My dog is scared of the paddling pool. How can I encourage him to go in?

Baths can be fun or really scary. I would work in desensitizing your pup about baths. You c am do this by making the bath a positive experience. I would work with really yummy treats and putting them in the tub. No bath. Just getting used to getting in the tub and having a treat. You could even start putting his food in there (as long as she can reach). Keep working on this until she goes in and out easily on her own without much coaxing. Then next time I would have treats in one hand and turn the water on and off. Keep offering lots of treats and praise. Still no bath. Do this daily until she’s no longer worried about the water. Then you can start to work on getting her wet and progress until she’s comfortable with that too. Secret trick is smearing peanut butter (all natural of course!! Make sure it has no sweaters and NOT XYLITOL, it’s highly toxic). It usually keeps them busy working on that while you bath.

A few things you can try is first turning off the fountain and emptying it, and tossing a few favorite treats in it. When she shows interest/takes the treats be sure to give lots of praise for it. Once she seems OK with that, you can then add in water but not turn it on. If she shows interest or drinks from it, again praise and give a treat. Once she's fine with drinking from it off, you can then turn it on, and again, treat and praise when she shows interest/drinks from it. She'll quickly learn this is a good thing, instead of a scary one!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Some dogs just do not enjoy going outside too much and it takes some encouragement to get them to go outside. Most of the time this is something that happens when they are scared or nervous about their surroundings. This is certainly not uncommon. A few things that you can try are going very slowly and reward progress. As your dog makes progress going outside, go ahead and reward Petrus with praise and also treats. Try to find fun things to do outside that your dog may like such as playing ball so that he associates going outside with something good. Before you know it he will get used to being outside. Good luck!

The trick that worked best for my dog, which was absolutely terrified of the tub to the point where he would dig his claws into my arm and try to climb over me, was to smear peanut butter all over the sides of the tub. It worked like a charm for him and I've recommended this trick to several other owners of dogs that do the same thing and they all seemed to have nothing but positive results. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Oh Tucker is CUTE! I bet his eye sight is fine, but you can always have your Vet examine him. I would try to train him out of these behaviors. Using the same water bowl mix up a watery delicious substance like liquidy dog food or baby food or chicken broth. Sit with him and encourage him to drink out of the bowel. With the door way, again using the best treats in the world, sit on the other side of the threshold and have him go back and forth. Have him chase you through it and give him treats. With time both things should improve if you work hard enough. I hope this helps!

Take her out as much as possible for fun things, playing ball, running swimming, etc. Make going out an event by showing her the leash and telling her that you will go out to play with her. Get her excited, This should get her to associate going out with fun, rather than with fear. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. Please take the time to mark this question as helpful or not as it helps us to improve on the quality of our answers to other pet owners. Thank you kindly!

I certainly sympathize with your situation. My own 2 year old dog is the same way. The key to training him is to expose him to situations that are not too scary for him, but improve his confidence. This is not a quick or easy process, and will need to be continued long term. I have found the best method to be a desensitization and counter-conditioning system. When Max encounters something that is slightly scary for him (not too overhelming at first), ask him to sit or lie down for a treat. The goal is to get him to do something that he is comfortable with and receive a treat (positive reinforcement) for doing that behavior instead of being afraid. Do not give him any reinforcement (verbal or otherwise) for fearful behavior, but try to ignore it. Instead reward the behavior you want to see. It would be a great idea to have a trainer try to help you start this type of training program, so you might ask your vet for a recommendation on a trainer. I have been using this on my dog, and it works well, but requires a lot of work. I hope that was helpful! Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.