When I was out walking the puppy this evening we met a man who was walking his 18 month old German Sheppard / Collie mix. Very nice dog – quite, patient with a very excited lab pup who was jumping in his face possibly nipping at him.

The man told us that when he first got his dog he took it out to the park when it was young – perhaps three or four months old, and it got knocked down by a bigger dog. His pup was unlucky enough to have been injured by the fall. It had a damaged cruciate ligament and it looked like the dog would need to have surgery.

The poor man had to keep his dog fairly inactive while the injury was healing and of course going to the park was not an option anymore.

While he was waiting to see if his poor pup was going to need surgery he discovered that there was a dog swimming pool not too far away at Dundas and Broadview. He got his dog swimming and it’s ligament healed! No surgery!

I’m so happy that we ran into this man.

We have a very exuberant Labrador Retriever puppy and as you might already know Labs love water, or well, most of them apparently do! We’d already planned on taking Midnight to the beach here in Toronto in the Spring and onward, but perhaps we can get her in the water earlier!

I just did an Internet search to see if I could find the dog swimming pool and I found a list of dog swimming pools throughout North America and the UK. The page is really slow to load, but be patient, perhaps you’ll find a swimming pool to take your dog to that’s not too far away.

The place that we’re going to check out is called Fit Dogs. Now, this was created mainly for arthritic dogs or ones in need of exercise but here’s the description:

Bring your dog for a swim in a safe, clean, indoor pool in a pooch-positive environment.

The aboveground pool is 8- x 20-ft. around, with a water depth of 3 ½ ft. It’s heated to approx. 87º F to promote circulation and relax muscles. A gentle, chemical-free salt chlorine generator keeps water clean and silky. Wide, rubber-topped ramps allow for safe and gradual entry and exit. The facility is air-conditioned.

Your dog can do laps, fetch, have hands-on support, or be tethered to the poolside to tread water – whatever suits your goals and your dog’s preferences.

All sessions are private – no one else’s dog will be in the pool. If your household has more than one budding or avid swimmer at home, he or she is welcome too.

K9 life jackets are available for new swimmers.

It’s not really expensive, but neither is it cheap. 15 minute sessions cost $18 and 30 minutes costs $25, but it might be nice to do once or twice through the winter to get Midnight used to swimming and water so that she’ll have a ton of fun when we go to the beach with her.

Not that I’m that worried about her not having fun at the beach. I gave her a bath on her second day with us and she did really well in the tub. Of course I made it fun and put toys in the shallow water for her.

Fit Dogs also has other services such as learning – videotapes for dog owners to purchase that will help them with training and training sessions, special foods that are hard to get or impossible to find in pet stores and they also have “play” options:

* Urban outings – 45–60 minutes along hilly trails with suitably grouped doggies and lots of playful, positive interaction with Fit Dogs staff
* “Boarding” in the country – ½-day romps on a 100-acre property near Richmond Hill
* Puppy starts – shorter private visits and introductory socialization to help your pup start off on the right paw
* Visits to older & infirm dogs – these guys melt us; we’ll work with you and your dog’s needs
* Fitness classes – for humans and their dogs to get moving and have even more fun

Midnight will be taking puppy training classes at Pet Smart starting on Friday. We’re doing this more to socialize her with other dogs and people than for the training. I’m sure we’ll all learn something, but I’ve been making some fantastic progress with her here at home.

Treats make good training tools!

She now goes on “good walkies” courtesy of a treat now and then as she walks. She pays more attention to me rather than pulling on her lead as she wants the next treat. Same for doing her business outdoor or inside the house on her training pads. Every time she goes, especially in the right place indoors, she gets a treat and lots of praise.

I am glad to see that Fit Dogs offers some puppy training classes and what sounds like group dog walks. I’ll have to check into that as well.

We got our dog as a companion for me here at home since I’m stuck at home due to my illness and also as incentive to get outdoors more and for me to get some exercise. So the more that I do with Midnight the better for the both of us.

Anyway, the main reason why I wrote this post was to let you know about dog swimming pools. If you have an older dog, perhaps one with arthritis pain, swimming might help the dog a lot. So check out that list of dog swimming pools and if you’re lucky maybe there will be one in your area. Wouldn’t it be nice if your dog was able to get around better?