My teenager trained our dachshund to swim to the steps by putting her in the pool at various locations and guiding her toward the steps. He didn't throw her in but she really doesn't like it much BUT she fell in this week barking at the Polaris 380 and she leaned too far out. She immediately circled and headed for the steps. She is a little dense so if she can learn to swim to the steps any average intelligence dog can. We love her anyway.