Mary Allen
Dogs can swim, that’s true. Is a life jacket therefore unnecessary? Many four-legged friends are overwhelmed with a swimming situation, especially when they go into cool water for the first time. It becomes dangerous when dogs overestimate their swimming ability despite all the fun in the water and they run out of strength in the water.
Life Jacket Can Save Lives
Even if your dog is an experienced swimmer, it may get unexpectedly distressed in the water by high waves or strong currents. Invisible dangers can also lurk on dog beaches, for example, underwater currents that make it extremely difficult for the four-legged friend to swim back to land. Steep sections of the coast or sharp-edged rocks can also be life-threatening obstacles.
A life jacket for the dog cannot protect against underground rocks in such situations, but it ensures that your animal swimming colleague always stays afloat, even if the strength is slowly fading. This gives you more time to react in an emergency.
Important: During a boat trip you should put on a life jacket. A jump or fall overboard can never be completely ruled out. If your four-legged friend is injured and can no longer swim properly, the rescue will be extremely difficult.
Go for Bright Colors!
But the life jacket for dogs can do more than ensure that water-loving pets don’t drown: it also ensures that dogs are easier to see on the water – especially if your four-legged friend has quite a dark fur. Since most dog life jackets are made in eye-catching colors such as neon orange or red and ideally even have light strips, the dog in distress can be spotted more quickly. For these reasons, you should pay attention to such aspects when buying a life jacket. Also important: is a carrying handle. The ideal vest has a handle on the back that makes it easier to lift your four-legged friend out of the water in a dangerous situation.