Since I’ve been taking the dogs swimming a lot this summer, I now have a bag in my car which I call our “Go Bag” for swimming. It stays in my car so that hopefully I don’t forget anything we might need when we do go. I thought it would be fun to share what I keep in it, and some of the things we like to have for swimming.
On some days we will go for a walk before swimming, especially at the lake where the rail trail is right there and we can walk to our favorite swimming spot. I still use the Do-G Bag I won some time ago (but I’m looking for a good small pack that holds a water bottle if anyone has any suggestions). I can just fit the 30 foot leash and one ball in there along with some treats and poop bags. I also always carry mace, because I’m paranoid of meeting a killer or rapist when I’m walking alone. I also carry Spray Shield deterrent (citronella spray) in case we meet loose dogs, which I have far more reason to be paranoid of. Just this morning when I took Sheba to the lake, we had just barely started out when we met a man with two black labs. I thought both were on leash, but only one was. I swear the guy looked right at us before letting go of the loose dog who came running at us. Luckily this doesn’t bother Sheba, but if I had Cricket or Luke it would have been a disaster. The guy apologized and I think he said “I didn’t see you there”, when I’m pretty sure he did. I’m too shy to be confrontational and tell him what I really think so I just muttered “that’s OK” and kept going. Anyway, I digress, that’s for another post!
I use the 30 foot leash for swimming. Cricket (beagle with a nose) and Luke (fearful dog) never come off leash, but I will let Sheba swim off leash if no one is around. The dogs all walk with harnesses, but those come off for swimming (thanks to a blog friend that advised that they not swim with harnesses on) and I have their special swim collars on. I wanted collars that would dry quickly, and these are waterproof with no rust D-rings. I had really wanted personalized swim collars but I found these neoprene collars at Ezy-Dog, they were less expensive and then I just got cheap ID tags from amazon that can stay on them.
I’m actually looking for a better long leash for swimming, if anyone has any suggestions. That one I have is fraying already (no thanks to Luke chewing on it!).
All Zogoflex toys from West Paw Design float. I bring the old balls that are chewed up in case we lose one. We also like the Kong Wet Wubbas. We always have treats in case we have a training opportunity, and sometimes it’s just a sample bag of kibble that came home with me from the BlogPaws conference!
I also brought home this slick little pink water dish that folds flat. Funny story here: when I brought that home from the conference neither my hubby nor I had any idea what it was (it was folded up in a plastic bag)! Then one day I was reading something and a light bulb went off – I figured it out. It has a carabiner on it so you can attach it to your belt or wherever. Our walks aren’t super long so I usually just leave it in the car where I have a bottle of water to fill it. It’s really handy!
In the above photo bottom left corner you can also see the tag for our 4Knines cargo cover. That is a lifesaver as well! You can see one of the reasons why in the below photo – it really keeps the back of my Rav free of water from shaking dogs, dirt, and pet hair.
One thing I got for myself are these cute and practical sneakers from Teva. They are lightweight, comfortable for walking, and quick drying. They’re perfect since I often have to step in the water. For some reason the dogs don’t always feel obligated to bring their ball or stick all the way to the shore, so I really needed these. They’re on sale now and I’m thinking of getting another pair!
So we have all of our gear together, and we’re ready to go! Oh yes, don’t forget to bring a willing dog:
And be sure to bring a wet dog back home:
And enjoy the views along the way:
I wanted to mention one last thing: Our dogs are comfortable with swimming but not all dogs are. If you have a dog that is not totally comfortable, is new to swimming, or if you have a boat, you might want to consider a life jacket. A group of bloggers are giving one away right now, but the giveaway is only open until Saturday. You can read more about the need for life jackets and enter the giveaway through our friends at Something Wagging this Way Comes, by clicking here. It seems to be a pretty hot summer everywhere this year, so get out and enjoy the water!
We were not compensated by anyone in any way for sharing these products today!
Your swimming bag is great, the collars are really cool. Gambler lost all our wet wubbas so now I have to buy more.
Great list – I need a longer “floating” swimming leash. Thanks for the reminder.
Did you see the link that 2BrownDawgs shared below, Cathy? It looks like a good floating leash and comes in 30 or 50 foot lengths.
