Doggy Swimming Lessons: Fun or Fad?!

Doggy Swimming Lesson Review: Do We Think Doggy Swimming Lessons Are A Good Idea?

Read on to check out our experience...

We've recently been to our fourth doggy swimming lesson with Georgie at one of our local swimming centers, so we've decided to do a quick review and add a few photos of our experiences so far!

Booking & First Impressions

First things first - booking! We headed to the website of our local doggy swimming center, and after reading some other positive reviews online we went ahead with the booking process which we found really easy. All we had to do was choose which site we wanted our session at (they have three), what date and what time. Then, confirm we had read the terms and conditions and the information for our first lesson, and away we go!

Our first lesson was a funny one - Georgie didn't quite know how to swim. I know, everyone says 'But all dogs just know how to swim, right?' Well, not ours! The instructor we had for this lesson did say that some dachshunds can be a little unsure of swimming at first. Their long bodies can make it difficult until they get the hang of using their back legs to paddle, and not to worry if we saw his back end rolling around slightly - it's quite common.

With this knowledge, away Georgie went in the safe arms of the instructor, wearing his doggy lifejacket, having his back legs tickled to try and get him to realise that he needed to kick all of his legs in order to stop him rolling around. Soon, our 30 minute session was over, just as Georgie was starting to get the hang of it.

Georgie was taken for a shower to wash the pool water off him, given a very quick blow dry, and spritzed with some lovely doggy cologne to finish. I will note that Georgie didn't really enjoy the blow dry part, he's also scared of the hairdryer at home, so the instructor gave him a small 10 second blast so that he didn't become too distressed. After a bit of struggling and barking through this part, it was time to go home! Georgie then proceeded to sleep the whole car drive home, and snoozed for the rest of the evening!

More Lessons!

We booked in a few more sessions for Georgie, one each month, and for the rest of these sessions we had a different instructor, who was also lovely. Georgie soon got the hang of swimming, and by his third lesson we removed his doggy lifejacket and replaced it with a fashionable donut around his head, just to help keep his long flappy ears out of the water.

With each passing session, Georgie's confidence with swimming has grown, and where he was a little nervous of the water at first, he is now super happy to get in and chase after the balls! He's still scared of the sea at the seaside, but he seems happy enough being in a heated pool! What a pampered pooch he is...

Pros and Cons

I did a lot of researching around swimming lessons for dogs before we booked Georgie in for his first session. We were aware that swimming doesn't come naturally to dachshunds, they were bred to burrow and dig, but I wanted to ensure that he knew how to swim in case anything would happen to him while out on our walks, as we often walk beside streams and rivers. We think that making sure your dog can swim adequately is a really important skill for them to learn, you never know what could happen! Saying that, we wanted him to learn in a safe environment where he can go at his own pace until he is fully confident with swimming.

Our breed specific research on dachshunds and swimming warned that they generally won't be able to swim for long, as it can be really tiring for them holding their body in the water with their short legs, which also make it harder to paddle, but small sessions can really help strengthen their back muscles which is great for them in the long run.

One thing to note is the cost of taking your dog to doggy swimming lessons. The place where we go charge £25 per 30 minute session, which if you are paying regularly this can become quite costly. That's why we decided we would only book Georgie in once per month. There is also a 50% deposit to be paid on booking.

Another thing to beware of is to check the terms and conditions of wherever you choose to go, and check their cancellation policy. One month Georgie had been quite poorly with an upset tummy and we didn't want to risk anything happening in the pool, therefore cancelled our session and asked to rebook. We unfortunately found out that their cancellation policy was 48hrs before the booking time (we thought it was 24hrs) so we lost out on our 50% deposit.

The Final Score

Other than the cost of each session, we really can't think of any negatives of taking your pup for a swimming session - Georgie really enjoys his time in the pool now he is more confident in the water, and he's always ready for a long snooze after!

We would absolutely recommend a doggy swimming class if you can afford to, and want your dog to be able to swim in a safe environment - but we would also suggest doing your own research first specific to your breed and swimming, and do always let the instructor know if there are any injuries or illnesses that your puppy has or may have had.

Let us know if you've taken your pups swimming recently! You can send us a message here or on Instagram - Hiya_Georgie23

Thanks for reading!