Today at Mommies In Orbit, I’m featuring a guest post by Kaitlin Gardner of, An Apple Per Day.
Kaitlin is writing about pet safety around the family pool. Take a look at the great tips she gives us to keep our pets safe! And thank you Kaitlin for being our guest writer today!
One of the favorite moments in my day is when I get to take my two Black Labradors out to the family pool. I don’t even have to say anything, but when I reach for the door, they start to get excited. But I want my dogs to be safe roaming the back yard, so we invested in a pool safety cover. I did a lot of research, and here’s what I found.
The pool can be a hazard. Each year a large number of dogs die in drowning accidents. Good advice for pool owners is to be present when your dog is in the water. But if I want to let the dogs out into the back yard to take care of their business, that pool that so attracts them becomes a potential hazard. If I turn my back, I know they’ll get right in the water. Also, what about a neighbor dog who might get into the water? They might not know how to swim, or get out of the water. In the winter, the frigid water can cause a dog to quickly panic and be in real distress. So what is the solution? Here are some resources with more details:
• Safety Pool Covers Prevent Pet Loss
• Summer Safety: Prevent a Tragedy
• 9 Must Read Tips to Keep Your Dog Afloat
We invested in a safety pool cover, and it was one of our best decisions. I discovered there are basically three different types, and the one that worked with dogs in the yard was easy to pick.
A bubble wrap cover. This is like a bedspread for the pool. It is a specially prepared type of bubble wrap that just lays on top of the pool water. It is easy to put on and take off, and works just fine for the pool. For the dogs – it’s not such a great solution. It just floats on top, and makes the pool look like a solid surface. It would be very easy for a dog racing around the back yard to run across it. A dog could either become entangled in the wrap, or slip underneath it. Either way, you would quickly have a dog in trouble.
A mesh cover. This is an excellent choice for many pool owners. It is relatively easy to deploy and remove. The cover is attached to the pool. The mesh allows rain water and snow to leech through, so there is no need to pump water off the cover over the winter. For the dogs – they could get caught in the mesh, become entangled and panic. Some of the mesh covers might not be strong enough to support the weight of a large dog like ours.
A solid cover. I had to prepare my husband about these covers, because they would require more effort. If you really want to get fancy, you can get covers tailored to your pool that open and close at the touch of a button. We didn’t want to spend that much. To put the cover on or take it off means more work – usually a job for two people. As well, rain water and snow will need to be pumped off the cover over the winter. The advantage is that there will be less likelihood of an algae problem developing over the winter. For our dogs – these covers can support up to 4,000 pounds, and I’ve seen both our Labradors on the cover at the same time, and it’s like they are on solid ground.
Now I can let the dogs out in the winter, smiling as I watch them frolic and play in the back yard, and not worry about them accidentally falling in the pool.
Kaitlin Gardner started AnApplePerDay.com to further her passion for a family friendly, green living lifestyle. She is married to her college sweetheart and lives in Pennsylvania. She and her husband enjoy going for long hikes, to get out and enjoy nature. She is working on her first book about ways to live an eco-friendly, healthy, natural life.
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