Above ground Pools and GSD's - Page 2

How about a big old stock tank - usually have a drain cock on the bottom so easy to drain to clean. Nowadays they have huge ones made out of old monster truck/catepillar tires. Much more durable for dogs.

Also check into endless pools - smaller take less water which if you are metered is impt (an above ground make take up to 30,000 gallons to fill AND living in a hot climate you have to top it off every week if not every day). Plus the endless pools let you create a current for them to swim against ( just make sure no sucking holes)

I would think for the cost of an above ground ANd the water it will you use you could create a nice little decoratie inground doggie pool or pondThis one is at a local kennel. Meant for splashing and playing but it shouldn't be too hard to grade at an incline so the back would be deep enough to swim in.

Cutaway:  You are correct that the salt water pool has chlorine generated by the salt cell , but I assure you the quality of the chlorine is far more able to be swimmed in by humans, like me and my family , who has one.. THE cell does take the sodium chloride out into the pool as chlorine./but the difference in what you buy in a PUCK of chlorine for a pool and what is generated is worlds of difference. NO smell, no burning of eyes and no skin rash...THE level is controled by YOU and the level  is set and as my son in law states, he very rarely has to add salt even...THE pool is used by teens and a dog , that has long hair...HE monitors this every day and checks for any malfuntions..that is my son in law..MR.Clean...the maintenance is less, and the only time he shocks it is if a large quantity of teens or people use the pool....

I had an in ground pool back home and my chlorine levels were kept at the correct level, very costly and a lot of trouble for me, after my hubby died... but Acid rain and the gulf coast problems of heat and junk in air kept me hopping from add , minus or plus all the  time...Ph on the salt pool seems to stay correct but could need as any pool needs ....adding of SODA  to get ph correct. My eyes burned , my bathing suits wore out fast, and I smelled of chlorine for a day even rinsing off in filtered water..the people who bought my home and the pool covered with an inclosed screen room...filled the pool in and used the spot for a garden....I was a little bit sad but not too sad to every own another one..lol

BUT I see a worlds of difference in the two types...My kids(dogs) go to the lake at the Park and here in Minneola I live on a lake...in my front yard..about 100 yards.

Chlorine is an insecticide...and I know lakes have algea and fungi in them tooooo. Bromide is less invasive on skin and eyes and is used successfully with less cost because the sun does not eat it up as Chlorine immediately is gone even after it eats the germs...You can research both...Clorine can be use then you can switch to bromide but if you use bromide to keep the pool, the pool has to be completely drained to switch back to chlorine...lots of work...

You can always use more filters.

Proceed with care...

I don't have any experience with pools and dogs, but I would be very careful about how much my dogs were exposed to chlorine. We have an elderly neighbor who had to be hospitalized for a week last year with chlorine poisoning just from drinking tap water. I would think that a dog jumping in to a pool to retrieve a toy would ingest a fair amount of water and their bodies are much smaller than ours, thereby posing a health risk for them.

I found that the galvanized tanks from a feed store works best.  Easy for the the dogs to get in and out of.   Add some gold fish to control mosquitoes and a water pump to spray water for airation.....good to go.  Research how to naturally control alge and slush with Barley.  No need to go to the expense or pain of a clorinated/salt water pool.

The challenge is draining it.  If you get the hose that goes on the pump, easy enough to empty most out.

Overall, cost is about 200- 300 $$ depending on the size.  same price as a Walmart above ground pool and better for the environment.

May I also recommend a good sand filter (to go along with the salt pool).  Ours was in the ground and we rigged a frame with screen to put over the filter intake in the pool while the dogs were swimming.  Once they got out, we shut the filter pump off and let the hair float to the top. Once we got most of the hair out, we started the pump up with the screen across the opening to get the rest of the hair.  My friend who does pool maintenance told me about this method, also so much easier to replace sand than the traditional filters. 

Very good Idea Mindhunt...I have to filter my water into my jacuzzi in master bath by a hand made one because I , being a redhead , have very sensitive skin to chlorine water.

My dogs have never drunk chlorinated water so we use bottle water on the two I have here with me...the others are at the other house with well water well filtered also.

YR