The CDC states that drinking water with up to 4 milligrams of chlorine per liter is safe for both people and pets. Your dog should be okay if they drink some pool water because the acceptable concentration of chlorine in pools and tubs is 1-3 milligrams per liter.
But as you are surely aware, water that has been chlorinated at pool levels doesn’t taste very good. If your dog seems to develop a taste for the pool water, it’s important to make sure they have access to another water source that you encourage them to drink from and to tell them to stop.
What occurs if a dog consumes chlorinated water?
Don’t freak out if your dog consumes a small amount of pool water. The likelihood is high that your dog will be fine, especially if the chlorine balance in your pool is safe. Most swimming pools have modest levels of chlorine, making them generally safe for dogs to use in tiny amounts.
However, anything in excess can cause issues. Too much chorinated water consumption by your dog might irritate their stomachs, which can result in vomiting and esophageal erosion.
You might believe that the less chlorine, the better. Think again. If the chlorine concentrations are either too high or too low, pool water could be hazardous. Algae, parasites, and other germs may be present in untreated pool water. Keep your dog away from the pool until the balance is secure if you discover that you need to shock it with chemicals to restore balance.
Bromine is one substitute for chlorine that is more expensive but generally safer for pets.
Chlorine tablets themselves are the source of the greatest harmful worries. Ensure that you keep these in a secure location that your dog cannot get.
Can dogs swim in chlorinated pools?
Jumping into your backyard pool is one of the best ways to cool off on a hot summer day! But is it okay for your dog to accompany you? In a well-balanced chlorinated or saltwater swimming pool, it is usually safe for a dog to swim as long as they are closely supervised. Of course, you shouldn’t let your dog drink from the pool, but other than that, the answer is generally yes.
Before letting their dog or a guest’s dog in or around the pool, all pet owners should be aware of a few swimming pool dangers and precautions! Here are the top five pet dangers associated with backyard swimming pools, along with advice on how to avoid them.
Accidental Drownings
Unfortunately, a dog or any other outdoor creature has a very real chance of drowning in a backyard pool. Even dogs with extensive swimming experience can drown because they naturally go to the pool’s edges but are unable to figure out how to exit the water. All outdoor pools in Minnesota are required by law to be fenced in, but there are other steps pet owners can take to avoid this tragedy:
- Never assume that all dogs are naturally adept at swimming. Teach your dog to swim and to exit the pool safely, whether they do so via the stairs or a pet-friendly pool ladder or ramp. It’s crucial to train your guests’ dogs how to leave the pool if you invite them over and they bring their dogs.
- Buy a dog life jacket that suits your dog adequately. Getting a life jacket with a handle is also a fantastic idea so you can quickly grab and lift your dog out of the pool if necessary.
- Spend money on a motion-detecting pool alarm system. A pool alarm is essential for families with young children and can help save pets.
- If your dogs are outside and you need to enter the pool quickly, use an automated pool cover to swiftly and easily cover the pool.
- Speaking about pool coverings, a lot of animals mistake them for hard surfaces. It’s crucial to teach your dog—or any other outdoor pet—to avoid the pool cover, especially if the cover cannot sustain the weight of your animal. Ask a certified dog trainer for their best advice, or try leash-training, learning fundamental commands, and clicker training!
Water Intoxication
When a dog consumes too much water, the salt levels in the blood become too diluted, which results in water intoxication. Even while it doesn’t happen often, when it does, it can be fatal if not addressed right away. If your pet consumes a lot of pool water, there is also a higher danger of salt poisoning in saltwater pools. The best strategy for avoiding your dog consuming swimming pool water is to:
- Outside the pool, fill your pet’s water dish with fresh water.
- If you observe that your pet is drinking a lot of water or urinating a lot, it’s time to forcibly remove your dog from the pool.
More Bacteria in the Pool
Although we adore them, our dogs aren’t the cleanest animals. Your pool’s water will be contaminated with hair, dander, dirt, feces, pollen, and other particles. This advice is mainly geared at humans since anything on your dog may make people in the pool ill. If your dog, for instance, has feces on its behind, this could get into the water, and if a person swallows the water, they could acquire E. coli! It goes without saying that nobody likes that, thus the best techniques to avoid a dirty pool are to:
- Maintain your pool properly, and make the necessary pH adjustments. Remember that the additional bacteria from your dog could upset this equilibrium.
