advice needed about swimming pools

[MaxwellHouse]

My husband uses the pool a lot for PT on his ankle, and since he doesn't get to join our walks with Maxwell (5 months old), it is important to him that Maxwell can enjoy the pool with him. Does anyone have good ideas about how to get Maxwell to WANT to get in the water or on the floats? He would be strictly supervised. We just don't want to do something in this tender stage to cause him to hate the pool forever. Any ideas would be welcome. You all are great!

[LoveMyGirlz]

I'm thinking of buying a childs swimming pool and let them explore that and throw in balls, etc. Vixxen goes with us on the boat and in the lake and also in our pool, but I think she just does it cause she wants to be ANYWHERE I'm at! I will be floating on a matt in the pool and my hubby can let her outside and she'll run full speed and jump to land on the matt with me! LOL its pretty funny. The other 2 have not seen summer yet, so I will be trying the pool with them soon!

[marcerella02]

i watched a show on this... just gradually start putting him in... let him walk on the stairs... and maybe call him to you... and get him to "come"... Layla has a kiddy pool and i'll be using that to get her used to swimming since we boat a lot in the summer... but you can always use the tub!!! and make sure there is a nice raft in the pool in case he wants a break or to sub bathe

[Jenn218]

We are getting a pool put in and we have thought the same thing too. I have heard good and bad about the chlorine, etc. So, I think we are just planning on having a kiddie pool w/ just plain water in it for Mojo. Although, I might put him on the raft with me from time to time.

Here's the link to my post about it awhile back...maybe you can find some helpful info there......
http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=78343

[Sethowner]

We have a 4ft by 18ft pool for our grandchildren. We just had Seth & Sasha in today, Jack had Seth and I had Sasha and two grandson's. They loved it, we held them for awhile about 10 minutes and then they wanted to be with Caleb and Cameron so off they went (they had life jackets) Oh... and so did the grandchildren
But... when they hear the water running in the bathroom they make a mad dash into the bathroom they want in the water.

[Anna Banana]

Maybe just do it gradually, first hold him in the pool, but hold them above the water and give him love and treats. Then dip his feet in, and keep giving love and treats...

[Mybabe4me]

Babybear has never been in a pool pre-say. I do therapy for him in a tub i fill in the bath tub. But we just got a pool yesterday for him 15'x35" round above ground. I have talked to a few people that do water therapy for their furbabies and they have two differant opinions on the chlorine in the pool. One that is a certified and has a doggie swim spa said chlorine is not good for dogs to use Bromile(this is in place of the chlorine) I am going to be looking into this tomorrow to find out how expensive it is. And if it can be used in a pool like ours. I did go to the store today and look on the back of all the pool chemicals and they all say hazarous to humans and domestic animals.( well isn't that lovely). I will look further into what can be used for furbabies and what is safe. I know none of us want our babies sick.
Now the other person I talked to lives in Florida and she has her furbabies in the pool a lot. She told me she uses chlorine. Just give the kids a bath after to get the chlorine off their coats. This might work too,, but as we all know Yorkies have very sensitive skin in some cases. And I am hoping the chlorined does not dry out Babybear's coat.
When I do swim Babybear I put him in his life jacket, but sometimes he will not do his therapy in it so I have to take it off. If you are going to put your baby in the pool I would buy a life jacket for the little one and try it that way. I would do it gradaully. Once they are in the water they usually are hard to get out.lol
If anyone has any suggestions about the chlorine please let me know. This is important for Babybear's recovery.

[MaxwellHouse]

Thank you all so much for the info. I hadn't thought about chlorine, but my husband uses something very low level and not strong at all. Right now, Maxwell is not treat oriented, and only wants to be with us when he can't physcially see us. He's thilled to see us every morning, then it's off on his own little adventure world. He does like to retrieve, so we'll have to find a toy that would work in the pool. He is very independent and curious. So I'm hoping this pool play will work out so he isn't fearful.

