Bringing Your Dog Swimming

We're dog people and want to see your dog get the best from his or her session. The under cover spa can be used all year round. The temperature ranges between a lovely warm 26 and 31 degrees.

A small amount of chlorine is used to kill bugs and there are three filters that catch all the dog hair, keeping the pool clean, so we do not find it necessary to wash your dog beforehand.

Getting Your Dog Into The Pool

Dogs are fitted into a life jacket and can be aided up a long sloping ramp or gently lifted in by one of us. We no longer use an electric hoist as we find it upsets the dogs especially large ones.

Then there are a couple of large, wide steps so the dog can just gently walk into the water.

We find most dogs who like water have a habit of diving in!

Swim Therapy

Your dog is gently encouraged to swim to the end of the pool and back. The life jacket has a handle on the back so we (or you) can guide your dog until he or she gets the hang of things.

When they are confident enough we find the best encouragement is to throw a toy down the end....other dogs can follow a treat and some dogs just need a call or encouragement from their owner.

They can then swim back to the ramp and the safety of the step, where they can sit and contemplate what is happening.

We keep an eye on their breathing and heart rate, so if they are panicked or tired they can rest or cease the session altogether.

Length Of Swimming Session

Therapy sessions are half an hour and for the first session we find that dogs get very tired very quickly - even the fittest dogs may only swim for 5 to 10 minutes in total.

After a few sessions we find that they can swim up to 20 minutes, even more if time permits, as general fitness improves.

After Your Dog's Swim

Afterwards your dog has a warm shower to clean off the chlorine and is towel dried, with the option of a blow dry. They can then be taken out to a small paddock to have a sniff and a whizz before going home.

We recommend that the dog rests after the session as it is a lot of exercise in a small amount of time. We have found with our own dog that they can get 'bullet proof' and feel so great that they over exercise.