Water Safety for Dogs: Keep Your Dog Safe While Swimming

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Dogs are a part of our family and they love to come along with us when we go to the pool, lake, river, or ocean. Even if they hate taking baths, jumping into water is one of their favorite past times.

The last thing you ever want to happen is for your dog to get injured in water. How do you maintain your dog’s safety in the water?

Here are 5 water safety tips for dogs to ensure that your canine has a safe and happy experience when in water.

Table of Content

Water Safety For Dogs: 5 Tips for a Safe Outing

#1 – Teach your dog how to swim

Believe it or not, only some dogs are natural-born swimmers whereas others fear water and believe that they will never swim.

Regardless, you need to spend quality time with your dog and teach them how to swim.

You can start with smaller pools so that they won’t drown or injure themselves. If you are finding it hard to teach your furry friend on how to swim, take the help of a professional trainer.

#2 – Invest in a dog life vest

Life vests are available for dogs and you should invest in one if you plan on taking your dog to a deep pool, river, lake or ocean.

Even if your dog wants to play only for a short time, it is always better to be safe than sorry. Senior dogs can also tire quicker in the water. A life vest will keep them afloat regardless of the situation, which will keep them safe.

Pick a vest with a bright color so that you can easily spot them in water. The EzyDog Premium Doggy Flotation Device is an excellent choice, which can be found on Amazon here.

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We’ve also written about the topic in our review of the best dog life jackets.

#3 – Learn how to give CPR to dogs

Accidents happen even if you take extreme care to ensure proper safety.

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, or CPR as it is commonly known, can save the life of your four-legged friend if they drown in water. It is the only proven technique that can bring your dog’s breathing back to normal.

It is absolutely essential that you learn canine CPR so that you can provide first aid just in case something goes wrong.

#4 – Provide safety training

Do you let your children go near bodies of water without providing adequate safety training and supervision? Treat your dogs the same way even if they are good swimmers.

Dogs need to know all the safety rules so that they can protect themselves from potential accidents. If you are taking your dog to the pool, teach them how to get into the pool and how to get out of it so that they don’t panic when they are in the pool.

Teach your dog not to drink the water in the pool (easier said than done) as it can increase the chances of drowning and the chlorine can be harmful.

#5 – Take your dog for a health checkup

Even though swimming is a fun activity, it is also an intense activity as it requires a lot of stamina. There may be a number of health issues that can restrict your dog’s swimming ability, so take your dog to the vet before into the water so that you are informed.

RELATED: 12 Ways to Keep Your Dog Healthy

Final Words on Dog Water Safety

Swimming is a great activity to beat the summer heat and with these 5 simple water safety tips for dogs, you and your canine will be able to enjoy swimming while remaining safe from potential accidents.