Swimming and flea control
Normally, flea control will last two months if you do not frequently bath your pup. However, if you take your pup swimming or it gets wet a lot, the effectiveness of the flea control will diminish. Therefore, you may need to apply the flea control on a monthly basis during the summer if you take your pup swimming a lot.

Swimming with your pup
Yes, you may go swimming with your pup. However, if you think your pup is freaking out, don’t push the issue. Lift and carry your pup into the pool. Never ever push them in. Once you’re in the pool, hold them with their feet away from you, otherwise they will try to climb up on you and will scratch you with their claws. Walk around the shallow parts with them and let them calm down. Teach them where the steps are so that if they accidentally fall in the pool, they’ll know how to get out. Take them several feet away from the steps and let them swim to the steps. Do this several times so they know where the steps are. (Jim says it takes about 20 times for them to learn where the steps are). Make sure you clean and dry your pup’s ears after going swimming. They may easily develop an ear infection if moisture remains in their ears. (Paper napkins work great for sopping up extra water).

Cooling your pup off
If you want to help your puppy cool down, get a child's wading pool; fill it with water and let them splash around in it. You can put a bone or 2 in the bottom to see if they'll retrieve it. I saw them do this at guide dogs, and the pups went nuts over trying to get the bones out. Be aware...male dogs, for whatever reason, like to pee in the pools, so try to relieve your pup right before, or even a few minutes after they start playing...putting feet in water must be the stimulant.

After they have played in the water is a great time to trim nails because they’ll be a lot softer to cut!

Just be aware that water causes pups to shed like crazy! So brush them a lot before going into the pool. Then once they are dry, you'll want to brush them again because you'll have lots of doggy dust/hair devils running around your floor if you don't. Pups like to chew on ice cubes too, so you can give them ice cubes any time.

Keeping your pup hydrated
One of the things raisers forget about is making sure their pup gets water when they are out and about. It’s especially important during these hot months. Our club has available collapsible water bowls which fold up to be very small. Petco also has little foldable plastic bowls for less than $2.00, or there are water bottle contraptions that have a little water trough attached that folds up along side the bottle.