to come back the way they came.
Once the dog’s feet have met the ground on the opposite side, after picking the retrieve their first thought is often to start running around the body of water, rather than swimming straight back to you.
Even if the run is a longer and more indirect route, this may be considered quicker and more efficient in your dog’s mind than swimming back across.
Training your gundog to go over water
To get started with your over water retrieves, I recommend you teach your gundog the idea of recalling over an obstacle before adding in water.
We can start this exercise with simple land-based obstacles first, such as ditches, fallen logs, bales or any other jumps.
Then, provided your dog is already confident entering water and knows how to swim, once you are happy that they understand the concept of recalling over something you can move on to teaching them the concept of recalling over water.
Finally, if you have a basic retrieve trained, you can then add in the retrieve.
How to teach your gundog to recall over an obstacle
Step one:
Walk your gundog to the opposite side of the object you are going to recall them over and sit them up about 1 or 2 metres away. You want them to be able to pick up some speed if they need to jump, but you also don’t want to put them so far back that they consider it more efficient to run around or past the obstacle to get to you.
Step two:
Walk back round to the other side of your obstacle and recall them. Some dogs will understand what you want instantly. Others will try to run around the side no matter how close you sit them. For these dogs you might need to step over or through the obstacle yourself rather than going around it for them to be encouraged to do the same. You can click or use verbal reinforcement as they cross the obstacle in response to their recall whistle, and then pay them on return to you.
Step three:
Once you have achieved the recall over the obstacle, you can gradually move your dog further away from the obstacle, as well as moving further back yourself so you are recalling them over a longer distance.
Step four:
Repeat this in various locations, on different obstacles, to start to generalise the concept of recalling over something to get back to you.
How to teach your gundog to recall over water
Step five:
If your dog has already been introduced to water you can now practice this recall over a small stream. Take them through the stream to the far side, leaving them in a sit-stay until you go back over the stream and recall them.
Step six:
You can now start to increase the depth and size of the body of water. At some point, it will become impossible for you to walk your dog through the water to the other side. At this stage, I would suggest that you sit your dog on the side of a small pond that is familiar to your dog, throw a piece of food or a floating toy into the water, then walk round to the other side, recall your dog, clicking him for direct entry. This stage will need some practice in order to avoid letting your dog think they can run around the pond, this is why we place food or toys.
How to teach your gundog to retrieve over water
Step seven:
You can now introduce a dummy. It should be thrown approximately three-quarters of the way across to the far side of the water. If your dog is not yet steady you will need to use a lead or a steady fob, but make sure if you are using a fob that it is not too long and you’re not in an area with lots of sticks, branches or reeds it can get caught in. Your dog should then be sent in for the article on their normal cue. When they have the article in their mouth, use your recall cue (whistle or verbal). They should turn around hearing this cue, and you can click this response to the cue even when they are still in the water swimming.
Step eight:
Your aim from now on is to slowly increase the placement of the retrieve article in the water, moving it closer to the far bank each time while repeating the process from Step Seven. You might want to split this across several sessions to ensure your dog doesn’t get bored or tired. And you might want to mix in some on land retrieves to protect your steadiness and delivery to hand.
Step nine:
Through repetition, the retrieve article will continue to make its way further onto the bank on the far side of the water.
Remember: When the dog’s feet start to meet the ground on the opposite side, there is often an inclination for the dog to look at the options of running around the body of water to return, versus swimming straight back.
Here, the timing of your recall (directly as they pick the retrieve article), along with marking this decision with your click and then giving verbal feedback during your dog’s return, will increase the probability of them swimming back.
Getting help with your gundog’s water skills
If you would like to work on your water training this summer, I will be hosting some water workshops for all levels. If you would like to pre-register your interest, as spaces on these fill very fast, please email hello@teachyourgundog.co.uk and you will be the first to know when the new dates are live.
Updated: We are hosting some water workshops on Saturday 24th May 2025.
Please click here for Beginners:
https://www.teachyourgundog.co.uk/products/beginners-water-workshop
And here for Progressive: https://www.teachyourgundog.co.uk/products/progressive-water-workshop
📸 Photographs credit Alice Loder Photography