July is Pet Safety Month at BlogPaws, and this is my 3rd and final post in my Summer Safety series. I found another great infographic to share with safety tips for swimming, and then I’ll tell you what we do to keep our dogs safe when swimming.
Here in New Hampshire, we consider summer to be about half over. It really hasn’t been a very hot summer here, other than a few short hot and humid spells, so we haven’t been swimming as much as we’d like (other than splashing around in the kiddie pool at home). We’re hoping August and September will be better, and I’m sure there are other places that are getting plenty of heat!
Swimming is wonderful exercise for dogs: it builds their muscles and is great for their hearts and health. It is especially beneficial for dogs like our Sheba who have arthritis. It is low impact exercise but increases flexibility and range of motion. So if your dog likes to swim, it’s a great activity to share with them.
When we do go swimming, the dogs are constantly supervised. Many people think that all dogs can swim, but even though many may instinctually dog paddle when in the water, they may get scared or overwhelmed if just thrown in the water. Certain breeds such as retrievers may find it more natural, but many others, especially small dogs, may not. Not all dogs are going to love the water, so let them start out slowly and learn at their own pace.
We had a scare many years ago when we took our dogs Kobi and Maggie out in our boat. Our beagle Kobi fell off the boat! He had never been swimming. Of course at the time, my hubby thought like many that all dogs could swim, and I was a pretty new dog owner and didn’t know better either. Luckily for us, Kobi was one of those dogs that it did come naturally to, and he was fine. But Kobi didn’t really like water, so he was not very happy about it! That didn’t, however, deter him from wanting to ride in the front of the boat standing on the edge. So from then on he either wore a life jacket, or I held onto him with a leash.
Maggie was a natural swimmer (she was a Lab mix), and she was strong and fast in the water. When we were in the boat, she knew that she could not go in the water until the boat was stopped and we gave her permission. She even learned to climb the ladder back into the boat! However, we always watched and supervised her. Whether your dog swims off a boat, in a lake, the ocean, or in a pool, they should be constantly watched. When we can, we go right in with them to keep a close eye out. I used to love swimming off the boat with Maggie, and Kobi would stay in the boat watching us!
Our dogs have never been swimming in a large pool (even though I keep telling my hubby we should get them one). If your dog is going to swim in a pool, be sure first of all that they know where the steps are to get in and out.
It is probably a good idea to rinse your dog off after swimming, no matter what body of water they have been in. Around here, we check the lakes and ponds to be sure they are free of algae or anything else that doesn’t look clean before letting them swim. In addition, be sure they don’t drink the water. Pool water and salt water can upset their tummies.
When we took Luke to swim for the first times, we kept a long leash on him so that he could not get too far away from us. Swimming came pretty naturally to him, but he did a lot of splashing at first, and I didn’t want him to have trouble and panic.
We also got a wonderful piece of advice from our friend Linda at 2 Brown Dawgs blog. When I had posted about Luke’s first swim, I mentioned that the dogs wore harnesses (usually because we have to walk to the places to swim), and Linda suggested that the harnesses could get snagged on something easily in the water, which was something I never thought of. We keep Luke close so far, but Sheba is allowed to swim out further to chase the ball, and the places we take her could easily have fallen trees or other things that a harness could get snagged on. So from now on, the harnesses will come off when they swim. I plan to get some waterproof collars as well for swimming, with ID on them.
Is it hot where you are? We hope you are able to do some swimming with your dogs this summer; enjoy and keep these tips in mind to stay safe!
BONUS! GIVEAWAY! I have a Fido Float life jacket to giveaway. It looks very similar to the one Kobi is wearing in the above photo. I had purchased this years ago for Cricket and we never got to use it before she outgrew it. The tags are no longer on it but it is in brand new condition. It is, however, an XS size so is only for smaller dogs who’s girth measures 14-18″ (behind front legs). You can visit this link for more detailed measuring instructions and information (note: this product is not recommended for dogs with very short legs). Please just leave a comment that you would like to win this and I will do a random draw for all those that are interested. I will keep the giveaway open for one week (ends 11:59pm EST on 8/7/14). Good luck!
For more summer safety tips, you can visit my other posts: Heat Safety and 4th of July Safety (which can also be appropriate for other holidays such as Labor Day).
Today we’re joining the Thursday Barks and Bytes blog hop. Many thanks to our hosts 2 Brown Dawgs Blog and Heart Like a Dog. Please visit them and others through the links below!
This would be so great to have when I take my foster doggies out for a swim or on our boat! Please enter me!
Excellent! You are entered!
Great advice! I love the water and I think it’s wonderful when it’s warm enough for the bipeds to come in with me.
We haven’t had much weather that was hot enough for the bipeds to go in yet this year! Hopefully August will bring some hotter weather.
Diesel did a lot of splashing when he first learned how to swim! Your Maggie looks a lot like our Shiloh! She was a black Lab and she loved to swim!
It’s kind of cute when their paws are coming up so high and splashing. They have the idea, but it looks pretty sloppy! LOL
I miss our black Lab girl, as I’m sure you miss Shiloh too!
Excellent advice and I love the info graphic. I think putting a life vest on a dog is a very good idea if you aren’t sure of the dog’s swimming ability. You are right, not all dogs take to swimming right away.
Thanks so much for joining the hop!
We hadn’t taken Cricket swimming for quite a while, so I was going to put the life jacket on her again just to be on the safe side. I figured it couldn’t hurt. I was surprised to find out it no longer fit her! LOL
Happy to join the hop!
