One really fun recent trend among dog owners is throwing their dogs a pool party (aka “doggy pool pawtie”). Initially, it may sound a little outrageous, but it’s an excellent way to bond with our pups, stay cool on hot days, and socialize at the same time. So after researching it, I found some helpful tips to ensure these parties are safe and fun experiences. You’ll soon know everything needed to throw a successful dog pool party!
How to Throw a Dog Pool Party
Throwing a dog pool party is all about forming a safe environment. It needs to be free of any potential stressors or other issues. If you create this setting, your dog and their friends will enjoy awesome swimming adventures.
So it’s time for me to discuss several tips to help you create this environment. Let’s not waste any more time and dive into our first tip:
1. Test Your Dog’s Comfort With Other Dogs
Throwing a dog pool party is an excellent idea if your dog is well-socialized. But it can quickly become a disaster when you don’t know your dog’s temperament. You must see if they can remain calm even in overly excitable situations around other dogs.
After all, these events will test your training and introduce numerous potential stressors. So I’ll always recommend testing out their comfort in controlled environments first. In other words, train and socialize them entirely before even attempting a pool party.
Check out how well-behaved (yet over-the-moon excited) these dogs are at their massive party!
2. Building a Dog-Friendly Guest List
You must plan the guest list before inviting your friend’s dogs. Basically, I’d recommend having the dogs meet in a controlled space to see how they react to each other. It’s just a simple way to prevent any issues from occurring during the pool party.
Another thing to consider is dogs are more likely to behave with their owners at the party. So have plenty of things for humans to do while your dogs enjoy their pool. In fact, I wouldn’t invite anyone who wants to drop their dog off and do something else.
Instead, you want the people present to help deal with any complicated issues. So if a problem does occur, there’s someone familiar to calm down each pup. Otherwise, some situations could get out of hand quickly.
3. Stock up on Fun Pool Items and Toys
Your dogs will need something to do inside the pool besides swimming. It’s essential to make the experience as fun and entertaining as possible. So I’d suggest picking up some floats for them to relax on while in the water.
Moreover, seeing your dog floating around these floats is hilarious. I always love seeing my Beagle taking a quick timeout on one after a rigorous swim. He looks adorable, and I can’t help but take a million pictures of him.
Aside from the floats, try to make things even more entertaining with pool toys. For example, I’m a massive fan of using tennis balls or water-proof tug toys in the swimming pool. It’s an easy way to enjoy the pool with your dog and create a valuable bonding experience.
Check out this post for more ideas—> Top 5 Best Dog Water Toys to Take to the Lake or Pool
4. Setup Precautions
Setting up proper precautions is crucial to having a successful dog pool party. I know it sounds counterproductive because these parties are supposed to be all about fun. However, certain precautions must be taken to ensure everyone’s safety.
The first is setting up an easy way for the dogs to access your pool. For instance, you don’t want them to jump over the side of your above-ground pool. It’s just a recipe for an injury or the pool to tip over.
So adding dog steps goes a long way to stop any issues. It’ll make it much easier for them to enter and exit the pool without any incidents. Of course, people with underground pools don’t have to worry much about this precaution.
Another thing to consider is supervision. As you can imagine, dogs aren’t great at supervising themselves, especially when having a blast inside a swimming pool. So it’s crucial to have a human being watch over them at all times.
You can even take shifts with the other people at your party. It’s just imperative to ensure a person is watching when an incident, such as a fight, breaks out inside the pool. They can then deal with the situation swiftly without becoming a severe issue.
The video below has some great tips on teaching your dog to safely use the pool:
5. Provide Dog Refreshments
Your dogs will eventually become tired after swimming in the pool all day. Therefore, ensure there’s plenty of fresh water for them to drink. I suggest putting multiple bowls out, so every dog can get water whenever they want.
Furthermore, you want them to refrain from drinking pool water. It’s not a good idea, so please provide them with plenty of fresh water. It’ll make everyone’s lives much easier at the pool party.
On a similar note, your dogs will also get hungry. I usually deal with their hunger by offering them a couple of treats at various times during the party. Your dog will then get a quick replenishment of energy to continue its swimming adventures!
These frozen dog treats are PERFECT for your puppy pool party!
6. Entertain the Humans!
Dogs aren’t the only guests at your pool party. You’ll also need to entertain their owners, who can get quite bored if they don’t have something to do. So please provide them with drinks and food, and encourage them to enter the pool.
I’d also recommend playing music or party games like cornhole to keep them entertained. You want this party to be a hit with humans and canines. As a result, it’s essential to plan for both when setting up your dog pool party!
Here’s a great summer song playlist for you to use:
7. Keep Your Party Simple
Dog owners often make the mistake of creating an overly complicated party. In theory, it may seem fun to spend a crazy amount on poolside decor or entertainment. But your dogs won’t care a bit if the party costs $25 or $300.
Given this info, it’s better to keep the whole party as simple as possible. The primary purpose here is to provide a fun time for your dogs. The pool party will be a resounding success if you can accomplish that goal.
In Closing, throwing a dog pool party is an excellent way to entertain your dog and its friends. But it remains vital to plan the event with safety in mind. If you do, the party should go off without a hitch.
Let us know in our comment section if you’ve ever thrown a dog pool party. I’d love to continue the conversation and provide any help to anyone with more questions. Thanks for reading!
