Your Dog: To Swim or Not to Swim?

Should you let your dog swim in your pool or not? That can be an hour by hour question, and the answer can change! And even if you say, “No!” You may not be able to stop your dog from jumping in for a swim. It happens. And for some, letting the dog in the pool is a natural, everyday thing.

Wherever you stand, or swim, here are a few things to consider:

Skimmers for the extra furry

Some dogs are excellent swimmers and love the water. Retrievers and poodles were originally bred to hunt waterfowl and you often cannot keep them out of water.  And when they’re in your pool, they’ll probably leave behind a lot of hair. You know how you’ve got dog hair everywhere? That includes in your pool. That means you need to check your skimmer more often.

Safety for all dogs

Some dogs are averse to water, like pugs, corgis’ and bulldogs. They may be able to swim, but are likely not strong swimmers. Even worse, if they fall in or are tossed or carried into the pool, they may not be able to get out. Protect your dog with a dog life jacket, learn canine CPR, and even better, take steps to keep them out of the pool. If they’re around when the pool is in use, keep an eye on your dog like a good lifeguard. You can set up barriers to keep them away. You can also set up a hard plastic kiddie pool so they can enjoy some shallow water safely.

Puppies!

Who can resist a puppy? Surprisingly, young puppies up to one year old are often afraid of water – even if they’re bred for water and grow into water-loving dogs. It’s wisest to introduce a puppy to water slowly and gently, with a lot of reassurance and very short introductions.

You can also teach them to swim. Some puppies will swim naturally, others won’t. Either way, the first important lesson for your puppy is to learn how to get in and out of the pool on his own.

If you’re going to have a “pool dog” carry him into the water the first few times and be next to him to help him dog paddle to the nearest exit. With each repetition, move farther away from the exit. Repeat this until your puppy is comfortable and capable of getting out all on his own.

Before you know it, you may be tossing balls and even challenging your puppy to dive and retrieve a toy!

Talk About Pool Chemicals

You don’t need to be a chemist to know that the chlorine in your pool doesn’t make for good drinking water – even for your dog. At FROG^®, we specialize in making pool water care easy, with lower levels of chlorine and minerals for cleaner, clearer water – those benefits extend to your dog! While its generally ok for dogs to drink pool water, it may cause a stomachache. And of course, keep any chemicals and soaps used on or in your pool out of reach of pets.

Just as chlorine can irritate human skin and eyes, it can also irritate animals. Rinsing off your dog with fresh water after a swim will help. Keep an eye out for signs of sensitive skin issues so you can take any action needed. Using FROG products helps as well, because you use lower chlorine levels.

If your dog has those adorable floppy ears, ear infection is bound to happen, especially after a swim. Moisture gets trapped under those furry ears with their irregularly shaped ear canals and invites infection. You may notice your dog shaking his head incessantly or scratching his ears. Then, it’s a trip to the vet for inspection and medication.

You can help prevent this by drying out your dog’s ears after a swim, plus, cleaning and drying out their ears regularly with a solution prescribed or recommended by your vet will help prevent ear infection.

So how about you? You may not allow your dog in the pool, and then, by mid-summer, find that he’s a pool companion. It’s ok. Knowing how to care for your dog around the pool and care for your pool with your dog in it are the keys to continued enjoyment, all around.

Adapted from an article by Anna McCabe