Many families with pools either have a dog who loves to swim and wants to swim all the time or a dog who does not like to swim and needs to be coaxed in. It is likely if you have the dog who loves to swim you may be dragging him out of the pool on occasion when you need him to stay out. You can set some clear rules for your pool so your dog understands when he is allowed to swim in the pool and when he is not. Remember, keeping your dog out of the pool when you are not around is important for his safety and health. You do not want to have your dog injured in the pool because he is swimming unsupervised. You may also need to consider the safety of your pool water when allowing your dog in the pool often.
As with other boundary training with your dog, the pool becomes something your dog may have permission to enter when you allow it. He needs to understand that he is not allowed in the pool unless you invite him. Your dog looks to you for big decisions such as boundary training. Allowing your dog to swim by invitation is okay as long as your dog understands he cannot be in the pool without your proper invite. Keeping your dog out of the pool is going to be much like keeping your dog out of a room in your house or out of your car when the car door is open. These boundary training sessions will be simple and relatively short but based around your pool each time.
Be sure to have tasty treats for good behavior. You can invest in a safety fence to fence in your pool or you can train your dog not to go near the pool without invitation by teaching him boundaries. One method includes using tape or a garden hose to block off the line your dog will recognize as a boundary he is not allowed to cross. Teaching your dog to stay out of the pool will require patience, especially if the weather is hot when you are training this boundary. If you are swimming, your dog is going to want to be with you, so while you are training your dog to stay out of the pool when you are not in it, you might want to allow him to swim with you at times .
Cannot get dog to get out of pool when swimming. She will swim for hours.
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