QUESTION: How to introduce Sheepie to new Pool
 We got a new House!!!  We will be moving off the base and into a new house the last full week of August....
OMG!!! We are soo excited. There's an inground POOL IN THE BACKYARD   
But now I have a question ~ Best way to introduce Baloo to the pool, teach him NOT to fall in (or be afraid of it as well)??? Also my hubby is worried about him trying to walk acrossed it once it is closed for winter or once the snow starts covering it. . It is not fenced off from the rest of the yard. I mean-- it's fenced, from the front/sides/neighbors etc. But it's the WHOLE backyard that's fenced. So like the back patio goes up to and around one side of the pool & down to the little pool house then the grass and such goes around from the edge of the door , out and around the other side of the pool and stuff. Does that make sense?? I know some of you have pools.... how did you guys do it? or are we worried for nothing?? |
|
|
| you can buy a rolling fence for the winter time. |
Congrats  and he will try to walk across it in winter LOL, while you stand there with your heart in your mouth, not breathing, not saying a word while hoping he will make it across before he and the cover fall in I've been there , done that |
| i don't ever recall ours trying to walk onto the cover. but I was pretty young; I'll bet it happened and I just don't recall.
As for how to introduce? I'd say just let them have at it. Be on hand and ready to help, but they might intuitively know whats going on. The other day Luna took a header into a Koi Pond at a friends houses. I don't know HOW she knew what it was; she'd never seen one before. But she leaped out of the car and ran headlong towards it, leaping at the edge into the nasty, over grown water. On second thought? Maybe a more careful introduction to the pool is in order! |
| I always teach my dogs to swim beforehand. That way, if they do fall in they know what to do and don't panic. You don't want to attempt to pull or push a panic stricken flailing dog out of the water; you're just going to end up getting hurt and you might not save the dog.
We were at a friend's house one day. Carl was chasing their dogs around the pool when he cut the corner too close and fell in. He simply popped up, did a lap and got out. He barely even broke stride. |
| We have had an inground pool since 1989 & have yet to have a dog in it in any way, shape or form. What I always did was put them on a lead & walk them around the pool & give a " no" correction when we got close to the edge. Then when they would move out away from the edge they got praised big time. They will walk right up to the edge while we are in the pool but not come any closer or try to get in the pool. Did the same thing when the winter cover went on in the fall. If you have the type of winter cover that has the springs & is stretched across the pool & then the bolts are in the concrete the dog actually can run across that without harming themselves. I never encouraged it as I didn't want the dog's nails doing any damage to the cover or the dog thinking if we were at another home with a different typer cover that they could run over it. Mariah, my singleton, took a bit more training than the others . She saw it as a shortcut to either get ahead of or catch up to the opthers! If you have the kind of winter cover that is held in place with water bags, you definitley will want train them to stay off as it is NOT safe unless the pool water underneath is frozen. My biggest concern would also be leaving them in the area when the solar blanket is on. If they would try to walk across that they'd get all wrapped up in it in no time & be under water. I put all of mine in the pool area at times to let them run off some of their "herding" energy. They love to chase each other around & around the pool. I am fortunate as my pool has about 20 feet of ground surrounding it on all sides before the chain link fencing starts. My dog runs attach to the south side of the fencing. So my dogs are never in the pool area unless we are in there with them. And if we want to use the pool & not have to worry about the dogs (like when we have company or younger children over) the dogs are content to stay in the dog run & watch what is going on. |
| I'd purposely escort the dog into the pool a few times in different places and show him exactly how and where to get back out. You never plan for them to fall in and what would happen if you weren't around to help? This is from someone who had a duckling drown as a kid... |
Maxmm wrote: I always teach my dogs to swim beforehand.
I have pictures in my head of you in the pool and they are standing on the side as you teach them to do the scissors kick or breast stroke. Do you place them in the water and hold their front paws while you tell them to move their legs without bending them?  |
 I am green with envy. LUCKY YOU!!!!!
Make sure the dog knows he CAN swim!! and teach him where to get out and have FUN!!! |
| I'm envious too ! I'd love an in ground pool but our backyard is too small and the zoning won't allow it. I'll think of you and the dogs and all the fun you're sure to have. |
| Teaching them to swim is a good idea, but when the cover is on it or during the winter I think would be the most dangerous... if they fall in on the cover it is almost impossible to get out and the covers wraps around and sucks them down. In the winter if they fall through aside from the danger of drowing there is also the danger of hypothermia. I'd fence around it. |
| The first thing we did as soon as we moved into the house was bring the dogs in the pool. (No Sheepies at that point)
Pepsi's first summer here he wouldn't even come near the pool. He hated every aspect of it. So I was no concerned about him. We had also put up a 4 ft fence around the pool area to keep the kids out. The next summer I said the dogs were going to learn how to swim. I think at some point my Niece threw all of my dogs in the pool. 
After the initial shock they all seemed curious. I got clawed big time and scratched but each dog was brought into the pool and shown the proper way to get out (the steps) Then slowly I would get them in to the second step, have them sit and give TONS of praise. The prefer to have their feet on the ground. so sitting on the steps was perfect. I then taught them to go in on command. 
I have a video of Rags going in on command. http://www.dropshots.com/elissa7#date/2 ... 2/14:41:35 Now they all just bolt out there and jump right on to the steps. Neither Sheepie will swim on their own, but they do come in to the pool on their own accord. They get in to drink and cool off. Actually I can't keep them out now.
Hubby has been working with Rags to get her to swim. She is less afraid of the water and will do a lap with hubby. He then lets go of her collar and she will swim back to the steps and got tons of praise. I wouldn't say she is annoyed about this, because she just goes back to the steps and sits there. Lacey, our Yorkie Mix, also jumps right into the pool. (the steps) and sits there. I grew up with a pool that didn't have a seperate fenced area, so the family dog had year round access to the pool area. My parents purchased one of the safety covers that bolt into the concrete and are kind of stretchy. You can safely walk across one of these covers....which is a good thing to have if you have kids and a dog. Here in the Desert, we don't cover our pool for the winters so that has never been an issue/ |
Didn't find exactly what you're looking for? Search again here:
Custom Search
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|