Poodles are supposed to be able to swim and do it well. How about a poodle that was terrified of going into the water? I had one of those.
When I had my swimming pool, I had two poodles -- Prince and Jack. I got Prince when he was five weeks old and he loved the water. I have pictures of him swimming and the look of joy on his face was amazing.
Jack, on the other hand hated the water and the look on his face was that traditional 'deer in the headlights' look. I got him when he was 1 1/2 years old, and he had never been exposed to a body of water. I got him from a friend of mine and knew his history from the day he was born. So, there was no previous experience that traumatized him.
I wanted him to know he could get out of the water if he ever happened to accidentally fall in. So, I took him in with me to show him where and how to get to get from the deep end, to the shallow end where the steps were. It was a pathetic experience. We only did it one time. I felt badly for him, because it can be great exercise for a dog.