That is a great pack. I really like those collars for swimming. If you are just going to use the lead for swimming, we use something called a check cord. It is basically just an orange rope with a snap and most float. We have the original one we bought for Thunder I think. They are great for swimming and practicing recall, but may be cumbersome for walking.
An example but they have many kinds: http://www.gundogsupply.com/-2456-.html
I use different leashes for walking, so that looks perfect actually, thank you. I like that it floats (though Luke likes to stick his head under the water and come up with the leash in his mouth..LOL). I see they have longer ones too, someone else said they used 50 foot so I was thinking I might try that.
We are so jealous that you get to go on walks and swimming so prepared! Did you try the Mars Petcare bag from Blogpaws? It looks like a good size to use. Mom has some Keen sandals that she wears in the lake, they are pretty indestructible too! We are waiting for the heat to break, hopefully next week, so that we can go on some new adventures, getting pretty sick of the park. Love Dolly
I didn’t think of that bag, I’ll have to check it out to see if it would work, thanks!
I’ve heard of the Keen brand, I think I was looking at their sneakers once but never did get any.
Hope your heat breaks soon, so you can get out more!
Yay!!! Water fun!!! Very cool! Love the photo of a wet Sheba too LOL!
ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!
Great tips – love the idea of the ‘go bag’. We used to have what we called the “Sally bag” and all I had to do was say the words and Sally new it was time for an adventure.
Shiner has enjoyed her swimming trips lately too! I need to find a long swimming leash as well. I’d let her swim in the lake at the park if I had one. I don’t want to let her off leash there. At our lakehouse, I do take her off the leash and she’s very well-behaved. I do sometimes tether her on the front porch when we are up there because neighbors sometimes pop by. And she tried to take off after some deer one day. I’ve been using our Pleash leash. I always try to pack as little as possible… leash, treats, poop bags, food, portable dog bowl. Thankfully, there is a house there that has most items in it already.
I think that Bentley would enjoy sunning out a the shore and Pierre would swim. Perhaps we can take them to the Gulf someday. You are definitely prepared. ☺
This is great! Now all I need is to figure a way to get Daisy to get within three feet of the water….
A go bag has been on my radar for a long time, I just haven’t gotten around to getting it together. I like the idea of having these types of things on hand (especially towels), because you just never know.
Funny story, I looked at the pink thing from Eukanuba and dismissed it myself, then it dawned on me. I’m going to add it my car because I usually bring the water bottle, but let them drink right from that, I think the bowl will be easier.
Oh and lifejackets!!
http://www.dzdogs.com/2015/07/dog-life-jacket-review.html
You are WAY more organized than me…I keep meaning to put a swim bag together but usually end up running around like a mad woman getting everything (dog included) in the car so we can get out before we run out of time when I get off of work.
Our essentials include: 2 tennis balls (in case one gets lost), Dante’s floating orange Kong toy, 100 foot training leash (Jack is never allowed off leash), leather leashes for Dante and Ziva, our braided survival collars for swimming/getting dirty, poop bags, collapsible REI water dish, gallon of water, and beach towels. For me I usually bring a snack, flip flops, pepper spray for dogs, concealed carry for cougars/serial killers, water bottle, emergency bite/sting kit, and my phone. 🙂
We have a couple spots within 30 min of home that we like to go where we usually don’t end up seeing anyone else which is what I prefer so that I can have Dante and Ziva off leash. If we are around anyone I tend to keep them on leash and just hike.
Those Teva shoes are cute and look very functional for a hike. What a useful bag of “swim-friendly” dog products.
Your swimming bag looks so similar to mine! We just skip the long line because I take them to an off leash place that has a river running through it so we don’t really need a line but I would use one if I was training a young dog.
We use this pack for tracking, don’t be mistaken, it holds a ton of stuff and has two compartments along with a water for dogs and a water for the parental unit (Mom labeled them so we don’t get human cootie germs in our bottle). You could probably get 6 tennis balls in the big pocket. We love it! http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00J088WWG?refRID=AM745308ZV56X69H9Z5B&ref_=pd_rhf_pe_s_qp_5
Thank you, Emma, that looks perfect, so I just ordered one! I used to have a similar one years ago for hiking and loved it. But this one actually looks a bit more compact than that one, and I like that. And I’ll be sure to label my water bottle so the dogs don’t have to get my cooties. 🙂