Dogs love to swim in swimming pools. However, there are some drawbacks by allowing them to do so.
Chlorinated water is not good for dogs. The chlorine can remove the natural oils from the dog’s body and cause dry, itchy skin. A dog’s eyes, nose and ears are more sensitive than a human’s and the chlorine can be irritating. Also too high a sanitizer level can irritate the dog’s esophagus if it drinks the pool water. Your pool’s sanitizer level should be kept below 3.0 ppm if you allow your dogs to swim in the pool.
Dogs in swimming pools are hard on the filter, chemistry and equipment. Dog hair can clog a skimmer or pump basket very quickly, especially from a hairy dog. A repeatedly clogged pump basket can cause pump damage. Dog hair can also get behind the baskets and clog the impeller.
Pool use by dogs drastically reduces the chlorine level in the pool. If the chlorine drops to 0.0 ppm, it leaves a pool without sanitizer which is dangerous for anybody, even your dogs. If your dog ingests non sanitized pool water, it can get sick. Your pool also can quickly turn cloudy or green.
Always shock the pool when your dogs are done swimming. We frequently need to shock the pool at our weekly service to raise the depleted chlorine level. This could bring your chlorine to above 3.0 ppm which a dog should not swim in.
im in swimming pools. However, there are some drawbacks by allowing them to do so.