Greyhounds With New Pool. What To Expect?

[Guest johnwe]

Hello. Looking for some insight. We are moving to a new home that has an in-ground pool. It has a cement/stone area around it. It appears to have a few steps down inside the pool, though the steps seem sort of smallish.

 

I am wondering about hound safety with the pool. Should I have any concerns with the pool?

 

 

[Bogangles]

My first grey thought she could walk on water so, of course, she fell in the deep end and I had to rush to help her out. The with the grey I have now she did the same thing. If no one was there they would have drowned. I do know people with greys and pools and even taught some to swim. But I would be very careful at the beginning and I might never leave them alone near water out of their depth.

[Guest johnwe]

What was your solution? Teach them to swim?

[Bogangles]

Sorry, should have mentioned this was when we were visiting others with pools. We do not have one. I think if we did I would not let them out without supervision. Perhaps others with pools will chime in.

[buddibear]

I have inground pool with dark finish so dogs visiting may think it looks like pavement. With over 50 fosters ,so far several have walked in the pool. I NEVER let a dog stay in the yard alone. Treat the dogs as if a toddler even if they can learn to swim. I have wide steps at both ends that helps fishing them out.

[Stoney]

I would probably fence it or put up a pool cover than can support their weight. I wouldn't trust them alone with it!

[Cricket57]

I have inground pool with dark finish so dogs visiting may think it looks like pavement. With over 50 fosters ,so far several have walked in the pool. I NEVER let a dog stay in the yard alone. Treat the dogs as if a toddler even if they can learn to swim. I have wide steps at both ends that helps fishing them out.

 

This! Also, once you have taught them to swim, teach them which end of the pool has the steps. I read somewhere that more dogs drown from exhaustion because they don't know where/how to get out. I had a pool when I lived in FL and was constantly reinforcing with the poodles (pre-greyhound days) which end of the pool had the steps. My golden retriever didn't have to be shown twice.

 

Cricket

[Time4ANap]

Over the 9 or so years that I've been on GT there have been some tragic stories and some close calls regarding greyhounds with pools. There have also been hounds that love to swim. I think a pool fence is a must-have if you are in a situation where you can't be out in the yard with them every minute of every time they go out. Even if they love the water, an unexpected fall into the pool can cause a dog to panic and drown, much like a human.

 

if not a fence, then there needs to be a barrier of some kind that contains the dogs to an area away from the pool when they are turned out. There are some retractable pool barriers made that are a mesh type or sunbrella fabric. They can be pulled into place when needed, and retracted to open up the area.

 

Being in AZ, we typically hear a news story at least once every 2-3 weeks of a child drowning who got into a pool unattended. Open pools are a problem.

[Scoutsmom]

While I totally agree with keeping the dogs away from the pool when they are not supervised, I think one of the first things you should do is take them into the pool (perhaps with doggy life preservers) and have them use the steps into and out of the pool. Reenforce this regularly, because accidents do happen and they need to know how to get out of the pool.

[greysmom]

There are several pool-and-greyhound videos wandering around Facebook right now. The dog is wearing a life-vet and has a sort of pool noodle collar to keep his head afloat. He basically walks into the pol and floats around, barely moving, for a *very* long time!!!

 

Greyhounds can learn how to swim, they just don't do it very well. They have lots of heavy muscle and not a lot of floaty fat, so they tend to sink rather than stay on the top.

 

A fence or rigid pool cover is a must, I would think. Not just a fabric cover, since there have been cases of the dog trying to walk on them and drowning after they get wound up in the clth and under water, unable to get out.

 

Well, the video isn't on YouTube. Let's see if it will post from FB

 

https://www.facebook.com/100006304266719/videos/2107229179497204/

 

Hmm.... Nope. Shoot. It's really cute!

Edited July 4, 2017 by greysmom

[Vampiric_Conure]

I would definitely teach the pup how to swim and which end(s) are the stairs, Perhaps even putting markers where the steps are.

