Yet another Texan

[cini75104]

Greetings from Cedar Hill (18 miles south of Dallas). I share my home with a Miniature and four Giant Schnauzers. The Giants are excellent swimmers, and would LIVE in a pool if they could. The Mini HATES water. I am planning/budgeting for a new pool. I'm here to learn about pools BEFORE I take the plunge. As my yard and budget pretty much limit me to above-ground pools, I'm looking into wood walled pools, as well as a couple of steel ones (although I prefer the wood wall pools from an aesthetic point of view). I've posted links in the above-ground pool section of this site, so if anyone is familiar with wood pools, I'd really appreciate any feedback.

Also, if anyone has BIG dogs, what are the pros/cons of an above-ground pool (i.e., liner problems?), or a vinyl-liner in-ground pool? For perspective, my male Giant is 125 pounds, my adult female is 85 pounds, my year old P&S pup is 65 pounds, and my rescue pup is about 55 pounds at six months. (pics attached)

If I wait another year or so, I can probably do in-ground, but it's hot as heck here -- it got up to 97 yesterday! The dogs killed a 10' Intex bubble pool within a day. They had a plastic kiddie pool, but it barely lasted a season before it became a chew toy. The pool is mainly for the dogs, but I will swim daily if I have one. Any objective insight is most appreciated. The cost of the wood ABG installed may be close to $7/8K; steel installed around $5K. OR I could wait a couple of years and go with gunite or fiberglass. I'm know the latter options are the best investment, but I also have to factor in my sanity and the dogs' comfort in 100+ degree weather. So pleeease feel free to give your input. I need all the help I can get!

 

[sredish]

your going to have to get a big filter and clean it often. The hair causing filter flow is going to be the biggest problem. These guys can help you with which filter will work best filtering hair with a busier backwashing schedule, maybe sand but I think fiberglass or gunite would be best and I'd stay away from vinyl.

edit: and when you get the pool going, remember these two words " Skimmer Socks ".... they'll make your life easier with the dog hair in there.

 

[cini75104]

Thanks for the reply, Redish. When I grow up, I'm gonna get a pool like yours! Man, that is an absolutely gorgeous setup you have. Is the blue color the surface, or did you accomplish that with lighting? My yard isn't big enough for anything like yours, but it sure is nice. The pool house is the icing on the cake! Nice electronics, too!

In my heart of hearts, I think I know that gunite/fiberglass is probably best with the dogs. My lack of patience (and the big bucks for in-ground) is what's getting me down, though. I've only had one poolstore (REC Warehouse) tell me that mixing dogs with an above-ground was a bad idea -- the other two (Crown Pools and Leslie's Pools Supplies) are trying to sell me their top-of-the-line ABPs. Since I've never owned a pool, I don't really know what is involved in maintenance, etc. I do, however, suspect that vinyl and big dogs might be an issue. And I'd hate to spend $7/8K on an ABG, only to have to replace the liner in a short amount of time. This is a much larger undertaking that I had originally thought.

As far as the hair goes, I'd probably go for a larger filter. Although, Schnauzers don't really "shed" or blow their coats; they have hair that breaks off daily just like human hair. So, as long as they are groomed on a regular basis there is very little to no shedding. Of course, I'm sure there'll still be some hair in the pool.

I guess I have to really look at this more carefully. I am really glad I found this forum. Thanks again for your insight, Redish.

P.S. Thanks for the skimer sock tip. I'll probably go with a sand filter, but replace the sand with Zeobrite.

 

[Butterfly]

Hi Cini,

I don't have a big dog, but we have some members that do! One that comes to mind is AnnaK. She built her pool FOR her dogs. Big dogs. German Shepherds. She is loaded with info in this area

If she doesn't chime in on this thread, I suggest you send her a PM of any questions or concerns.

Cute doggies :lol:

 

[sredish]

Is the blue color the surface, or did you accomplish that with lighting?

Thanks for the nice words on the pool. As we speak, I have contractors there trying to finish up tile, plumbing and lay a little bit of stone, all in a deadline for this Sunday as we're having a big party. If you scroll to the bottom of that page, you can see it in the daytime.

The color is the LED lighting in the pool and it's switchable to pretty much any color. The finished plaster has a light blue color and the blue LED really sets it off at night. Red looks cool to but a little creepy...

I doubt the dogs in the pool will be a big deal, you just want 1) a tough finish on the lining, 2) a good filter with plenty of attention to it and 3) skimmer socks. In the end, it'll be fun and worth it.

 

[sredish]

Try these links:

http://www.troublefreepool.com/viewtopic.php?t=4510

http://www.troublefreepool.com/viewtopic.php?t=549