Should I turn the dog upside down to get the water out of its lungs?

No, not as a prolonged manoeuvre. With a small animal you can hold it for a few seconds with the head slightly lower to let water drain from the upper airway, but hanging it upside down for long or shaking it hard does not empty the lungs and wastes precious time. The priority is to check whether it is breathing and, if it is not, to start rescue breathing at once after clearing the mouth of mud and debris.

My dog came out of the water and is completely fine: do I still need the vet?

If there was inhalation of water, assessment is advisable even when the animal seems fully recovered. The risk is breathing difficulty appearing in the following hours, once everyone has relaxed. In the meantime watch it carefully, count the resting breaths and go to the clinic at once if breathing speeds up, becomes noisy or belly driven, if a persistent cough appears or if the gums turn grey or bluish.

Does it matter whether it was fresh water or salt water?

The distinction was once given great weight, but we now know the main problem in both cases is damage to the alveoli and collapse of the exchange areas, with a fall in oxygenation. In practice the first minutes of management and the need for a clinic check do not change: what matters is how much water was inhaled and how the animal breathes afterwards, not whether the water was sea or lake.

How long should I keep it under observation after the incident?

As a cautious rule, at least the following twenty four hours, with particular attention to the first twelve. In this window watch the resting breathing, any cough, appetite and energy level. Any worsening of breathing calls for the clinic without waiting. If the vet has already seen the animal, follow their advice on check timing, which depends on how much water was inhaled and on how the initial listening and checks turned out.

Emergencies and first aid10 min readUpdated on August 12, 2026

Drowning and near drowning: the first minutes in dogs and cats

How to get an animal out of the water safely, the correct sequence for the first minutes, and why a clinic check matters even when it seems fully recovered.

Audience: Pet owners
Species: Dog, Cat
Scope: Valid everywhere, European Union, Italy

An animal that goes under and is pulled out seemingly unharmed looks like the classic scare with a happy ending. In reality drowning is a two stage emergency: there is the acute moment, where the danger is lack of oxygen, and there is a later phase, where water that entered the lungs can trigger inflammation that impairs breathing hours after the rescue. Knowing what to do in the first minutes makes the difference between a quick recovery and a deterioration, but knowing that the danger does not end when the animal coughs and stands up is just as important. This page sets out how to get it out of the water without putting yourself at risk, the correct sequence of action, and the signs that call for a consultation in the hours that follow.

What actually happens in drowning

Drowning is almost never the lung filling to bursting as people imagine. In most cases a modest amount of water in the airways is enough to damage the film that keeps the alveoli open, the tiny sacs where oxygen exchange happens. The result is that, even after the animal has coughed out the visible water, some areas of the lung stay collapsed or become inflamed, and the ability to oxygenate the blood falls progressively.

That is why the term near drowning points to the most insidious situation of all: the animal survives the immersion, seems to recover, but in the following hours can develop serious breathing difficulty. It is the reason the rescue from the water is only the first act, and monitoring is the second.

Getting it out of the water without becoming the second victim

Your first thought must be your own safety. A panicking animal in water is strong, it grabs hold and can pull under even a capable adult swimmer. Every year rescuers get into trouble retrieving a dog from a current or from a pool with high walls.

If you can reach it from the bank or the edge, use a long lead, a branch, an oar or a throwable float rather than getting in.
In a pool, guide it toward the steps or a low edge: many dogs drown because they cannot find a way out, not because they cannot swim.
In the sea, a lake or a river with a current, do not go in without a float and without someone watching you: a current tires even strong swimmers fast.
If you must go in, approach from behind or to the side, never head on, because a panicking animal jumps on you and pushes you under.
As soon as you have it, support the chest and keep the head above water and get it to the bank or edge as directly as possible.

A rescuer who drowns helps no one. If the situation is beyond you, call for help and find a way to reach the animal at a distance. Better a few seconds lost finding a safe hold than two lives in danger.

The first minutes out of the water

As soon as the animal is safe, the goal is to restore breathing and clear water from the upper airway, without wasting time on useless manoeuvres. The sequence below is designed for one person.

Check whether it is breathing and conscious
Watch whether the chest moves and whether the animal responds. If it breathes, move straight on to clearing the mouth and warming it. If it does not breathe, breathing becomes the priority.
Clear the mouth and throat
Open the mouth and remove visible mud, weed, sand or foreign material with your fingers. Do not push your fingers blindly deep down: you risk driving the material further in.
Help water drain from the upper airway
With a small animal you can hold it with the head slightly lower for a few seconds. Do not hang it upside down for long or shake it hard: water in the lungs does not come out that way and you lose precious time.
If it is not breathing, start rescue breathing
Close the mouth, extend the neck and breathe into the nostrils with steady breaths, watching the chest rise. If there is also no heartbeat and you have been trained, add chest compressions.
Dry it and fight the cooling
A wet animal, especially if small or after cold water, loses heat fast. Dry it and wrap it in a dry towel while you organise transport.
Call the clinic and go anyway
Phone describing what happened, the type of water and how it is breathing now. Go to the clinic even if it seems recovered, because the lungs need listening to and oxygenation needs checking.