[Zoomdoggie]

Greyh9can definately learn how to swim. I trained my first one to retrieve Frisbees and sticks from out of Lake Michigan. He could at distances of maybe 200 feet, in mild waves. It wasn't easy, but he loved it. A pool is a different issue though. The safety of the shallow end isn't always so obvious.

[PatricksMom]

We fenced ours (fear of them falling in and terror of them wandering onto the winter cover and getting trapped). Until we could build the fence, we got temporary fencing from Home Depot--ugly, but it kept them safe.

[GeorgeofNE]

Fence in the pool. I think you really need to anyway so you don't end up with any neighborhood children falling in.

 

There was a greyhound on GT years back that drowned in the backyard pool when no one was outside watching. It was horrible.

[BatterseaBrindl]

Fence!

[PatricksMom]

A fence or rigid pool cover is a must, I would think. Not just a fabric cover, since there have been cases of the dog trying to walk on them and drowning after they get wound up in the clth and under water, unable to get out.

Yes, these things are death traps. It's what we have (a rigid cover isn't an option and we don't have kids so can't really justify a safety cover with the 6' exterior privacy fence), but you really have to have a interior pool fence for the dogs. If you're anything like us, make sure you put automatic closers on the the gate(s) too so you don't accidentally leave one open. We built a simple rail fence for ours, it cost ~$750, but we built fancier gates than we needed for aesthetic reasons and used all pressure treated lumber. I think the estimate to have it done with basic gates and concrete set posts was about $1500.

[Mercsmom]

Ours in on a caged lanai so a fence is not required by law.

Although Mercury thinks of the pool simply as a backdrop for his sunbaths, we do a few things:

1. He's not out on the lanai without us.

2. When we drag him into the pool (against his will), we take him out into the water and then, direct him back to the stairs so he can see where they are.

[cleptogrey]

My first grey thought she could walk on water so, of course, she fell in the deep end and I had to rush to help her out. The with the grey I have now she did the same thing. If no one was there they would have drowned. I do know people with greys and pools and even taught some to swim. But I would be very careful at the beginning and I might never leave them alone near water out of their depth.

i was visiting my dear friend in houston. after 3 days of driving the dogs were so relieved to be loose in her fenced in 3/4 acre yard. during their first loop around the yard, they too thought they could walk on water. never saw it coming....we were hysterical. obviously they survived and made it out. i think the shock of the hot houston water added to the general shock of water. needless to say, they never ventured near the pool again. our friend has portable pool fencing for the grandkids, she erected it.

[3greytjoys]

Statistics show that dogs most often panic when they accidentally fall into water/pools. They desperately tightly circle (e.g., dog's arm length) exactly where they fell in until they drown. (Most dogs become too disoriented to swim the entire perimeter of a pool to find steps.)

 

Please do fence off your pool to prevent your Greyhound from falling in. Greyhounds' lack of buoyancy and poor swimming endurance makes them even more prone to drowning. Just like a toddler, dogs can go under in seconds. They should not be left by a pool unsupervised even for a minute.

 

Our pool-like pond is too deep for Greyhounds. The perimeter of the yard is fully fenced 6'-8'+, but we added an inner divider fence to ensure the hounds would have a 100% dog-safe side yard. We opened the tallest (4') ex-pen with built-in gate to use as an instant fence by securing the panels to 5' tall metal fence posts. We added some wire fencing to reach corners. (Available in rolls.)

 

Having spent many years at a lake, residents' dog drownings were way too common, and were completely preventable.

 

Good luck, and enjoy your new home!

Edited July 16, 2017 by 3greytjoys

[LoveMyGrey+2]

Greyhounds sink. Mine are only in the pool area with supervision. Even with a lifevest on I had to hold my greyhound up. Please be very careful.

[Dawnnziggy]

Our female loves to swim! She scared me to death as she walked in our friend's pond. She took off swimming and was out there smiling. Our big male leaped in to be with her. He was scared and I was ready to jump in to save him but all of a sudden he was swimming too. He swam to her but then looked at me. I called him to me and he swam over, got out, and shook like crazy. I had to watch Myrtle like a hawk cause she kept wanting to swim!

 

I realize all hounds can't swim so I would put up a fence if I had one!