Can Dogs Drown? Yes! Here’s A Product To Prevent It

Jasper fell into the pool. Luckily, he’s a strong boy and he pulled himself out. But, what if he didn’t know how to get himself out or fell into the ocean? Can dogs drown? Yes! Thousands do each year. And, with swimming so much a part of our lives now, I was really interested in learning more about the HedzUp Watercollar™.

Here’s what it does: Shaped like a hexagon, it attaches to your dog’s own collar and prevents it from drowning by keeping its nose and ears above water, even if the dog is unconscious. When a dog swims or falls in the water, the straps position the Watercollar™ under the dogs chin allowing for easy treading and ensuring a panic-free swim to safety.

The  Watercollar™ was designed using the same standards as the human flotation requirements established by the U.S. Coast Guard, which I thought was pretty impressive. It’s filled with non-absorbent closed-cell foam with a 100% cotton cover and nylon straps that attach securely to a dog’s collar.

“A dog who has fallen into the water can only keep swimming for maybe 20 minutes, and even less if he panics,” says Lynne Peters, President of Hedz UP Pets. “If there is no one around to help save these dogs, the consequences can be heartbreaking.” If our dogs are going to be near water or if a pool or the beach is a part of their everyday lives, this is a product worth knowing about and having.

That’s why I decided to do something on it. Hedz UP Pets has launched a KickStarter campaign to raise enough money to produce them. KickStarter is a crowd-sourcing website for people to come together and support a project they believe in. As a part of the KickStarter drive, Hedz UP Pets is offering donors a “Save Dogs From Drowning” Community Awareness kit including poster art, content and images to create their own campaigns to get the word out to protect dogs from drowning.

If enough people give just a little, Hedz UP will quickly reach their goal of raising $10,000, and many dogs will have the opportunity to be safer in the water. That money will go towards making and marketing the first large quantity Watercollar™ production run.

For me, I’ve had Sophie in a life jacket, and didn’t like how it weighed her down. I’ve tried a blow up flotation collar and it was very bulky and hindered her from swimming freely.

I asked Lynne Peters the difference between the blow up collar and the Watercollar™.  Here’s what she had to say: “The main difference between our Watercollar and the blow-up type is that ours is made of closed cell foam, covered with 100% cotton fabric, and it hangs comfortably from your dog’s own collar. If your dog’s collar is correctly sized and won’t pull off over his head, the Watercollar will not come off. It is completely reliable to keep a dog safe from drowning, even if he is found unconscious. We size the Watercollars by the weight of each dog. We have ten sizes of flotation for dogs weighing from 3 pounds to 200 pounds! And, we have never had a dog who was even bothered by wearing it!”  This seems like a really good solution.

Do some investigating of your own. You can learn more about the collar and the Kickstarter campaign and how to participate at www.hedzuppets.com, www.kickstarter.com and Facebook Hedz Up Pets Water Collars.  Knowledge is power, and we all want to keep our babies as safe as we can.

What safety products do you use for your dog?