MILYNN MEZZACAPO

Thank you so much for the quick response! I answered the questions below for you! Is the the agility center you take her to actually run by dog trainers? -Yes! The owner was actually one of the first AKC judges and she hosts around 50 AKC trials there every year. She was also selected to compete on the AKCs 2009 World agility team- she is so gifted with dogs! (And still trains!) She has an experienced team of trainers as well. Below is the link to the facility and I also added the link where you can see the pool for reference. https://www.countrysideagility.com/ https://www.countrysideagility.com/rentals 2) Is it a dock diving center? They do have a seperate pool for dock diving. 3) What have they done so far to try to help her overcome her fear of water? Do they use a doggy life jacket/ flotation device? I have only rented the space for me to work with her one on one in a quiet space to ourselves without any distraction. They do provide life jackets there. I haven’t used one yet.. I’ve actually been more concerned with her being comfortable near the water more than swimming. I think I didn’t explain myself entirely! 4) Do you have any beaches or lakes with shallow waters near you where you can take her with you? -We do! We live minutes from one of the Great Lakes. It is still very cold here.. even snowing today.. so I haven’t taken her there in at least 7 months. She did okay along the shoreline when we went previously, but did not go often whatsoever. 5) When she did bite your son, did she break skin? I share your concerns about her biting, especially with her being in such an over threshold emotional state that even if she does have some natural bite inhibition, she might not be able to gauge much her bite pressure as if she would in other contexts. -She did break skin. The more I have read into your explanations on threshold, the more disappointed I am with how I let it get to that. We have done heavy training together since last summer including obedience, trick and agility classes. I work with her daily for a relationship where she trusts me to guide her and be the ‘leader’ ..mental and physical stimulation, calm trails where she can sniff, etc. We have grown so much together and I truly love our bond. I have wanted a mal for the longest time but waited until I had the ability to give one the dedication, time and training their breed needs.. I’m still learning a lot with her. I initially thought her learning to swim would ease her mind about the pool- but it’s definitely more about her being able to relax around us while we are in it. I hope I gave you the answers you were looking for to have a better understanding! I soo appreciate you and how responsive you are.

Hello! My 18 month old Belgian Mal has been extremely reactive since day one over anyone in the swimming pool. She barks aggressively the minute we get in and will do laps around the pool. If we come close to the edge she bites. (Not the playful type..) It doesn’t matter if we are calmly laying on a raft or playing around/ the behavior does not waiver. It’s not realistic for her to be kept inside the whole time we are in the pool because summertime is short so we absolutely take advantage while we can. I reallllly need help- I’d love her to swim with us or at least let us swim while she plays in the yard etc. We have never forced/thrown her into the pool EVER. However, I have done everything but that to coax her in. (I’d never throw her in, to be clear!) I’ve gone stair by stair with her with treats/praise for every step- but as soon as her feet are submerged on the third step she turns into a kuala, holding onto my shoulders for dear life. It’s as if she wants to go in but is scared to death- and my back has been shredded up plenty with the amount of tries! I take her to an agility center and have one on one time with her in a small pool with a ramp for dogs to learn to swim/get over the fear of it.. but it’s more of the same thing. I have gotten her to swim to me but I absolutely cannot get her to not hang on me with those claws. We live in the northeast on the lake where we have brutal winters and only 3 good months of swimming weather, so her exposure to the pool has been limited since she was born October 2021.. straight into the winter. We have three young kids and love having friends over.. but I can’t risk any of them getting bit. My oldest son was bit once while he held onto the ledge and I can’t let anything like that happen again. I assume she fears for our lives because she herself isn’t comfortable with the water. Please please please! Any suggestions or different approaches to this issue? Any follow up info on the matter needed? thank you!!!