14/07/2025
I love pool swimming for dogs
It provides buoyancy so that there is no strain on the joints, it’s a natural exercise that a dog’s body has adapted to do, it’s a way to improve cardiovascular health without straining joints, it works every major muscle group in the body, it’s particularly good for building strength in the spine, gluteals and hamstrings because it encourages spine and hip extension, its excellent for maintaining the health of any dog (but particularly those with ongoing musculoskeletal issues) and also post surgery, it improves mobility and coordination.
When done by a qualified hydrotherapist, your dog will be swum in a safe way. Its movement will be monitored to ensure that it is using all of its limbs properly. Its pulse will be checked regularly to ensure that it is exercising at a safe pace and it will be given regular breaks to recover between swims.
Its entrance into and exit out of the pool will be controlled to ensure that it doesn’t slip.
Your hydrotherapist will have been qualified in first aid should anything happen to your dog whilst in their care.
Your hydrotherapist will be trained in how to keep the water clean and free from pathogens.
This is why I always encourage people to choose a pool runs by qualified hydrotherapists. Quite frankly, some of the footage that I have seen of pools set up for ‘fun swims’ make my toes curl. Dogs charging around the side of the pool, dogs jumping in the water, dogs being allowed to play freely with toys (catching a toy in the water can lead to ingestion of water, which can be very dangerous for your dog), dogs being led round the pool on a lead and collar, dogs being pulled back into the water by their collar when they try and get out, brachycephalic dogs being swum (these types of dogs really need to be swum with care and by somebody with experience and training).
There is a reason why pools runs by qualified hydrotherapists charge more to swim your dog - the training (including the continual professional development that their regulatory bodies require them to do every year) and maintenance of the pools isn’t cheap. But it pays to swim your dogs at a proper hydrotherapy pool as your dog will be in safe hands.
Unfortunately hydrotherapy for dogs and those who run the pools is not regulated, so it’s up to us owners to make sure that we make the best choice for our dogs when choosing where to swim them.
My dog George swimming with Kelly
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