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5 Spots for Your Dog to Swim in New York City

By DNAinfo Staff on July 23, 2014 12:26pm

 DNAinfo.com New York rounded up the best places in the city to take your dog for a dip.
Dog Paddle
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NEW YORK CITY — The dog days of summer can be unforgiving for your furry friend, who can easily get overheated on hot days. Thankfully, relief can be found across the city.

From ponds in Brooklyn, to private pools in Manhattan and kiddie pools in Queens, DNAinfo.com New York rounded up the best places in the city to take your dog for a dip.

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Prospect Park Dog Beach, Park Slope

Most New York City parks allow dogs off leash from 9 p.m. to 9 a.m. but the Prospect Park Dog Beach is a dog's dream where they can frolic in the water, without a leash, anytime of the day.

Located in a hidden alcove not far from the Long Meadow Ballfields, pups use flat rocks at this small beach as a launch point to splash, swim and fetch balls in a cool pond. There is a fence to section the beach from the rest of the pond so your dog won't be able to swim too far out.

On weekends the beach can be crowded with pups jumping into the water, chasing sticks or just getting the paws wet. On weekdays you and your dog might have the luxury of entire beach to yourselves.

Francis Lewis Park, Beechurst

This small strip of beach at the foot of the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge, on the Queens side of Francis Lewis Park, is a calm place for dogs to take a dip. There is a natural enclosure so your pup won't swim too far out into the East River.

The pier at Louis Valentino Junior Park, Red Hook

Just below the pier at Louis Valentino Junior Park is a small sandy beach that humans use as a kayak launch point and dogs use as their personal swimming pool.

The waves are big enough at the beach that some dogs might be too scared to attempt a swim, but for the brave few that make it past, the water is cool and expansive. Dogs have been known to swim as far out as 30 feet.

Sherry Park Dog Run, Woodside

This concrete park may not be the kindest on your pup’s paws but the trees, benches and grassy hillside provide plenty of places to relax in the shade.

What really draws the pups from far and wide are the sprinklers, hoses, water dishes and kiddie pools. Dogs may not be able to practice their doggy paddle at this park but they can laze around in pools, run through the sprinklers, get muddy, play with other four-legged friends and then get a hose shower before heading home.

Water4Dogs at 77 Worth St., Civic Center

If you want to jump in with your pet, Water4Dogs is a good, clean option to explore. The 5-by-10 foot indoor pool in downtown Manhattan is generally used for dog rehabilitation and physical therapy but is open on Sundays ($37 for half an hour and $47 for a whole hour) and during the week dogs can swim for $74 for half an hour by appointment only.

The facility also teaches first-time swimmers how to safely do the doggy paddle.

"You want to make sure that your dog is safe in the water," Morgan Corn, who works in patient care, said. "Most dogs naturally know how to swim but that is not always the case.

"You don't want to just throw your dog in and hope for the best."

A hydro therapist must first evaluate dogs before taking a dip. The pool fits up to five dogs at a time.