ok to Swim

[Lisa K Silverman]

Bandit is a year old June 1, we have an inground pool in our back yard.  My groomer said if i want him to swim,she will have to shave him, since the chlorine matts his hair, plus I would have to rinse him off and shampoo him after every swim.  I don't want to shave him, but i really would love to try swimming with him.  What's everyone's thoughts and experience?  Is is possible he would like it so much that he would want to go in every time he's in the back yard?  I wouldn't want that..

thanks

lisa

 

[Linda, Webber and Seda]

Webber has been swimming since he was small, at my neighbor's in-ground pool.  All I ever did was rinse him off with the hose.  Bathing him after swimming would have been a lot of bathing and I think it strips the oils out of their coat.  I have never shaved him but I do keep his coat about 2 inches long during the summer with the usual combing care for a curly coat.  If your doodle really likes water, it is possible he would want to get in the pool every time he was in the back yard.  I have one that LOVES water and one that isn't as interested.  It is wonderful exercise for Webber to dive in and fetch the float toys.  He will do it over and over again.  I taught him first, how to swim to the steps so he would know how to get out of the pool.  Have fun with this :-)

[Adina P]

Being WET can matt hair...chlorine shouldn't make a difference other than it is a bit drying.  Plenty of dogs swim all summer long and other than hosing them off, they shouldn't need any other intervention.  But a shorter haircut might make life easier.

[Lynne Fowler-Oodles of Doodles]

A shorter cut will help him/her dry faster. Out of 4 doodles, I only have one who loves to swim. He would be in the pool 24 hours a day if I let him. I stopped even spraying him off as he was in so much, and have not had a problem with matting. Teach him how to swim to the steps to get out is the most important thing you can do. After that, If you have a swimmer, you might have to put something across the steps to keep him out when you don't want him in.

[Cathy w/Shiloh~Cody]

We live in Florida where pools are open year round and our dogs swim okay with out being shaved. The AKC has an article on their website addressing dog swimming-here is what they recommend:

Many dogs enjoy a plunge in the pool with their owners during the warm summer months. Most “pool people” will tell you that chlorine is safe at the levels used in pools. Humans swim in it and occasionally will ingest some water accidentally without great harm. A dog’s eyes, nose and ears are more sensitive than a human’s and as such may be a tad more susceptible to the effects of chlorine. I wouldn’t want the dog to drink large amounts of chlorine. Some dogs think of the pool as one big personal dog bowl to lap up, not unlike the toilet bowl. This behavior should be discouraged. As for the ears, most infections in dogs with floppy ears are caused by water and dampness, not the chlorine in the water.

Some pool owners opt for non-chlorine chemicals like bromine which may be less harmful to pets. To be on the safe side, give your dog a quick spray with the hose to rinse off the chemicals after a swim and give his ears a dab with a dry towel or use a blow dryer to keep them moisture free.

More important than what your dog swims in is how it learns to swim. Your younger dogs may be very interested in joining the family in a round of ring toss, but first you must build confidence in your dog around the pool. Many dogs are fearful the first time they enter the water. Take it slowly and praise your dog each step of the way. Making it a pleasant experience will have the dog swimming in no time. You don’t have to teach the dog to “swim” since they are natural swimmers. It is easy to teach a dog to jump in the pool, either toss a toy in the pool or escort her over the side.

However, most dogs begin to panic when it is time to get out for the first time. They are unaccustomed to exiting using the human steps or ladder and need to be taught how to use them. A thrashing dog trying to escape will get tired and may drown. Never leave your dog unsupervised in a pool. They may need your assistance if they are in trouble and can’t bark to grab your attention. With proper guidance you and your pet can have lots of fun in the pool and if you are lucky he can teach you the proper way to do the dog paddle.

