my dog freaks out around the pool

pittiethefool said:

new here! summer is approaching and i’d like to work on my dogs behavior around swimming pool. back in 2020 my parents pitt drowned in their pool (rip macy) and i want to make sure my current dog is confident swimmer. When i visit my grandparents my 5 yr old male (roman) cannot control himself around their swimming pool. he gets super worked up around water but only comfortable in bodies of water he can stand in. my grandparents pool is only 3 ft deep on shallow end but 8 ft deep on other end. he just runs around perimeter jumping on and off the first step & barking like mad at anyone swimming in the pool. he’ll even toss his own toys in that sink to the bottom and bark and freak out until someone fishes them out for him. he does this over and over and u can tell he is exhausted but he can’t stop. when my grandpa swims laps our dog just chases him around the edge trying to bite his snorkel. he acts just like a bratty toddler throwing a tantrum. it doesn’t matter how much we try to correct him the pool is too high value/ exciting for him. our other dog is able to chill out and just sit calmly by the pool but not him. sometimes we just give up and have to leave him in the house bc he gets so stressed and no one is able to enjoy themselves. i think If he was able to feel confident going in and out of the water unassisted he wouldn’t have this reaction. i’m prepared to buy a new life vest and floating toys or even his own kiddie pool but wasn’t sure if there’s other approaches i could consider, not sure if anyone else has dealt with this with their own dog. he has a lot of anxiety and i think swimming will be a good outlet and exercise for him. i don’t want to have to keep him locked inside when i visit my grandparents. i would like him to enjoy swimming or at least hanging out around the pool calmly and safely. any tips?
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pittiethefool said:

thanks guys! your recc’s are all super helpful. luckily there is a tall metal gate surrounding the pool area so he cannot go there unattended. hopefully this summer he will gain more confidence around swimming. will def focus on him recognizing the stairs entry/exit point as most important step.

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pittiethefool said:

thanks guys! your recc’s are all super helpful. luckily there is a tall metal gate surrounding the pool area so he cannot go there unattended. hopefully this summer he will gain more confidence around swimming. will def focus on him recognizing the stairs entry/exit point as most important step.

Click to expand...