People often assume that dogs–especially Golden Retrievers and Labs–are natural swimmers. That’s not true, says Julie, who trains dogs to swim and provides hydrotherapy for them. In this video, she says that about 10,000 dogs drown a year.

Watch the video here:

We can help prevent dogs from drowning by ensuring they wear life vests (like the one Hudson is wearing in this video) when they’re close to water. We can also help prevent drowning by spreading this dog info for kids about the risks to our friends and family members.

“Only about 20 percent of the dogs I work with know how to swim,” says Julie. “Most dogs flail,” she says, and some people mis-interpret that for dog paddling. Many dogs don’t know how to use their back legs, she says.

Julie gets calls about twice a month from people asking for help with their dog, who became very scared after their owners threw them in a pool, thinking they could swim. She works with the dogs to help calm their fears about water.

Be sure to have fun with your dogs. But also be sure they’re safe!

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Watch the trailer for our dog picture book here: