5 Tips for letting your pet swim in your pool



If you are a regular reader of our blog then you know that we have Labradors and that those Labradors LOVE to swim in the Summer. We let our dogs swim right in my pool. Some people think we are crazy for letting the dogs swim in the pool. Aren't we afraid they will scratch the liner? No!

We've put these tips together to keep you, your pet, and your pool safe.


1. If you are going to let your pet swim in your pool, I would recommend you have walk in steps ( no ladders). The walk in steps allow the pets to come in and out of the pool with ease and at their own pace. If for some reason your pool does not have the walk in steps, there are kits you can purchase and install in your pool.



2. To keep your pet from getting too close to the edge of the pool ( and scratching the liner), you will need to teach him his boundaries.  Making an unpleasant noise when your pet gets too close to the edge will often deter him from going near it. Also, if your dog likes to retrieve things like ours does, try to throw the toys near the middle of the pool. Sometimes when Baylee's toys go too far near the edge, she doesn't even try to get them. She just turns around.

Also, teach your dog or pet the right way to get in and get out of the pool. If you only teach them to jump in from the edge of the pool, then that is the way that they will try to get out ( and therefore may scratch the liner). If you teach them to go in  only by the steps, then they will learn to come out by the steps.  Our Labradors are pretty smart dogs, so they caught on pretty fast. There are times where they will run and jump into the pool from the patio, but they always get out using the steps.


3. You will need to clean your swimming pool regularly. I don't mean just vacuum it. You need to be cleaning out the filter and the basket. You will get LOTS of pet hair in it. Too much pet hair clogging the filter can result in cloudy water.

4. If your dogs are swimming with you or your children, I would recommend that you either wear a one piece swim suit or that you wear a longer tank top. You'll want something to cover your belly. When dogs swim, they tend to scratch. They don't mean to, but sometimes they just do!

5. Know what your dog is capable of . If your dog is hesitant to get in the water or are unsure of them selves, you might want to put them in a Fido Float. The Fido Floats work well for older dogs that aren't as strong as they use to be. We had a Fido Float for our older Labrador.

And for a bonus tip: Make sure your dogs or pets have easy access to the outside area of the pool. Our dogs actually get out of the pool to pee. They are very polite like that!

Do you swim with your dogs?

                  
 

28 comments:

  1. Your dogs look so happy and content to be swimming in the pool! Adorable!

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  2. My German Shepherd loves to swim. We can't get her out of the water. My weimaraner not so much. She will get in and stand to cool off but thats about it. Looks like your dogs are having a blast!

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    1. Our weimaraner use to like to swim but s he got older, not so much.

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  3. My friend has labs and a pool. One of them LOVES swimming and he has such a grand time in the pool! I bet your dogs are so happy they get to swim with you. :)

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    1. It is so fun to watch them swim. They keep themselves entertained for sure!

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  4. As someone who has experienced a dog drowning in a pool, I think you missed a critical tip and that's that a dog should NEVER be allowed to be in a pool area unattended...even if they know how to swim and whatnot. Even if you teach a dog to swim to the steps and whatnot, it's not fail-proof. Our dog slipped and fell in the pool while she was outside to go to the bathroom. She got confused and swam to the wrong corner of the pool and died. We taught the dog to swim to the steps, etc. and in just a few moments, she was gone. She had been in the pool with us hundreds of times and sadly, all that time and familiarity in the pool wasn't enough to save her when she was in by herself.

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    1. I am so sorry to hear this about your dog. I let Baylee swim by herself when I am outside with her but your story serves as a reminder to never take my eyes off of her when she is near the pool!

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  5. I love that little doggie vest, so cute. Our Golden hates swimming though! He loves to wallow in mud puddles but won't even get in a kiddie pool without help and looks miserable the whole time. It's so funny because Goldens are supposed to LOVE water!

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    1. Haha, I find it so odd when retrievers don't like to swim!

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  6. Great tips. I dont have a dog (yet) or a pool (yet) but when I have both these will come in handy.

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  7. I love all the photos of the dogs! They are so adorable :)

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  8. No dogs over here! Cute pics of your dogs and always Happy Friday!

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  9. So cute!! I had a black lab for awhile (rescue) and he would do ANYTHING to get in the water, anywhere! They are so fun to watch because they get so excited to swim. These are great tips, and love the pics of your dog babies! Great post!

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  10. This is so sweet! My fiancé and I want a pool one day so our dogs can swim in it!

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  11. We don't have a pool but I know my dog would LOVE to swim. Your pups are lucky dogs! :)

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  12. Those labs look soooo happy to be in the pool. My uncle had a golden who loved to swin, but they did have a fence around the pool. He wasn't allowed in unless they were using the pool. On the flip side was our golden, she HATED water.

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  13. We had a built in pool when we moved into our home. Our dogs kept jumping in & then in winter, they'd run on top of the cover - it made me a nervous wreck so we took the pool out. Couldn't handle the stress of thinking they'd get hurt or drown.

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  14. What a great way for pets to beat the heat. Your dogs look so happy, such great tips.

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  15. Great post, I'll have to share this with my sister who has a dog. Whom we just found out last week is definitely a swimmer, as her lovely husband decided to throw him into the lake a few times to for the pass/fail test:) After the initial shock her dog ended up being a lover of the water!

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  16. SO cute!! I wish we had a pool that my dogs could swim in!

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  17. Awww! I cannot even imagine my dog swimming, but maybe we will try it sometime! We don't have a place for her to swim though.

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  18. Love your dogs! They look like they are having a great time :) We don't have a pool, but I imagine both dogs would enjoy a quick swim now and again (especially in the summer when it's hot!). Have a great weekend!

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  19. So cute! My dog loves going to the dog pool at the pet resort we go to, but he doesn't know how to swim so just lies down in the water and drinks it. :-)

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  20. I love the pictures of your happy dogs swimming! They look like they're having so much fun!

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  21. Having the proper equipment and supplies in place can make the swimming experience fun and safe for everyone, including the dog! Thanks for sharing your advice tips!

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  22. Elijah swam for the first time this past weekend! It was at the river. I have a pool but not one that he can access. But he does have his own baby pool. :)

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Fairytales and Fitness is a personal blog authored and edited by us, Meranda and Lacey. The thoughts expressed here represent only our own and are not meant to be taken as professional advice. Please note that our thoughts and opinions change from time to time. We consider this a necessary consequence of having an open mind in an ever changing society. Any thoughts and opinions expressed within our out-of-date posts may not be the same, nor even similar, to those we may express today. Some links may contain affiliate links. Some links are just to pages we'd like to share.