Good post. My dog is too big for the life jacket but I am hoping to convince her to go swim with me in Vermont. We’ll see 🙂
Thank you! I hope you get to go swimming…she’ll probably love it! Vermont has a lot of nice places to go, though we haven’t been over that way in a while.
great info graphic and swimming photos, summer is my favorite time being able to let the dogs go swimming. We had a scare too with our chessie brooke on the boat, she fell off the front while we were cruzin along and went under the boat and came out the back, lucky she didn’t get caught up in the prop. Got to be careful.
I’m pretty sure the boat was moving when Kobi fell off too….I think we were making a turn at the time, so that he didn’t actually go under the boat. Yup, we learned our lesson. If we ever have a boat again, we’ll sure know better!
i would love to win this my dog camper loves going to the beach!
I miss camping!! Where we used to camp years ago they had both a river and a pond, and Maggie was in heaven. I have entered you in the drawing!
Thanks for joining the blog hop Jan! What a great post with so many great tips.
Delilah loves to swim and play fetch in the water. Sampson no. But when we are near a lake I have to keep the long leash on her or she will take off. One day she took off swimming at a lake and I thought I was going to have to go after her, but luckily she turned around. She is THAT DOG! LOL
Thank you, and I’m happy to join the hop, Jodi!!
Sheba is pretty good about sticking with us though once in a while she will try to wander off. But she always comes back (it helps to keep the ball in play). It’s going to be a long time before I feel comfortable letting Luke off though! I am going to get an even longer leash I think, with that in mind.
We love to swim but swimming spots that are clean and nice are hard to find.
We’ve been getting quite a bit of rain lately, and that helps to keep the water higher and moving so it stays cleaner. With a really hot and dry summer we sometimes lose some of our favorite places because the water is either too low or gets mucky.
We have only had Veruca and Ava in streams and lakes. Neither of them really swim. Ava doesn’t really like the water and Veruca , being tri-pawed, struggles with the swimming. Great suggestion about removing the harness.
It’s nice if they can just wade in the water and cool off too. I’m impressed that Veruca goes hiking, so I’d say she has a pretty full and active life!
Bentley has never been swimming. We don’t have any place around for him to try. Our lake doesn’t allow dogs to swim and the Red River is far too dangerous. I hope we can take him to the Gulf one day and let him play. I love the infograph!
I would love to take the dogs to the coast too to see how they’d like the ocean. We are lucky to live in an area with lots of lakes, ponds, and rivers, though it’s not always easy to find a public area where we can bring the dogs and trust them off leash. But we’ve found some that work and are pretty quiet.
What is it with the non-summer this year? Here in Oklahoma, where summer usually means 110 degrees days in July, it’s been virtually non-existent. I’m not complaining, since I’m not a fan of the heat, but it’s WEIRD.
It has been a weird summer, hasn’t it? I don’t love the extreme heat either, but I’d at least like it to stay warm enough at night that I don’t wake up in the morning shivering when the windows are open!
Great post – summer water safety is very important. I learned my lessons with dogs and boats too – Tino never actually jumped out into the water, but he jumped from the boat to the dock and barely made it. I’d love to get a pool too.
It’s so difficult to anticipate the things a dog might do!! Kobi was at least a fearless dog, he was no worse for wear after falling out, and he still loved the boat and riding in the front!
I’ve been bugging my hubby for years about wanting a pool. He had one growing up and remembers it being a lot of work, so I’m not getting very far with him! It doesn’t help that this summer hasn’t been very hot so far either!
These were great tips! Fell off the boat? BOL glad everything was ok!
I can’t wait to take my huskies out in the boat, although I am worried too!
I think Lexus may fit that life jacket, she is pretty small when it comes to girth.
Enter me please and thanks 🙂
ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!
I bet your dogs are going to love going out in the boat! Just keep an eye on them (and maybe a hand when the boat is moving!), and they’ll be fine.
Consider yourself entered!!
I totally wish my Titan would enjoy water. I’ve tried many times with a baby pool. Heck, he even hates bath time! I plan on taking him to the ocean in the near future just to see what he would do. Probably run the other way 🙂
Great tips though! Gladly passing it along.
Thanks and thanks for sharing, Bren! All of our dogs have loved water except for Kobi. He loved the boat, but never left it except for the time he fell in! He would wade at a brook or lake but that was it. We couldn’t even entice him into the kiddie pool by throwing a treat in there! Our beagle Cricket will throw herself into the water to cool off, no problem!
Jeffie hates the water and won’t go near it. Rudy loves to muck about in water, but has never actually tried swimming. Rosie? That girl is crazy about it all 🙂 Love that infographic and shared it.
Even Cricket will swim if there is a ball involved. They all love the water here now. The funny thing is though that Luke and Sheba, who love to swim, will only stand in their kiddie pool. Cricket is the only one that will lay down in it to really cool off! Thank you for sharing!
I highly recommend you take off harnesses just to be safe on getting them snagged on something in the water such as a tree limb or stump. Great exercise for the dogs.
My dream would be to live on the water so the dogs could swim all the time! I can’t believe it never occurred to me that the harnesses could get snagged…especially since they stretch out when they get wet!
It’s true…not all dogs know how or like to swim! I can swim but I hate being in the water. It is why I always have my life jacket when we are canoeing…unless it is super hot, then Ma holds onto me.
I love that you still like to be on the water, Oz, if not in it (which is how Kobi was). I’ve always wanted to take one of the dogs out in my kayak, but haven’t tried that yet (mostly because I’m afraid they’d dump me…LOL).