Dogs and pool

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Uhhello

Well-known member
May 23, 2022
172
Tucson
Pool Size
10500
Surface
Plaster
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
SWG Type
Hayward Aqua Rite (T-9)
We're looking to adopt a dog soon. We have a pretty small backyard mostly taken up by the pool but has a strip of trees/turf and dirt that will be his "open the door and go pee quick". Kind of a dumb question as it's going to come down to training or ultimately a fence around the pool to prevent a pee break from turning into swim time. Anyone have any genius ideas :)
 
I recommend a physical barrier. Fence or safety pool cover. Dogs can swim, but they sometimes can't figure out how to get out of the pool. Good friends of mine found their dog drowned in their spa. The dog was long familiar with the spa but couldn't climb out.
 
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Pets and kids should never be left unattended around a pool.
Consider a fence to keep the dog out and supervised pool area visits to train the dog on what is and isn't acceptable around the pool. The pet shouldn't enter the fenced pool area unless invited.

All it takes is one time when your time and/or attention is diverted for a pet to drown in the pool.

EDIT: Being you're in Tucson, a year round safety cover isn't really a viable option.
 
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As I've suggested here before... Regardless of the other safety measures you take (fence, strict training, etc.), spend a few minutes walking into and out of the pool with your dog so he can learn where the steps are. If the dog is in the pool and you're on the deck at the deep end, when you call him he should swim AWAY from you, to the steps at the shallow end, to get out. If he swims toward you and struggles to climb out at the deep end, he hasn't figured it out yet.
 
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DrewLG said:
As I've suggested here before... Regardless of the other safety measures you take (fence, strict training, etc.), spend a few minutes walking into and out of the pool with your dog so he can learn where the steps are. If the dog is in the pool and you're on the deck at the deep end, when you call him he should swim AWAY from you, to the steps at the shallow end, to get out. If he swims toward you and struggles to climb out at the deep end, he hasn't figured it out yet.
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Yeah I've read your posts before. Will def go that route. Our "yard" isn't large enough to really go out unsupervised. It'll be interesting keeping him/her out of the pool if they enjoy it.
 
Playing fetch with tennis ball is a great way to teach and reinforce the stairs. Start them on the patio at the stairs and toss it into the shallow end. They'll naturally take the stairs in, retrieve the ball and come back to you. (Be ready to jump in just in case of course).

20 times later, throw it in the deep end and they already know how to get out. Once learned, it's a fun game they'll want to play and doing so is 'reinforcement' not play.
 
What do you guys do before they come back in the house. Don't know the breed or type of coat yet but I can imagine keeping them somewhat dry before coming back in is a pain. Looking forward to it.
 
Mine get toweled off once they're done swimming so they can have the rest of the time we're still outside to finish air drying.
 
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Uhhello said:
What do you guys do before they come back in the house. Don't know the breed or type of coat yet but I can imagine keeping them somewhat dry before coming back in is a pain. Looking forward to it.
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I'm learning to not care about the wet footprints and water drips. My dog is in the pool all the time. She knows where the steps are located. She actually doesn't like to leave the stairs area. Even with the pool covered now with a Loop-Loc mesh cover, she will lay on top of it and get wet. She doesn't care how cold the water is.
 
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Or get a fru fru dog like mine, and he will never step foot in the pool.

My guess it is a 50/50 shot as to if your dog is going to voluntarily go into the pool. The dogs I grew up with, all medium sized cocker spaniel mixes, never got into our pool My friends with a lab can't let their dog outside without it jumping in the pool. Do your research on your breeds and hope for the best.

Even if you get a dog that couldn't care about swimming, its always good to teach them how to swim and get out of the pool, and give them at least a refresher course every year. My fru fru dog will always stay out of arm's length from the pool and anyone in it, so that is a positive too.
 
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When we first moved in, all we had was our Aussie. She fell in once just after we got here. Then over the summer, she started hanging out in the water, but on the stairs (more of a "sunning ledge" I guess), but she refuses to actively swim in it. We have tried just taking her in the pool with us, but she immediately swims back to the ledge or the side stairs and gets out. Guess she just doesn't like it, but at least she knows how to get out. We don't use a solar blanket or anything, so I'm not worried about her. If she fell in, she'd just get back out. We also dogsit my father in law's dog and she LOVES swimming and will happily jump in and swim around and get out when she's ready.

However, we just got a goldendoodle puppy 2 weeks ago. Twice now - with us standing less than 15 feet away - he has fallen in because he's clumsy and, well, a dumb puppy. He immediately swims over to the edge, but he can't get out and since we haven't been swimming yet, he doesn't know where the stairs are. This has not given him any fear of the pool, but it does mean we have to be hyper vigilant when we have him outside. He absolutely IS NOT allowed out there alone because one, he puts everything in his mouth that he can and we don't want him eating the plants or rocks, and two, we don't want him falling in and drowning. Eventually he'll be fine, but he's not there yet.

My buddy has a middle-aged golden retriever, and he has full reign of the backyard at their house. If he's hot, he'll go out the back door and put himself in the pool - usually just laying down on the sunning ledge. All dogs are different I guess, but until you know how they deal with water, and until you're absolutely certain they know how to get out, you just have to play it very safe.
 
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JJ_Tex said:
Or get a fru fru dog like mine, and he will never step foot in the pool.

My guess it is a 50/50 shot as to if your dog is going to voluntarily go into the pool. The dogs I grew up with, all medium sized cocker spaniel mixes, never got into our pool My friends with a lab can't let their dog outside without it jumping in the pool. Do your research on your breeds and hope for the best.

Even if you get a dog that couldn't care about swimming, its always good to teach them how to swim and get out of the pool, and give them at least a refresher course every year. My fru fru dog will always stay out of arm's length from the pool and anyone in it, so that is a positive too.
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Mine is a Shepherd / Chow mix, and hates water. Loves the snow, and if I leave the gate to the stairs open, when my pool freezes he likes to lay spread eagle on the ice.

That whole "If it is too cold for you it is too cold for them" thing does not apply to my dog.

Anyhow, all water should be supervised. My neighbors dog drowned in their Koi pond. Granted it was a small dog, and mostly blind at the time, but still: things happen.
 
My $.02 on a couple of issues:

  • Get a dog with hair not fur if you don't want to deal with fur in the pool. We have a wire haired dachshund that does not shed (but also doesn't like to swim and neither would I if my legs were 2" long!) who only willingly gets in the pool when we swim her for therapy. I have never once seen her hair in the pool or in the house.
  • I am a huge proponent and agree 100% with the above recommendations to teach your dogs where the exit or steps are.
In addition to the ball, we used randomized treats at the steps to ensure our dog knew where the steps are. No matter how we orient her in the pool, she immediately aims towards the steps. Think about the edge of your pool from your dog's perspective; unless they have been trained to know exactly where to exit, it all looks the same to them.

Good luck with the dog search! One more suggestion, train your dog to go potty in a single place not the entire back yard. Makes clean up much, much easier!
 
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otter86753 said:
Good luck with the dog search! One more suggestion, train your dog to go potty in a single place not the entire back yard. Makes clean up much, much easier!
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Our dog has a designated "poop zone". When we have other dogs over, and they poop outside the zone, he gets very upset. He will come to us, all anxious, as if to say "some other dog pooped outside the zone, it wasn't me"
 
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It took a while, but we trained our water loving Golden Retrievers to stay out of the pool without permission. Permission is granted and indicated by throwing a toy or tennis ball into the pool, then game is on. They are pretty good about it, but its not something i trust. So if we can't supervise them, we tether them, or close the cover (the safest option).

Lulu in the Pool
 
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