How to Manage Dogs in Pools

One of the greatest benefits of being a pool owner and a dog owner, especially in brutally hot climates, is that a swimming pool is a great place for your pup to cool off and interact with the family. That being said, there are a few important maintenance issues that you should explore before letting your dog dive in for a splash session.

Pets and Pool Maintenance

Let’s start with the impact that dogs have on your pool equipment and water quality management. The average dog brings the equivalent of three people’s worth of contaminants into the pool. This includes everything from dirt and oil in their fur, loose hair, and other unwelcome items like bugs and even fecal matter. This means that your pool’s ability to adequately sanitize against those substances becomes more strained the more you allow your dogs to swim.

This is important to know, especially if your dogs are sharing swim time with your children, because inadequate sanitation can lead to transmission of nasty bacteria like E. coli and giardia that you do not want your family or guests to come into contact with. All of this is to say that in addition to close monitoring of chlorine levels, it is important that you invest in the right equipment if you are going to be welcoming your furry friends into the water on a regular basis.

Things like variable speed pumps will allow you to circulate the entire contents of the pool through the filtration system more often, and large cartridge filters will do a better job of grabbing those nasty waterborne particles that you would prefer do not get re-circulated in your pool water.

As with any other pool activity, be aware and be prepared to help your pets and guests in your water so that they can continue to share in the fun all season long.