The Pet Owners’ Guide to Hot Tub Safety

You do absolutely everything with your pet. You’ve seen videos of animals sitting in hot tubs, so it must be safe to bring your pet into the hot tub with you, right? Not so fast. While soaking in your spa feels amazing to you, it’s not designed with your pet in mind. In fact, bringing your pet into your spa could be bad for both your spa and your precious pet. Keep these guidelines in mind before you decide to take a dip with your furry friend.

Your Pet’s Well-Being

While that warm water offers a ton of health benefits for you, the opposite is true for your pet. Your body is designed to adapt to the heat by perspiring. Even though you might not notice it while you’re in the hot tub, your body is actually modulating your core temperature by sweating. The problem for your dog, though, is that he doesn’t sweat! Instead, he pants to get rid of body heat. However, he can’t pant enough to handle the heat of a 102°F hot tub. Your spa is just not Fido-friendly.

Your Hot Tub’s Well-Being

Your pet can also pose several dangers to your hot tub.  First, they shed. That short animal hair is going to clog your filters. What a huge mess to clean up! Second, the substances pets bring into your hot tub is hard on the water. One of the main things that throws your spa water out of balance is the substances people bring into it. Makeup, sunscreen, lotions, detergents in your bathing suit, your skin’s natural oils….they all affect your water. These substances enter your water with every soak and slowly alter the chemistry. Before long, you add the proper water care products to bring your spa back in balance. Now, think about the substances your dog would bring into your carefully sanitized water. Flea treatments, tick shampoo—you get the idea!  Third, pets have claws. As your dog clambers in and out of your hot tub, their claws can easily scratch your shell finish, spa seats, gorgeous jets and acrylic surface. Yikes! It’s fun sharing all types of experiences with your pets, but for their safety (and the beauty and function of your spa), let them sit out when it comes to soaking in your hot tub. For all your hot tub ownership questions, we’re here to help! It’s one of the many benefits of shopping local. Fronheiser Pools is a full service pool and spa company. Our experts handle everything from pool design to regular hot tub maintenance and even emergency service. You can always count on our reliable team members to expertly handle each and every one of your needs. Stop by our Bally or Sinking Spring location, or drop us an email through our contact form. We are open six days a week to bring you the very best in everything pool and spa related.