In our previous post about pet safety, we looked at 2 key ways to help protect your canine companion in and around your pool: supervise carefully and check for and encourage swimming ability. After that, you’ll want to add a few more layers of protection in order to fully safeguard one of your favorite members of your family.
Purchase Safety Products
Hopefully you already have several layers of protection to ensure safety for the human members of your family; the same items can help keep your dog safe. Pool safety fences and safety pool covers combine with pool alarms to help pet owners keep their pets out of danger when they are not in the pool area — and then to alert them if a breach does occur.
Of the layers of protection surrounding your pool, a pool alarm may not be as well known, so we’ll take a minute to discuss this category of products. A pool alarm is a device that can be installed either around or in the pool, triggering a loud alarm if any object greater than a given weight enters the pool area or the water.
A complement to a pool alarm, the Safety Turtle6 Alarm can be attached to a dog collar that can sound a loud alarm from the base station if it becomes submerged in water. A life jacket that fits your pet properly can also be a helpful product to purchase.
Plan for a Safe Exit
As important as ensuring that your pet can safely swim and stay afloat in your pool may be, it’s also important for you to make sure that he or she has a safe exit strategy. This may include teaching your dog how to use the same set of steps for both entering and exiting the pool. (As with any dog-training endeavor, you’ll want to use a lot of positive reinforcement, such as praise, treats, and petting.)
You may wish to position an easy-to-recognize visual cue next to the steps to help your dog orient himself to the side where the exit can be found. If your dog is on the small side, a landscaping brick positioned on the top step may make the climb a little easier to manage.
Finally, if your pool lacks an exit that’s easily accessible for your pet, you may wish to consider one more purchase: a Skamper-Ramp (This kind of ramp has the added benefit of helping any wildlife that may enter your pool to be able to easily escape.)
Prepare for a Rescue
As with humans, no pet is completely free from risks. In case a drowning event does occur, it is extremely helpful to be familiar with pet CPR. Since the procedure can cause damage if it’s performed on a healthy pet, you’ll want to know how to check to see if it is necessary before you begin. You can request free information about pet CPR from the American Red Cross or your veterinarian’s office.
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Lyon Financial
Since 1979 Lyon Financial has made the backyard resort dream come true for over 500,000 families across the U.S. Through our solid relationships with more than 3,000 pool contractors and our continued commitment to putting our clients first, we have built a reputation as the first choice in providing pool financing solutions. For more information, visit lyonfinancial.net or call (877) 754-5966 today.
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