New pool and we have a Golden Retriever...

[JuYuHu]

We have a new pool that was completed a month ago. We've swam just a couple of times and are looking forward to the warmer weather soon! So we have a three year-old Golden... she has not yet gone in the water, although our kids would love for her to do so! She's a bit timid and as the pool is unfamiliar to her, she has not yet ventured in, but seems very curious and gets a bit whiny when she's seen us swimming and splashing around.

So, do all dogs instinctively know how to swim? I'm wondering if I need to be cautious of her being in the backyard on her own and not ever having been in a pool before...

If she ends up loving the water and swimming a lot, what are some pool chemistry/equipment related things that I should be aware of? She is quite a shedder!

Thanks!!

 

[Texas Splash]

Dogs instinctively can paddle, but not all love the water, nor can they all swim well. Your GR should do just fine I would imagine. We have several dogs (big & small), and really only one loves the water. The other don't really care. But the one thing you do need to be concerned about - those furry kids are just that .... kids. They don't understand like we do. They may jump right in but panic because they don't know how to get out (i.e see the stairs). I always encourage my dog to leave the pool at the same location so he (hopefully) remembers where the stairs are. I also worried about the dogs playing and inadvertently knocking one into the water and downing. So, being fur-kids, I put-up a fence around the pool. So they only have access when the adults are there. Lastly, make sure to have a skimmer sock (nylon, paint strainer net, etc) in your poolside skimmer(s) to catch that dog hair.

 

[CountryBumkin]

There are a lot of "pool dog ramps" available if you Google it. The idea is that if the dog goes/falls in (opposite side from pool steps) he has something to climb up on to get out. Dogs have drowned in pools because they fall in and then they just paddle against the pool side until they get exhausted. Of course you would want to teach your dog where the "pool exit" is if he/she will be in the pool, but if the dog doesn't learn quickly or if the dog doesn't normally go in the pool (but could accidentally fall in), the pool ramp is a good idea.

I have two Dobbies. Dobbies don't typically like water - but my wife taught one of the dogs how to exit the pool (in case of accidental fall in), but the plan backfired and now the dog likes to go in the pool for a drink or cool off. This wouldn't be so bad, except that we also have a doggie-door, so she comes in dripping wet ( at least 2x a day) then proceeds to go around the house until she finds someone to wiper her down.

But regaridng pool chemistry or filter maintenance, if have not done anything different to balance water or noticed any excessive hair in the filter or such. Actually I think the dog is cleaner now because of it.

 

[bobandsherry]

I have a Black Lab and he loves the water. Give him a pond and he runs right into it. But for whatever reason he won't go into our pool. We've tried treats to coax him in, still no go.

Sent from my LG-H830 using Tapatalk

 

[JuYuHu]

Great info, thank you all! So far, with coaxing, she has refused to enter the pool... but I will need to watch her for now until we figure out whether she's a pool dog or not.

 

[Texas Dobie]

I have two Dobbies. Dobbies don't typically like water

Hey Country! Fellow dobie dog owner here. We are in the final days of our pool build and are super curious how he will react to "his" new pool. Any advise on how y'all taught your dobie to exit the pool would be appreciated.

Thanks, R

 

[kywildcats]

My Sheltie loves the water, and we don't try to keep him out. It is fenced, so he cant go in when ever he wants, we have to be there. In the middle of summer when I'm mowing, I leave the gate open and he knows when I get done I will be jumping in. He always beats me in on those days. Like others said, use a hair net or something to catch the hair.

 

[kimkats]

R! You HAVE to show off Hunter's Christmas present!

Country, I had a lab that had never seen a big body of water until 10 WEEKS old. My hubby and I went wading out leaving him on the shore. The next thing we knew he was swimming out to meet us like it was not big thing.

THEN we had a bulldog. He SO wanted to swim but his butt was like a brick! He wore his self out as he had to work SO hard to keep his head above water. He did sleep real good afterwards and he enjoyed what he could do.

I always have a harness on the dogs when we are by the water (river,lake, gulf) as it gives us something extra to grab if needed. You can get cheap step in fence posts and bird netting to make a temp fence until you can do some training.

Kim

 

[bmoreswim]

Our two Duck Tollers learned to love the pool. It wasn't love at first sight though. We selfishly wanted them to swim because it's fun for us. Our pool is separately fenced so limited access. They both fell in once or twice and were guided to safety by us. One of the dogs pulled the other one out by the collar when they were still in their brief freakout phase. Then they started easing in then bam they were swimmers a couple of days later. Probably a three weeks for the process. They are looking forward to the opening as are we.

Here are the hair nets used by many. So cheap and easy to pull and toss.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B002XK2FS0/ref=yo_ii_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[JuYuHu]

Love the pic! My kids would be thrilled if our GR would join us! We'll keep coaxing her...

Thanks for the link to the hair nets - do you just wrap around the outside of the skimmer basket? Or line the inside?

 

[bmoreswim]

Line the inside. It just goes over the top rim and on one or both side of the skimmer handle. On the outside would still make you have to pull the hair out of the skimmer slots.

 

[Reddogdan]

We have taught all our dogs where the steps are and carrying them into the pool we let them loose and point them that direction. A few repeats and they get it.