Dogs and Vinyl

[superwy]

We built a gunite pool seven years ago at our last house. Loved it but moved. Now we are thinking about putting a pool in at the new house. We are in Massachusetts so the pool adds little value to our home but a lot to our lives.

The builder we are leaning towards does both vinyl over concrete and gunite. There is a $15k difference between gunite with a pebble finish and vinyl for pool/spa combo.

Gunite was great but our pebble finish (wet edge) was rough despite my brushing. Our two labs don't swim but like to lounge on the steps. I know people often warn if dogs ripping vinyl but the builder has never had it happen in 20 years. I was just hoping to hear some experiences and thoughts. We have also looked at fiberglass but I just am not sure.

Also, I'd love to hear any build stories from Massachusetts. We used South Shore Gunite last time. They build a good pool but we had some issues along the way which left me feeling a bit out of the loop at times. Thanks for any thoughts and help.


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[JasonLion]

Welcome to TFP!

While it is possible for a dog to claw their way through a vinyl liner, is is quite rare. A dog would normally need to claw at a single small area for some time to get through.

 

[Rick H]

Welcome! You will find this forum very helpful, I surely have. We had the same concern when purchasing our pool, as our Lab loves the water. We ended up going with a fiberglass pool, and we have been very happy. We tell everyone that we bought the pool for our dog! I have found the maintenance, when combined with the BBB method, to be simple. A few minutes a day, at most. As with any kind of pool, there are positives and negatives, and I think many can be attributed to the pool builder. Good luck!

 

[OntarioPoolGuy]

I have never seen a dog rip a liner. The best thing to do is the first time they go into the pool guide them to the stairs so they know thats where to get in and out.

 

[duraleigh]

I showed my dog the steps her first time in and she has been swimming constantly almost for the last several years....no problems.

 

[superwy]

Thanks for all of the great responses! I used this site frequently with our old pool and bought the test kit. It is really a wealth of knowledge. Part of me wants to go with vinyl due to cost and we like the builder. For the savings, we can do more with the lawn and if we are looking down the road at a liner change, maybe we'll be ready for a change in look then. Who knows. The same installer also recently started doing gunite and does beautiful work, so either way the job will likely be his.

I like the thought of fiberglass for some reasons, but worry for other reasons. First, it is likely we'll hit some ledge when we build. I feel we have more flexibility with gunite or vinyl to make changes based on what we find. Second, I have read some horror stories along with the good reports. Lastly, I don't like that the company we would most likely use plumbs the spa as a completely separate unit, filter and all. To me this just means more work testing and maintaining water. It also confuses me because the offer a spillover, so the water does mix.

Our oldest lab is 6 and has already had acl surgery on both rear knees. I am thinking water therapy is in his future! The 2 year old is a ball dog. I am guessing once we get the pool she will be in. My sense is if we go vinyl I will look for a complimentary color to the liner in the composite/fiberglass steps rather than the vinyl covered steps. Just seems to be the more practical option. But, it could go gunite. We meet with another builder this week as well as a landscaper who works with the builder I like to get a sense of what to do in our backyard over time.

So looking forward to hearing more from everyone and I love reading all of these posts. Thanks so much!

Kim

 

[Isaac-1]

No problems here with dogs in vinyl liner pool

Ike

 

[Sseaman]

We have 2 dogs that I don't anticipate getting in the pool but we are going with fiberglass/plastic steps in the event they do get in or decide they want to lounge in the heat of the summer.


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[ssgumby]

I have a large golden retriever, he gets in the pool, swims around and gets out with no issues. He never attempts to get out other than on the steps. What we did was, as he would swim towards a side we would encourage him back to the steps.

Now, here is one thing that I think is important. In our deepend we put a doggie ramp. It is portable, we only put it in when he is in. Honestly, he never uses it as he always goes to the steps but he is 10 years old so we worry about him tuckering out in the deepend and this is a safety net for him.