Swimming is excellent exercise for dogs — non-weight-bearing, good for joints, and genuinely enjoyable for many. It is also where a set of specific and serious hazards live.
Not every dog can swim
The idea that all dogs are natural swimmers is wrong and it drowns dogs every year.
Poor or non-swimmers:
- Brachycephalic breeds — French Bulldogs, Pugs, Bulldogs, Boxers. Short muzzles mean the nose sits close to the waterline, and heavy front ends with short legs make staying afloat genuinely difficult. Most cannot swim
- Dachshunds and other short-legged breeds
- Heavy-chested, narrow-hipped breeds
- Very muscular breeds with low body fat — some Staffies, Greyhounds
- Puppies, who need teaching
- Elderly or arthritic dogs, who tire fast
- Any dog who has never done it
Natural swimmers: Labradors, Golden Retrievers, Newfoundlands, Portuguese Water Dogs, Irish Water Spaniels, Chesapeake Bay Retrievers, Standard Poodles.
Introducing a dog to water
Never throw a dog in. Never carry one in and let go. Both create a lasting fear.
- Start at the edge. Let them paddle in shallow water at their own pace
- Use a gently sloping entry — a beach or a shallow lake edge, not a steep bank or a pool with vertical sides
- Go in yourself if they are confident with you
- Use food and toys just at the waterline
- Let them choose how deep to go
- Support under the belly for the first few strokes if they lose their back end, which many dogs do — the front paddles and the rear sinks
A life jacket is genuinely useful for a learner, for poor swimmers, for boat trips and for open water. Choose one with a handle on the back, which lets you lift a dog out of the water.
The hazards
Blue-green algae
The most dangerous, and it kills quickly.
Cyanobacteria blooms in still and slow-moving fresh water, mostly in warm weather. Some produce toxins causing liver failure and neurological damage, and death can follow within hours.
Signs: vomiting, diarrhoea, drooling, weakness, wobbliness, seizures, collapse, difficulty breathing.
If water looks green, blue-green, scummy, or has a paint-like surface film, keep the dog out entirely — not just out of drinking it, because licking a wet coat is enough exposure. Obey any warning signs.
Any suspected exposure is an immediate emergency. There is no antidote, and treatment is supportive, so speed matters.
Water intoxication
Rare and lethal, and most owners have never heard of it.
A dog who swallows large volumes of water — usually while repeatedly retrieving a ball from water, or biting at a hose or sprinkler — can dilute their blood sodium dangerously. The result is brain swelling.
Signs: wobbliness, vomiting, lethargy, bloating, glazed eyes, excessive drooling, dilated pupils, collapse, seizures.
Prevention: limit water retrieving sessions, take frequent breaks, use a flat floating toy rather than a ball that forces the dog to open wide, and stop when they look bloated or tired.
Salt water
Drinking sea water causes vomiting, diarrhoea, and in quantity dangerous sodium levels. Always take fresh water to the beach and offer it frequently.
Currents, tides and cold
- Rip currents and river flow take dogs out faster than they can swim back
- Tides cut dogs off on sandbanks
- Cold water causes rapid exhaustion, and cold shock is real
- Weirs, sluices and locks produce recirculating currents that even strong swimmers cannot escape
Never go into water after your dog. More people drown attempting this than dogs do. Call for help, and encourage the dog from the bank.
Ice
Every winter. Dogs go through, and people follow them. Keep dogs on a lead near frozen water and never go onto ice.
Leptospirosis and giardia
Standing water, ponds and puddles. Vaccination for lepto is available and widely advised where the risk exists.
Pool chemicals
Chlorinated water irritates skin, eyes and the gut. Rinse afterwards, and do not let dogs drink from a pool. Make sure a pool has an exit a dog can find and use — many drownings happen because a dog fell in and could not locate the steps.
After every swim
- Rinse the coat, especially after salt or chlorinated water
- Dry the ears. A dry cotton pad at the canal opening, never a cotton bud pushed in. This is the single biggest cause of ear infections in swimming breeds
- Dry the coat thoroughly, particularly double coats. A damp undercoat is where hot spots start
- Check between the toes and the pads
- Offer fresh water
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Earth Rated Dog Wipes
For the ear flaps, the face and the legs after a swim. Keep a pack in the car with a towel — the post-swim routine only happens if the kit is where you are.
PupFlask Dog Water Bottle
So the dog drinks fresh water rather than sea water, pond water or pool water. Offer it before they get thirsty enough to drink what they are standing in.
Hydrotherapy
Worth knowing about. Supervised swimming or underwater treadmill work at a hydrotherapy centre is one of the best rehabilitation tools available — for arthritis, post-operative recovery, cruciate rehabilitation, and weight loss in dogs who cannot exercise on land.
Ask your vet for a referral. It is more effective than most owners expect, and it is a controlled environment with none of the hazards above.
The short version
Check the water before the dog goes in. Rinse and dry the ears after. Take fresh water. Limit water retrieving. And accept that some dogs — particularly flat-faced ones — should simply paddle.
