Summer time, water fun time ☀️☀️Water safety tips for dogs

With rising temperatures, who doesn’t want to cool off by jumping either in a pool or splashing through a river? It’s also a great way to exercise and cool down your dog because it puts less stress on his/her joints.
But be aware, dogs don’t naturally know how to swim. Just like us, dogs need to be taught how to use their legs to stay above the water. If you take your dog to the river or a pool for the first time, it is smart to put a well fitting doggy life jacket on him/her to help staying afloat and prevent drowning. Don’t be surprised, if your dog’s initial reaction is panicking when he/she enters the water, he/she doesn’t know how to swim and has to learn that first. Have patience and maybe their favorite toy with you to entice swimming when teaching your dog how to swim. At some point he/she will figure out how to move his/her legs to stay afloat. Once that has happened, the life jacket usually can be taken off if swimming in a pool. If taking your dog to a river, a life jacket should always be worn because you never know the different currents in the river and beneath its surface.
It is also very important to teach the dog where he/she can safely enter and EXIT the pool, lake or river. When your dog gets more confident about pool and attempts to jump in there, make sure that there is ample enough space for them to safely land in the water and that he/she has a clean take off from the edge to avoid any scrambling which could lead to injured joints and sprained muscles and ligaments.
Also, before letting your dog jump in any natural body of water, take a good look around first about its cleanliness. Due to the heat standing bodies of water that don’t have constant fresh intake or other kind of flow can be filled with bacteria and algae that can cause your dog to get sick. Always check news publications about water quality before letting your dog swim in natural bodies of water.
Other than that, go ahead and enjoy some pool/river time with your dog