28/12/2025
Chlorine Effects on dogs!
Yes, it could although pool owners and advocates will often say that a little bit of chlorine won’t harm your pet.
While this may be true, not enough emphasis is put on what happens if your pet consumes, or is exposed to more than “a little.” Any pet owner that’s been to the vet for a health issue knows that it’s often difficult for the vet to diagnose the cause of the problem. It feels like a guessing game to the dog owner waiting to hear from the vet what’s wrong with his or her pet. Of course, without the ability of our pets to tell us what’s wrong, or what they got into, it makes this diagnosis and treatment a whole lot harder.
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So how do we know if our pets’ health is being affected by the chemicals in pool water?
Here are four common health issues from mild to severe that pet owners should be on the lookout for.
Pay close attention to symptoms 2-4, which focus on what could happen if your dog drinks too much pool water that has been chemically treated. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) has listed pool chemicals as one of the top ten poisons to dogs in 2008:
(1.) Itchy Skin, Dry Discolored Fur, and Red Eyes
Just like us, the chlorine can start to irritate our skin and eyes after a while. It can also turn a light colored dog’s fur, such as a Golden Retriever, green, similar to blonde hair. Dogs, like kids that spend tons of time in the pool, often get ear infections from swimming. The skin rashes, however, can be much worse than ours as the moisture gets trapped in dog’s fur causing nasty, bacterial hot spots that often take months to heal.
(2.) Breathing Difficulties.
Ever lose your breath from taking in a mouthful of chlorine water? We learn pretty quickly to keep our mouths closed when swimming to avoid this, but unfortunately our pooches aren’t always as quick on the uptake.
(3.) Swelling and Burning Sensation of the Throat.
Not a pleasant thought, but the chemicals in the chlorine, from your dog ingesting too much, are likely causing this burn as they make their way down to wreaking havoc on your dog’s digestive system.
(4.) Severe Pain in Abdomen.
Similar to anything poisonous ingested by your pet, gulping water from a chlorine treated pool could cause your pet to get very sick while his body tries to rid itself of the foreign substance (chlorine or salt water that their bodies can’t handle).
So how do you help prevent this from happening?
Constant supervision and monitoring of your pets’ time in chlorine/chemical pool will surely reduce the occurrence of these health problems or emergencies.
Rinsing the chlorine from your pet’s coat and drying thoroughly after every swim will reduce the risk of skin allergies and hot spots.
Around a chlorine pool always keep a bowl of fresh water for your pet to drink nearby and encourage them to drink from it after a swim. This will likely prevent your pet from gulping up too much chlorinated water due to thirst.
Over the long-term, however, any type of chlorine or chemically treated pools, spas, or hot tubs can take their toll on not only your pets’ health, but our own. To avoid the above listed issues to your pet’s health, one should consider the healthy natural alternative to chlorine. The use of a fresh water system manufactured by ClearSwim will put the pet owner’s mind at ease for the health concerns noted here can be eliminated. ClearSwim utilizes natural minerals to disinfect your swimming pool water. The resultant fresh water is like your home’s kitchen faucet water – much safer for you and your pet.
For more information on pool hazard prevention, visit:
The AKC, American Kennel Club: APDT, Association of Pet Dog Trainers:
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