doggie swimming ?
 

Is there a place where dogs can swim in the Villages ?

Considering moving down and have a black lab that loves to swim.

Thanks from me and Koda !

Mainly only in your pool at home. Every pond in florida has the potential for a resident alligator. They don't like to share.

Your best bet is to move near the ocean and have him swim in the Gulf or the Atlantic. As Don said, most ponds, lakes and any fresh water will probably have a gator or at least have one on occasion.

There is a park about 20 miles from The Villages. Bark Central Dog Park Really nice.

I believe that Doggie Do Run Run in Oxford may have a pond in their dog park.

Doggie Too Run has a pool for the doggies.. one on the small dog side and one on the big dog side.. it's located on CR 101...

But a retriever-sized dog cannot swim in the pool on the large dog side. It's about six inches longer than my Golden Retriever. He loves to sit in it and bat a tennis ball.

The Bark Central dog park in Inverness mentioned above, about a 40-minute drive, has a man-made pond and is fenced in, so they've never see an alligator on the grounds. It's $10 a visit or $30/month for a subscription. Still, the pond is not deep or long enough for retriever-type swimming. It's filtered, and there are dog wash facilities (free for the outside hose; pay for the inside tub wash).

There's Flagler Beach on the ocean side (about 1.5 hours), but dogs must be on a leash. We take a very long line so ours can actually swim.

Then there's Venice Beach on the gulf side. They have an off-leash dog beach attached to a fantastic dog park. That's the best I've found down here, but it's too far away for a day trip.

They have two small pools. One for big dogs; one for little. These are too cool them off. These are about the size of a large bath tub.

I have heard this is a great dog beach on the very south side of St. Petersburg. Fort De Soto Dog Beach Park

Pinellas County, Florida, Park & Conservation Resources - Fort De Soto Park

I can vouch for that. :)

There is a home on thevillages.com today that has a pool and the price is $244,000. Usually homes with pools cost more. I thought it might make you think of buying a home with a pool. Some dogs so enjoy swimming, like yours, but they aren't allowed in The Villages pools.


Homefinder - The Villages(R) Homes and Villas for Sale

Dogs are in every restaurant, store fake service dog vest.Going to neighbor hood pool shouldn't be an issue

I like dogs a lot. But I spend a lot of time removing cat hair from surfaces in my home. I don't think it would be wise to allow them in the Villages pools. It would increase the bad feelings that some folks have against them.

We cannot have every single thing we want in this world. I think that dogs not swimming can still be very happy dogs.

Dogs in pools
 

Who knows what “rights” dogs might get in the future. I never thought that I would see dogs (other than for the blind) in restaurants and stores but here we see this daily. :2excited:

My son-in-law takes his pup to the Lake Baldwin Dog Park ....... description says, "23-acre dog-friendly lakeside park offering a beach, pavilions, picnic areas & a boat ramp".
Address: 2000 S Lakemont Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789

Could you please give more information on the dog beach in Venice. Location, any hotels nearby etc. I have really good and bad about it. Some reviews say there isn’t really a beach.

This may be of help.

Brohard Paw Park (Venice) - 2018 All You Need to Know Before You Go (with Photos) - TripAdvisor

I haven't taken our golden doodle yet to swim at Bark Central in Inverness.
But it's on his wish list.

It's a very small pond at DDRR, actually more like a bathtub.

It's 44 x 66 x 11 inches deep and shaped like a dog bone. Amazon.com : One Dog One Bone Dog Pool (Bone Shaped) : Pet Supplies

Even a beagle couldn't swim very far in it. It's basically just to splash around in.

I don't know about hotels, but I can vouch for the fact that there definitely is a beach, and it's beautiful.

You walk into the dog park, which is also fantastic, with plenty of watering stations, a bathing station, places to sit, shade, etc. There is a wooden walkway, fenced, that leads from the park to the beach. Your dog can race down the boardwalk and end up on the off-leash beach. It's fantastic.

You can drive a little down to a beachfront restaurant where you can sit outside with your dog. It was very crowded, so we didn't eat there.

I suppose you could google dog-friendly hotels in Venice Beach and find one nearby.

I'll vouch for it as we've been many times. It's in a Pinellas county park ( Fort Desoto). There are two adjacent fenced dog parks ( big dog and small dog) with a dog washing hose and drink bowl in each. Close by is the off-leash beach where the dogs can swim.

Fortunately for me, my dog (96lb yellow lab) loves golf cart riding so she is in heaven here in TV. She'll take a swim when given the opportunity, but doesn't miss it either. I wouldn't let either of my dogs swim in the ponds and lakes here and wouldn't even let them roam off leash near them - gator bait.

Thank you !!!! I was wondering if dogs were allowed to ride in the golf carts ! Do you strap her in ?

My Koda is 92 lbs, age 9. Loves riding in the car.

Depends on the dog. If mine were looking for the opportunity to jump off, I would probably work out a way to restrain her better or just not indulge her in riding at all. She is not interested in getting off the cart unless and until I do. However, I do keep her on leash, even on the cart, and keep it semi-taught at all times so that she knows it is there. She's about 96 lbs and loves riding in or on anything, but especially loves cart riding because of all the sites, sounds, and smells. We used to have a permanent place in a large campground where carts were the main source of transportation, so she has been riding on them since she was a small pup.