Dogs and pools

[titaniummd]

Any preparation before or after with regards to allowing your dog to enter the pool? My main concerns are pet drowning and E. coli.

 

[Isaac-1]

Much like with children drowning is more likely the less experience, with time they learn where to swim to find the stairs, and get more and more comfortable in the pool.

 

[kenandshari]

It depends on the type of pool and the breed of dog. We have a fiberglass pool and have let our dog as well as a friends dogs swim. Our dog is short haired and didn't want to stay in. Our friends dogs (2) are longer haired breeds and enjoyed the water. Lessons learned: The dogs did not hurt the fiberglass. They will accidentally scratch you. The long hairs will somehow lose more fur in your water than they have on their bodies. It took about 3 filter cleanings the following week to get all of the fur out of our water and filters. I hope this helps you and best of luck.

 

[Rick H]

I have a black lab, who loves to swim in the pool, and as kenandshari said, the amount of fur that she loses is amazing!!! And yes, they WILL scratch you as they swim by... I also purchased some of those 'skimmer socks' that cover the skimmer basket. They work great, and catch ,most of the stuff that would most likely have made it to my filter. Well worth it in my experience, seems like they save the filter from the extra junk.

 

[Richard320]

Knee-high nylon as a skimmer sock to catch fur before it overloads the filter

Get in and show the dog where the steps are so it doesn't panic when it can't get out the first time.

 

[257WbyMag]

Proper chlorination should take care of any bacteria that the dog could add to the mix. Also, we recommend that anyone with dogs who swim or drink the poolwater NOT add borates to their pool as there is potential for toxicity there.

 

[dattia]

I have an above ground pool with stairs, my dog swims daily. Sometimes I think we got the pool just for him. Just a quick training period and he knows that the stairs are home base. We occasionally need to say no every once in a while if he swims too close to the sides, but we really haven't had any concerns. Yes, a lot of hair will be floating in the pool while he is in, but I have found that the skimmer makes quick work of cleaning that up.

 

[ship of fools]

Proper chlorination should take care of any bacteria that the dog could add to the mix.

That is definitely not 100% correct.

My dog has the unique talent to do #2 while she swims and did it a couple of years ago.

I posted on here and was told that chlorine will not kill all of the dangers of dog poop. Anyone interested in specifics can check my previous posts and read about it.

I was fortunate and there were no issues but apparently it can be fairly dangerous in a worst case scenario.

 

[257WbyMag]

Proper chlorination should take care of any bacteria that the dog could add to the mix.

That is definitely not 100% correct.

My dog has the unique talent to do #2 while she swims and did it a couple of years ago.

I posted on here and was told that chlorine will not kill all of the dangers of dog poop. Anyone interested in specifics can check my previous posts and read about it.

I was fortunate and there were no issues but apparently it can be fairly dangerous in a worst case scenario.

Well, pooping in the pool is not typical canine swimming activity. Bacterial cysts that can be found in stool typically need higher chlorination, UV exposure (sunlight), and in some cases, filtration for removal.