[Sally, Ditzy Mitzi & Sgt. Pepper]

I would guess it depends on the type hair your dog has if it mats up after swimming or not.  Our Mitzi mats up easily, even at three years of age, whether or not she goes in the pool.  She is impossible to keep out of our chlorinated pool.  Even when we tell her NO, strongly, she just goes in when she wants. We think this is an attempt to get us to join her and play in the pool with her.  She loves to try to "retrieve" our grandchildren by pulling on their suits and or hair to get them out!  We can't forget her toys, if she sees them in the pool she is right in after them to get them out, too.

  This may make it necessary to add more chemicals for the health and safety of human swimmers, our pool people advise us to use extra chlorine after our dog has been in it.  (Maybe they just don't like dogs, another possibility.) 

We now keep Mitzi's hair very short, it dries in ten minutes at less than 1/2 inch of hair length and is no longer matting except for her ears and tail where her hair is longer.  

Her first experience in the pool was the day we brought her home, she jumped in as the family was greeting her.

The chlorine has not bothered her ears or skin, however, she does drink a bit of it and has to pee more frequently after she has been in the pool.  She has never had an "accident" in the pool and gets out when she has to "go". 

She also has learned to climb out of the pool both by the steps and by the deep end ladder. We have to keep her toe nails cut short as she once tore one climbing out.  Ouch!  

Hope this helps.  Our poodle, supposedly a natural water dog, is scared of the pool and won't go in.  We are delighted, and do not to encourage him.  We put him in twice and he couldn't wait to get out.  As a matter of fact, he pulls Mitzi's tail to try to keep her out! 

I must admit, however, that we do enjoy swimming with Mitzi.  She loves it when we hold her in the water and is tons of fun to swim with.  It just adds to the work load, though, so be sure to have highly absorbent towels, or plenty of them available and the time and patience to deal with a wet dog. 

[Jennifer,Chloe & Myla]

Both my doodles have totally differnet hair. Chloe could go in and get hosed off no problem, Myla has very thick unruly hair which I agree would have to be shaved down if it was an ongoing thing, she's always a mess of tangles.

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

My doods love to swim and yes they always want to go in, but you can teach them they can only swim when given permission.  I do keep them cut shorter in swimming weather so they dry quickly.  I just rinse them and spray some "The Stuff" or similar leave in conditioner to help keep their hair from drying out.  It is so much fun for them and me it is worth the haircut to me. 

[Chuck Holliman]

Lisa:

We keep Rusty in a "summer cut" which is fairly short, but no where close to being shaved; he does not have any issues with matting, etc. I think that your groomer is giving you bad advice.  When Rusty's hair was long, before his amputation, he went swimming and would come out with dreadlocks; there was some matting but nothing we could not brush out. We have a salt water pool and don't have any issues with chlorine affecting his skin.  We use a towel to damp dry him when he is through swimming and then he lays in the sun/shade to finish drying.

As for getting in the pool, we are very fortunate as Rusty trained himself not to go into the pool unless we are out with our bathing suits on.  He will not go into the pool on his own or when we are out in regular clothes.  He has had full access to the back yard and pool since he was a puppy.  I would recommend using one of the "flotation jackets" at the beginning so as not to make him afraid of the water.  We started Rusty in our spa before introducing him to the main pool.

I have two videos on my page of Rusty "surfin" in our pool.  One before his amputation and the other after.  I plan on making another video this year.

 

Have Fun!

Chuck & Rusty

 

Chuck

 

 

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

A shorter cut is nice just for drying purposes, but I don;t get the reason to shave? Just a spray off when he gets out is fine. He very well might want to go in every time, but I started training Murphy with a leash first and telling him no and treating when he didn't jump in. He was younger so I kept an eye on him in the yard because if given the chance he'd still jump in when the temptation was too great, like a ball or something floating in it still. If he loves to swim, I wouldn;t deprive him of it. Matts can be handled with shorter hair cuts unless he's one of those that matts if he walks by a sprinkler.

[Lisa K Silverman]

Thanks for your replies..I cut Bandit so he is 2" long..He was much longer before the groomer cut him.

I did try yesterday to put him in the pool with me holding him near the stairs, He quickly tried to swim out, my son pulled him out.  I then hosed him off, he dried fine and i brushed him. We'll try again, but he was too scared.