Would you allow your dog to swim in Mission Bay?

Only swim your dog in sanctioned areas.

How silly. Then where would one walk the dog? I am absolutely with next? on this one. I have seen children taunt, throw things and bully dogs to the point of abusing them, but the dog is so well-trained that it doesn;t bite to defend itself. These children obviously are not trained well enough to appear in public. Most dogs, even poorly trained ones, will not bite without being provoked. Did the child just attempt to walk past the dog, or did it run over to the dog, yelling, "Look, a doggie!" then proceed to roughly handle the dog and jump on its back, without a word to the owner to see if it was OK? (I have seen kids do this with my dog and have had to tell them to back off.) It is common sense not to approach a dog you don't know without permission from the owner. Then you approach as described above, so the animal does not feel like you are threatening or confronting it. Unfortunately, not many people exhibit common sense, so they get bitten. That said, an owner whose dog bites someone should be paying some medical bills. If the dog has bitten a few times, maybe they shouldn't own a dog untilt hey learn how to be responsible about it. But that doesn't mean don't let dogs out in public.

Is it safe for people to swim there? Then it is safe for your dog. Otherwise, I wouldn't risk it. Worse thing he could get from the water is Lysteria which would cause diarrhea and dehydration.

Also, what kind of dog do you have? Not all breeds have the same swimming ability (I have seen 2 English Bulldogs nearly drown at the dog park lake!). Even if your dog is a good swimmer, he could go to far and get tired or get caught in a tide so I'd keep him near the shore.