My pup is 10 months old and I have been unable to get her to enter the water to work in retrieves but loves to take a shower and tries to get in with me every day. I have tried 3 large ponds in my area and they all have banks of thick mud so she steps on it and sinks like 3” -4”. The area has had a low amount of rain I am assuming this is part of the reason I can’t find a solid low drop off bank. I have a swimming pool next door with a ~4’ long and 5’ wide tanning ledge that’s ~ 4” deep and she will let me set her on the ledge and pet her and scooping water over her. I tried picking her up and holding her as I walk away from the ledge but she panicked immediately and started trying to get free of me. I live 30 minutes from the coast so my next idea is to take her to the beach and throw the ball in the sand and then start throwing it so that she has to go into a couple of inch deep water but never where the waves smash her and/ or require her to actually swim. Maybe if I get her comfortable used to in and out of water more she will get past her anxiety. The issue I see with the beach idea is if she won’t go in the water at all and stares at the ball long enough the waves will push it to the waters edge at her feet and not work potentially. If anyone has any ideas I am all ears. I want to have her NA tested in December and this is the one part of the test I can’t seem to make headway on. My 7 year old Pudelpointers charges in and out of the ponds and I thought that the pup would join her because normally when I through a bumper the pup will sprint to retrieve the bumper so her grandma can’t get it first. When I tried this at the pond, the pup ran with her at full speed but slammed on the brakes at the waters edge and just ran up and down the bank wanting to get in as she watched the older dog retrieve the bumper. I tried even throwing it in shallow water so she only had to go 2-3’ into the water and she just won’t take that first step in.

Tell me one thing your dog can do now that he couldn't do reliably on July 1. Doesn't have to be big. Progress is progress.

Not a trick question. I'm not selling anything in this post. I just want to know where people are actually stuck. Is it time? Consistency? Knowing what to do next? A specific behavior you can't crack? Tell me in the comments. The more specific you are, the more useful the answers.

Quick question, how old is your gun dog pup right now? Drop the breed and age below. We're kicking off a full puppy series this incoming month and I want to know exactly where everyone's at. The content hits a lot different when I know what you're actually working with. More coming this week!

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