Dog won't jump off the dock anymore

[Hammer Handle]

My black lab/husky cross loves the water.

He used to run and jump off the dock, but won't anymore when (a couple of years ago) he slipped on the wet dock and fell off and hurt himself.

Will he ever go back to jumping off the dock (he now runs back to the shore and jumps in). He is now 8 years old.

[PikeBayCommanche]

He has associated that with something that hurt him so it will be very tough to get him to do it again. You will have to make it seem like a "positive" experience again.

[Ufatz]

Let me ask you....if you were young and silly, and you hurt yourself jumping off a dock, would you be enthused about doing it again, when you were older and smarter.

Let him do it his way. He's okay.

YOU go jump off the dock. Ha!!

[LovenLifeGuy]

As long as he is still going after it I think you are good. If you hunt out of a boat you may have some work to do

LovenLifeGuy

[Hammer Handle]

I don't mind if he won't jump off the dock anymore, but I found it strange that after 6 years of doing it...he stopped. He really used to launch himself.

Well, he is still my buddy and a great hunting dog.

I didn't teach him many tricks, but he sicks great with me when I hunt and loves the water. Also, I taught him to not [PoorWordUsage] in the yard. He only "goes" in tall grass. I really like that!

[Harmonica Bear]

Ha! The "tall grass [PoorWordUsage]er"! For my new pup, that's the only place he "goes". One of life's simple/great pleasures that required no training.

[Ufatz]

Hey hammer...thats great "[PoorWordUsage]s in the tall weeds"! I've always noticed that most dogs, and Labs consistently, have more modesty that most teenage girls do today.

Have fun with your pal!

[LuciandTim]

I know you can get your dog to jump off the dock again. Its called "baby steps". First thing you need to do is take your dog down to the end of the dock with you. Do this before any other exercise or play time so your dog is full of energy and excitement. Have her/him sit go to the end of the dock and bring his/her favorite toy. Just get the dog really excited about the toy and then just dop it right off the end of the dock. alk your dog through this and get her/him really excited and hopefully will jump in after the toy. Start slow if this doesn't work then you need to get in the water or jump off the dock. Just be creative and work with your dog. It may take multiple attempts but i'm sure you can accomplish this.