Why the clinic is needed even if it breathes well

Lung damage from inhaled water can evolve silently. The animal comes out, coughs, shakes itself and walks on, and the family breathes a sigh of relief. In the following hours, though, breathing can become faster and more laboured as parts of the lung become inflamed.

Typical course and what to watch over time
Moment	What can happen	What to do
Right after the rescue	Coughing, cold and frightened but alert	Dry, warm, contact the clinic
First hour	Breathing normalises or, conversely, stays fast	Count resting breaths and report them
One to twelve hours	Possible fast breathing, persistent cough, bluish gums	Go to the clinic at once, this is an emergency
Up to twenty four hours	Tiredness, loss of appetite, still laboured breathing	Have it assessed anyway even if it seems better

A simple, useful measure is the resting respiratory rate, that is how many breaths per minute the animal takes when asleep or calm. A value that rises in the hours after the incident, breathing that becomes noisy or belly driven, gums turning grey or bluish, are all signs that call for the clinic without waiting. There is no reliable way to rule out lung damage at home.

Who is most at risk and in which situations

Drowning does not only strike animals that cannot swim. Many episodes involve dogs that swim perfectly well but get into trouble because of the layout of the place or because of overexertion.

Home pools with vertical walls and no easy exits: the dog swims until exhausted and cannot find a way out.
Brachycephalic breeds and un athletic dogs, whose hindquarters sink and who tire quickly even in calm water.
Puppies and older animals, with less strength and fewer reserves, more exposed to cooling and fatigue.
Sea and river currents that carry the animal away from the bank while it chases an object or follows its owner.
Thin ice on ponds and lakes in winter, which gives way under the weight and traps the animal below the surface.
Accidental falls into tanks, cisterns, canals or covered pools, where the animal ends up against its will.

Cats drown far more rarely, but cases exist and almost always come from an accidental fall into a tub, a water butt or a covered pool it cannot climb out of. The same rule applies: if there was immersion with inhalation, a breathing check is necessary.

Prevention: making water a managed risk

Almost every episode can be avoided with a few permanent measures, because they arise from predictable situations tied to the place rather than to bad luck.

Teach the dog where the pool exit is and have it repeat the route to the steps until it finds it on its own.
Fence or cover accessible pools, tubs and cisterns with safety nets, and never leave the animal unsupervised near deep water.
Use a buoyancy jacket on boat trips, in choppy water or in currents, especially for puppies, older animals and breeds not built for swimming.
Do not throw objects into the sea or a river beyond the distance the dog can cover with a margin, allowing for the current on the way back.
In winter keep the animal away from frozen ponds and lakes, where the surface can give way under the weight.
Introduce swimming gradually in shallow water, never forcing a frightened animal to enter or to stay past its point of tiredness.

As with any emergency, arriving prepared changes the response. Knowing where the nearest open clinic is, knowing your animal's normal resting breathing rate and having taken a first aid course are three details that, when it matters, let you act calmly instead of in a panic.

Frequently asked questions

Should I turn the dog upside down to get the water out of its lungs?: No, not as a prolonged manoeuvre. With a small animal you can hold it for a few seconds with the head slightly lower to let water drain from the upper airway, but hanging it upside down for long or shaking it hard does not empty the lungs and wastes precious time. The priority is to check whether it is breathing and, if it is not, to start rescue breathing at once after clearing the mouth of mud and debris.
My dog came out of the water and is completely fine: do I still need the vet?: If there was inhalation of water, assessment is advisable even when the animal seems fully recovered. The risk is breathing difficulty appearing in the following hours, once everyone has relaxed. In the meantime watch it carefully, count the resting breaths and go to the clinic at once if breathing speeds up, becomes noisy or belly driven, if a persistent cough appears or if the gums turn grey or bluish.
Does it matter whether it was fresh water or salt water?: The distinction was once given great weight, but we now know the main problem in both cases is damage to the alveoli and collapse of the exchange areas, with a fall in oxygenation. In practice the first minutes of management and the need for a clinic check do not change: what matters is how much water was inhaled and how the animal breathes afterwards, not whether the water was sea or lake.
How long should I keep it under observation after the incident?: As a cautious rule, at least the following twenty four hours, with particular attention to the first twelve. In this window watch the resting breathing, any cough, appetite and energy level. Any worsening of breathing calls for the clinic without waiting. If the vet has already seen the animal, follow their advice on check timing, which depends on how much water was inhaled and on how the initial listening and checks turned out.

What to do next

After a water rescue, think of your own safety first and use a reaching aid rather than going in at risk. Check whether it is breathing, clear the mouth of mud and debris, start rescue breathing if it is not breathing, then dry and warm it. Go to the clinic anyway even if it seems recovered and watch the breathing over the following twenty four hours, because lung damage can appear late. Fence pools, teach the exit route and use a buoyancy jacket where it is needed.