Your dog can swim and dive at this unique local pool

Dog diving. It’s a thing.

Not only is it a thing, for Danielle O’Neill, it’s a business.

O’Neill will open at 9 a.m. Saturday what she says is Ohio’s only indoor heated pool for canines — a place where dogs and their owners can perfect the craft of dog diving or just have a swim, should they so desire.

The business is joined to Train Your Pup, located in the same building at 4792 S. Dixie Drive, off Ohio 741. The business features a ramp over a large indoor pool — a 16,000-gallon pool, 37 feet long, 15 feet wide and four feet deep — where dogs can dive and swim.

“Just like with people, it (swimming) is great for dogs,” O’Neill said. “It helps with fitness level, health and rehabilitation, or (for) dogs with arthritis.”

There’s nothing like this in the Dayton area or in the state, said O’Neill.

First-time memberships for new customers will buy time with a trainer and allow dog owners to rent the pool for 30 minutes for up to two dogs, she said. “You have the entire area to yourself. It’s just you and your dog. You can work on getting your dog off the ramp. You can work on your dog’s swimming. You can work on dock diving.”

According to North America Diving Dogs, competitive dock diving “is one of the fastest growing sports for your dog,” with titles recognized by the American Kennel Club for all breeds.

O’Neill says owners won’t have to go home with wet dogs. She recently showed a visitor washing stations with dryers.

For more information, call Splash Your Pup at (937) 607-8524.

See Friday’s Dayton Daily News for more on this story.

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