Do Australian Cattle Dogs Like Water?

'Oli's first trip to dah beach! Plus 5 tips to help your pup fall in love with water.

You will hear a lot of things about Australian cattle dogs: “they aren’t good with children,” “they hate water,” “they bite everything! don’t get one…”

While people generally mean well, it doesn’t mean they are always right.

“All Australian Cattle Dogs Hate Water”

If you want the quick answer to, “all Australian cattle dogs hate water”, watch our short:

‘Oli, who is a pure breed Australian cattle dog in fact LOVES water! He is a water dog, for sure.

Was this by chance? Possibly!

However I did my very best to set him up to have the best relationship with water possible. And I personally think Cattle dogs are in fact water dogs.

I took a poll in an active cattle dog community and found that more than 50% of those who responded have cattle dogs that LOVE water. So who ever tells you cattle dogs HATE water, you can tell them they are misinformed.

Within 48 hours of posting my poll, 150 cattle dog owners had responded, AND 66% of owners said their cattle dog LOVES water. Additionally 22% said their cattle dog neither loved or hated water leaving only 12% of owners having a cattle dog that hates water.

Loves the Shower, Unsure About Pools, Not a Big Ocean Guy?…

‘Oli’s first time to the ocean was short and sweet. If you are curious how the trip went check out our latest YouTube video here:

The big blue is overwhelming to some humans even and for a little 3 month old pup it’s probably terrifying, however following the 5 tips I share below got us from a scared pup to an 8 months old cattle dog that fearlessly leaps into the oceans no matter how big the waves are!

While our latest video doesn’t show our process past the first trip out to the ocean and a glimpse into how we prepared for such a big event, I will dive further into this subject in future videos. So if you haven’t already, and this topic interests you, make sure you are subscribed to our channel!

5 Tips to Help Your Dog Love the Water

1. Socialization

Set up times to get your dog introduced to water in small and fun ways.

We started with a kiddie pool in the yard. Just filling it up a tiny amount and letting ‘Oli explore the pool and get used to the feeling of water in a setting where he already feels safe (in his yard).

2. Creating a Positive Association

It is not enough to just introduce your dog to water, you want to be creating a positive association, that is if you want your dog to love it.

This means when you introduce them to water you are making sure that it is not too much too fast by being aware of your dog’s body language and have resources to help make it fun.

I took ‘Oli’s ball and would throw it into his pool this encouraged him to want to be in the pool as well as he already liked to play with the ball.

3. Listen to Your Dog

When we went to the ocean we were on ‘Oli’s timeline. When it was clear he was ready to go, we left.

Best practice would be to not wait until your dog has had enough, stop while they are still in good spirits; this is not always easy in real life senarios.

4. Create Safe Opportunities for Growth and Bravery

If you watched the youtube video you saw there was an instance when ‘Oli was in his pool and got spooked, instead of responding frantic like he did I made sure to stay in good spirits and wait until he calmed down to take him out of the pool.

This is an important step as your dog is looking to you for guidance on how he should feel. I also look to him on how he is feeling and it is clear after being spooked that he had enough of his pool for the day and was ready to be dried off (not shown in the video).

5. Don’t Give Up

It can be defeating when you really want something for your dog but they are not as into it as you are.

It took a while for ‘Oli to start to love the water and at times I felt that it would be easier to just leave him at home and enjoy the beach myself but I knew there would be a learning curve and as I stuck with the process.

As he grew and I stayed consistent with the steps listed out here, ‘Oli did develope into the beach loving pup I had hoped for.

Stick around if you want to see his relationship with the ocean flourish, I promise there is so much fun content to come!