Suggestions to keep new dog out of pond?

[Neo]

We just got an Australian Sheperd (named Xander) yesterday and so far He is a great dog but very active. While playing in our backyard today he stepped right in the pond. I'm not really sure if he just wanted to cool off or didn't realize it was that deep because it is covered in hyacinths. One of the reasons we got him was to guard the pond so I don't want to block him away from it unless I really have to. I know a lot of people here have dogs and ponds so I figured It would be worth asking. I was thinking of a kids pool for him to play in to divert his attention from the pond.

 

[sissy]

oh my and they love water .A friend Mike has one and he solved it somewhat by getting him a kiddy pool so he would stay out of the pond .It has worked somewhat but has taken lots of training .

 

[Waterbug]

When an owner has a dog I build the pond so the dog can go into the pond and not hurt anything.

Short of a good fence I don't think there's any reliable way to keep a dog out of a pond if they want to go in. Setting up a separate pool for the dog may sound logical to us, but not to dogs. That just gives them 2 places to play in the water.

Scarecrows are about as good as it gets for non-fence solutions. But against a dog I doubt it would be very effective.

There are plants that are said to be dog repellent, like Plectranthus caninus, but repellent and barrier aren't the same thing. In my experience dogs aren't even slowed down by plants.

 

[DOUBBLE TAP]

I have a 2 rotties one hates the water so tha one was easy. The other one loves water and to chase things he took a dive I to the pond after a fish and realized that he can't touch bottom got freaked out, now he knows to stay on the perimiter of the pond and uses it like a Giant water bowl. One trick I can offer is if he's sensitive to sound put a bunch of pennies in a soda can and if he gets too close to the pond for your liking throw it at him. Don't bean him just have it land at his feet or in His general area it's more about sound startling him than the contact. It worked to teach the dogs to stop eating the cucumbers out of my garden

Good luck

 

[Neo]

Thanks for the replies! Luckily so far he has not attempted a swim since then. I'm really thinking that he thought that the pond was solid ground since it is mostly covered with water hyacinths.

Setting up a separate pool for the dog may sound logical to us, but not to dogs. That just gives them 2 places to play in the water.

This is exactly what I was worried about. I don't want to be out the money for a pool if it doesn't work.

 

[slakker]

Train, train and more training...

It's possible to do like many owners who's able to train their dogs never to leave their yard, etc. We have dog with IVDD and should not go down long flights of stairs and he's trained not to do so, even though our other dog goes up and down all the time. He'll wait for us at the top of the stairs so we carry him down. He knows he's allowed to go up stairs, but won't go down by himself.

 

[capewind]

First is to figure out if he meant to go into the pond or not LOL ...

When we dug the newest pond, our dog thought it was great to use the one step hubby put in it, to go cool off ... if she was 20 lbs, I probably wouldnt have cared. At 160 lbs, I worried about her nails ripping the liner ... Set up a dolly in front of her pond access and kiddie pool for her, and she preferred to lay in the kiddie pool I have full of parrots feather ... shoo'd her out of the parrots feather a few times and she now uses her pool ... Dolly is nolonger blocking her access point and she is staying out of the pond ...

 

[wuftytufty]

We have a fence around ours, we are putting in a chain link fence soon, to replace the cumbersome one we have. But for some reason, i now have images of an Australian Shepherd wearing those inflatable arm bands....sorry not much help.

Our greyhound appears to think she is a hippopotamus, so not sure training would work, as she is v. stubborn. Today she ate some blanket weed, and then a bit later threw up...eats everything....dratted dog! (Love her really!!)

One good training aid, when you can't be in the immediate vicinity is a pet corrector spray. http://www.amazon.com/Supplies-Pet-Corrector-Training-Spray/dp/B0051GO5WM We have used it with our two for general training, before we moved here, with great effect. It is not cruel, and I could just give it a quick spray, and the noise (this is the only deterrent) sort of startles them a little, so they jump back from what they are about to do, then you can follw it up with praise and reward, right away. It does work quite well, and you can sit elsewhere in the yard, or house and use it from a distance. Easier than running around with water pistols etc. Jut remember to keep it to hand....

 

[DrCase]

My pit bull used to just walk down into one of my ponds and sit to cool off
I put up. A low fence to keep my first grandchild out and the dog has never tested it