- Make sure the filtration system in your pool is functioning correctly, and clean the filter frequently. De-shed or brush your dog before letting them into the pool to reduce the quantity of dog hair in the filter!
- After each use, manually clean the swimming pool.
Irritated Skin
The chemicals in a well-kept pool should be sufficiently diluted so that your dog won’t be harmful when swimming in it, but they may still cause your dog’s skin to become red, itchy, or flaky. The most effective technique to stop skin irritation is to:
- Simply put, if your dog reacts to swimming, don’t let them near the pool.
- After each swim, give your dog a gentle rinse with the hose or a bath.
- If your dog’s skin irritation worsens, seek advice from your primary care veterinarian or a board-certified veterinary dermatologist.
Pool Cleaning Chemicals
It might be very deadly if your dog accidentally ingests your store of powerful pool cleaning chemicals. Muriatic acid, brominating pills, chlorine tablets, and similar goods are dangerous, and if consumed, the acid can lead to mouth and throat ulcers in your cat. Pet owners should: in order to avoid this potential risk.
- All pool chemicals should be kept in a secure location.
- Pets must always be kept indoors or in a separate, enclosed area while the pool is being cleaned and maintained.
We hope your family takes into account these potential pet dangers and the procedures to keep your pets and your family safe in the pool, whether you have had a swimming pool for years or just recently purchased one. If you have any concerns about caring for a pet-friendly pool, speak with a pool care business to get their top advice and recommended tools!
If a dog consumes pool water, what should you do?
Your dog should be fine as long as the pool hasn’t recently had shock treatment and the water values are within the previously mentioned range. Keep an eye out for symptoms of stomach distress in your dog, such as vomiting, diarrhea, and discomfort in the abdomen. You might need to discuss symptomatic therapy with the veterinarian if these symptoms get really bad.
If your dog drinks pool water, you should call your veterinarian for advice if your dog has a pre-existing medical problem or if the pool’s values are greater than usual because of imbalance or a recent shock treatment. They might suggest that you contact poison control, who are the foremost authorities on poisons. Knowing how much your dog drank, how big they are, and all the chemicals that were recently used in the pool—as well as the levels of those chemicals, if you can acquire them—is a good idea. Then, your veterinarian or poison control will let you know if you need to be concerned.
Will drinking pool water make my dog sick?
The warmer weather and approaching summer require us to pay closer attention to ensuring that our dogs have a consistent supply of fresh, clean drinking water. If you have a pool, this is especially crucial because you don’t want your pet drinking pool water. Although it could seem cool and pleasant to them, it actually poses a serious risk.
Here are the dangers that result from giving your dog pool water:
It goes without saying that chemicals like chlorine and algaecides are poured into pool water to keep it clean and free of developing plant life. These chemicals put pets at risk even if they’re wonderful for pool care. Even while the chemical levels are kept low enough for infrequent accidental ingestion by humans or animals, there is still a chance that problems could arise from excessive pool water use. Some of these problems might cause esophageal irritation or burning. Additionally, a pet can experience a potentially fatal response if they are allergic to one of the chemicals in the pool.
If not kept clean, pools can serve as a haven for bacteria and other fungus. A properly maintained pool that receives regular chemical treatments may nevertheless contain traces of germs and fungi. Escherichia coli (E. coli), a bacteria that is spread by swallowing feces, is one of these bacteria that occasionally can be detected in swimming pools. E. coli can lead to a variety of problems. Why take a chance when there is a little probability that your pet will consume E. coli?
When water or other foreign substances enter the lungs, aspiration occurs. When pets drink from pools, they run the risk of inadvertently aspirating water due to poor posture or a lack of available water. Particularly compared to dogs, cats are more susceptible to aspiration. Coughing, gagging, and regurgitation of the consumed water are the effects of aspiration. It’s unpleasant, but if enough water enters their lungs, pneumonia may result. A highly critical medical condition that requires urgent care is aspiration pneumonia. Trouble breathing, noisy breathing, depression, and a bluish tinge to the lips and gums are warning signs to look out for.