[Mybabe4me]

you can also put treats on toys in the pool. Like little rubber duckies put treats on them he will get to them. The way Babybear learned to swim was we were sitting in our boat and I decided i was going in for a swim well when I came up out of the water there was Babybear right beside me. He of course had his life jacket on but he wanted to be with me.lol(this was before he got his injury.)

[margaritaville]

I started mine with a baby pool with floating balls and rubber ducks. Bubba just runs in and lays down when it is being filled. We went to the L"oreal your dog deserves it Breast cancer meeting and they had a big pool the labs etc. were swimming in and Bubba just jumped right in and swam. Then we got Sissy, she hasn't been in a big pool yet but plays in the kiddie pool. My daughter is getting an in ground pool so today she brought her french bulldog over to start getting her used to the water. This has worked so far for us

[Kbsqueff]

That's what we did w/ Maggie... That was her 1st time in the pool... She was afraid in the beginning but hubby stayed very close to her on the matt, so bit by bit she was getting more confident and began to walk around on the matt by herself... Hubby encoraged her during the whole time w/ kind words, and after a while he took her to his chest and dug Maggie's legs in the water - she was confortable 'cause hubby was holding her tight - so a little by little she started to move her arms and legs and began to swim!!! But hubby NEVER let her swim without putting a hand under Maggie's belly...

[Sukoshi's Mom]

We have a swimming pool, and I've been trying to get Sukoshi used to it a little at a time. I started by just holding her a few inches above the water so that her feet got wet, and her natural instinct to swim took over and she started paddling. I did that a few times, and I was convinced she was a natural born swimmer though, so I just set her on the steps the other day, and all she wanted was to jump out (which she was able to do). (Guess I moved a little too fast for her). I'm going to get her a life vest so she feels safer, and so I don't have to worry about her tiring out and drowning! I think it will make a huge difference when my husband and I are in our pool though, since she always just wants to be close to me! I like the idea of floating them on a raft too!

[Mybabe4me]

Okay. I did my research on the chlorine thing. I went to multiple stores and asked tons and tons of questions. The results are Baquicil is the best and you treat less with it. You do not have to worry about waiting long to swim when you place this in your pool. I was told 15 minutes compared to chlorine 24 hours. I thought this is great. I was also told where I have a small pool I would have to shock my pool at least once a week where as with the Baquicil I shock it once a year. This is an even more of a plus. This is about 20 more expensive a year than the Chlorine. I think I am going this way. I was also told if i started with the chlorine that is what I had to end with unless i wanted to empty my pool and start from scratch. I have a well and there is no way I can do that.
I just thought everyone would like to know.

[Sukoshi's Mom]

Originally Posted by Mybabe4me

Okay. I did my research on the chlorine thing. I went to multiple stores and asked tons and tons of questions. The results are Baquicil is the best and you treat less with it. You do not have to worry about waiting long to swim when you place this in your pool. I was told 15 minutes compared to chlorine 24 hours. I thought this is great. I was also told where I have a small pool I would have to shock my pool at least once a week where as with the Baquicil I shock it once a year. This is an even more of a plus. This is about 20 more expensive a year than the Chlorine. I think I am going this way. I was also told if i started with the chlorine that is what I had to end with unless i wanted to empty my pool and start from scratch. I have a well and there is no way I can do that.
I just thought everyone would like to know.

So for those of us who already have pools filled with chlorine, the Baquicil isn't an option? Unless we want to empty it and start over?

[Mybabe4me]

Yes you are right you have to empty and start over. You may want to go to a pool place that you get your supplies from and talk to them though. They know more about your pool then we do. I just thought I would give everyone a heads up on this product where it is safe for our babies.
I also like the idea you can swim in it in 15 minutes instead of waiting to swim for 24 hours. This is all liquid no tablets or powder to put in your pool.
Again I would call for advice on your pool speicailly depending on the size of it. See what your retailer tells you.