An upset stomach is the issue that drinking pool water most frequently causes. When dogs or even cats consume pool water quickly, they are more likely to experience stomach upset, which can be identified by vomiting, regurgitation, and pain. While it’s not a life-threatening condition, persistent vomiting in your pet might cause them to become dehydrated, which is a potentially fatal condition.
Which pool water type is ideal for dogs?
Instead of using chlorine, saltwater pools use salt to purify and disinfect the water. If properly maintained, saltwater pools are much less corrosive than conventional chlorinated pools and are therefore safer for your pets. While saltwater pools have a salt level of about 3,200 parts per million, ocean water has a salt content of about 35,000 ppm, so don’t expect the pool to taste and feel like the ocean. Even so, after swimming, it’s a good idea to give your dog a thorough freshwater rinse.
Is it necessary to wash my dog after a pool swim?
To protect their skin and coat, dogs should have a bath after swimming.
- Swimming pools: Baths help remove chlorine from pools so that it won’t irritate skin that is already sensitive. Pool chemicals can also give your dogs’ white coats a greenish color if they have them. If this occurs, a brightening dog shampoo can be used to remove the hue.
- Lakes and rivers: Bathing your dogs will remove any sand that may have caused their skin to become irritated after they have been swimming in a lake or river. It can also aid in avoiding the disagreeable scent of a wet dog combined with the smell of fish coming from freshwater sources.
- Ocean: Running around the beach and swimming in saltwater can be rough on your dog’s skin. Baths assist in removing salt and sand, which can itch and irritate.
Can dogs have convulsions from chlorine?
Your dog enjoys spending a lot of time in the garden and is absolutely unaware of any potential hazards. Due to the unexpected nature of some threats, like sticks, you might also be ignorant.
Reader’s Digest noted that if your dog enjoys playing catch with sticks, he can wind up ingesting part of the wood. Larger chunks might pierce his stomach or intestines, while splinters could injure his tongue, mouth, and esophagus. It’s preferable to gather sticks and place them in the compost pile away from Fido. safer to be safe than sorry! Read on to learn how to remove any potential hazards if you want to have a dog-friendly garden.
The presence of numerous plants in your garden that you are accustomed to seeing in Southern California does not imply that they are dog-friendly. Examples include aloes. They have a substance called saponins that, if taken by dogs, can result in depression, vomiting, diarrhea, and trembling. Dogs may get skin irritation even if they only rub up against an aloe leaf. Chrysanthemums are an additional instance of a poisonous plant. Although their vibrant blossoms are safe for human food and have a lovely appearance, numerous canine poisoning instances have been linked to them, according to the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine in California. When ingested, your dog will suffer from awful side effects like dermatitis, vomiting, diarrhea, and lack of coordination.
There are certain common pesticides used in gardens that could be sickening your dog. One of these is the insecticides you use religiously to get rid of bugs and snails, but they are poisonous to dogs. Watch out for substances like metaldehyde and disulfoton, which are particularly harmful to a dog’s health. In order to maintain your yard free of critters, it is preferable to select natural, pet-friendly alternatives.
Avoid using lawn chemicals as well. According to a Purdue University study from Indiana, dogs exposed to herbicide-treated lawns had a considerably greater risk of developing bladder cancer. The health of your dog is simply not worth it to have a nice yard!
A fence is necessary to keep your dog secure around the pool; make sure it is locked at all times when you are not there. Even if your dog understands how to swim, there are many hazards around the pool that could lead to his drowning. Seizures, falling into the water, and being unable to exit the pool after a swim are a few examples. Make sure there are no gaps for your dog to crawl through when building a pool fence, and make sure the chain-link fence’s holes aren’t big enough for him to climb through.
Dogs enjoy drinking water from a variety of garden fountains and pools, but you must make sure the water is pure if you want them to do so. Chlorine tablets should not be used to clean garden water features since they increase the chlorine content. Choose organic remedies for issues like algae. Maintaining the cleanliness of the swimming pool water will ensure that it is safe for dogs to drink. Keep dogs away from your pool until the water has returned to normal if you have recently treated it with chemicals.
Your dog enjoys running about, playing, and smelling the flowers in the garden. But if you ignore some unexpected garden threats like the ones mentioned above, this haven might quickly become a nightmare.
