Puppies & garden pools/ ponds

[Solo2]

Still doing loads of research and thinking about having a puppy in our family - and still in no rush, whilst I decide what changes I'd need to make in my lifestyle and home (and still leaning towards wanting a golden retriever!)

Meanwhile, we may (or may not) be having a natural swimming pond built in our garden. This is like a natural water pool where you can swim but also has wildlife and plant-life.

Before going any further, I wanted to know if this would endanger a new puppy - ie, would the pool need to be fenced off? would the puppy/ growing dog drown? would it be silly to reduce the garden size, given our potential puppy/ dog would love a larger garden - though of course we'd walk our puppy/ dog as well as playing with it in the garden?

I know that retrievers love water anyway - so could it actually be an asset to our potential puppy?

Expert advice needed please

...And oh yes, on a completely different subject, what are the best books to read, pre-acquiring a dog - on having a puppy/ training/ clicker training and basically everything?

I've already read lots but assume there are some really good and highly recommended books......I want to prepare as much as anyone can for what life would REALLY be like with a puppy (never had a dog but wanted one for the last 43 years at least!), although, having tried to do the same before I had my twin sons, I now know that nothing can really prepare you for the reality of a baby - or two - even one with fur!

As long as a pool was set up to enable a puppy to get out easily and you supervised it at first to make sure it was safe, I can't see a pool being a problem. You might find it easier to fence the pool off though, especially if you don't want a constantly wet Golden Retriever!

I wouldn't worry about reducing your garden size. Gardens are really just somewhere dogs can lay in the sun and toilet and maybe play a bit with the owners, walking is where exercise is achieved.

My dog throws itself in the pool at every available opportunity.I nearly bought a dog ramp last year that allows a dog to climb out easily but they are too expensive (would have to import from USA) -we just supervise the dog mre carefully! She can't climb out on her own.

My experience with dogs and pools/ponds is that if they are going to be water lovers, let them try it all out supervised and get them used to learning where they can get out easily if that is not at all edges and then they should be fine. I totally agree with those who say there should be areas they can stand up on something for their safety. If a dog was going to drown it would most likely be because they couldn't find a way out, or at least somewhere to stand up and rest and would drown because they became exhausted.

Sounds lovely. I'd prepare to fence it. Wet dogs are not very nice really - they smell gross and it's disgusting when they try to snuggle up afterwards, so you have to shut them in the garage or somewhere to dry. OK after walks but you wouldn't want to have to do it 5x per day! A golden retriever is unlikely to drown in the kind of pool you describe though, if it shelves gently at the edge.

Having a puppy is really a lot of work. At the beginning you've got a kind of wild animal that leaps around biting everything and you have to devote many hours of training for months to have a calm dog. You also have to think about the dog all the time when you want to go out for the day or even a few hours, or go away anywhere, and it's a real bind. The dog wants to be with you - he won't care about big gardens, he'll care about company and attention. My goldie is lovely though!

I'd agree, your problem would be more about a constantly wet and stinky dog and less about a drowned one. Especially as Goldies have quite thick coats.

My dog would love her own pool! Not sure I'd want to swim in it after her though

Thank you very much for the replies

Found out from a company who build these things that dogs shouldn't be allowed in because of the hygiene risks to the people! So need to think seriously about this....I presume I could train a dog not to jump in - in time - but also presume it'd really, really want to jump in!

Re. the other part of my OP, can anyone recommend some v good books on a) what life is really like with a puppy ( partly because I want to talk to my twin 9 yr old sons about the reality as opposed to their fantasyE!) and b) clicker training?

Romanarana - this sounds so like having babies! - wild animals that arrive untrained and untamed and need loads of input for years, before they're anything like civilised!...we're on 9 yrs and still counting for my twins! I know it'd be like having another baby - but one with sharper teeth!

I have trained my Golden Retrievers to do everything I ask, including not to chase rabbits etc, but they have selective hearing when it comes to water and will not stay out of it, so a fence might be the best option.

Good books to read are 'The Culture Clash' by Jean Donaldson, which is a behaviour book really, but goes into why dogs do the things they do and why they act the way they do. It should be an essential for all dog owners, IMO.

Also, 'The Perfect Puppy' by Gwen Bailey, which covers everything you need to know about having and how to train your new puppy.

Karen Prior clicker training books are pretty good I think, but although I have used/do use a clicker, I am not massively into clicker training, so someone else who is might know of better books.

Solo, I'm 5 days into having our new (8 week old) lab puppy so I can only give you a small insight into what it's been like for us.

1.FUN . She's hilarious, and so lovely. I have a little black shadow following me around constantly. She's fast asleep on my feet as I type.

2.Endless trips out into the garden for housetraining.

1. TEETH - there are several manic moments in the day when EVERYTHING gets munched on (hands, slippers, hair, bottoms of trousers, daffodils (poor daffodils, I have headless stumps mostly). I knew this would happen but reading about it never quite prepares you for the reality of the tiny crocodile teeth being sunk into your arm). [yow!]

I am having a ball, I really am, but it is extremely time intensive. I've got a clicker and am starting to have fun using it with her. I second Midori's book recommendations. The Culture Clash is a must for understanding how a dog's brain works, and the Perfect Puppy is pretty good for all the puppy basics.

Thanks Midori. I'm going to order the books on Amazon in a minute.

Slubber...(love the name!)- that's v good experience to know about. I am trying to warn my sons that the puppy will bite. We spent last Friday with someone's lab. and it was slobbering all over and slightly nipping me - but not any of the children there and although 2 yrs old, not that well trained - but still gorgeous. It was v good experience for us all to spend time with a big dog. I was v struck by how much doggy smell ended up on everything! but still it didn't put me off.

Only one real difficulty though...DS1 would rather have either a small, rough looking black terrier-type dog or a shorthaired lab. and I really, really, really want a golden retriever and not sure how to 'sell' the breed to him.

I think we might go and visit a breeder (one kindly recommended by you, Midori) this year and meet some puppies and if DS1 saw how lovely they are, he might fall in love with the breed, I hope.

Of course it'll be mostly my dog - but DS1 is the most keen to have a dog than DS2 who is more neutral about it (he doesn't like sharing my attention and I've told him it'd be like having a baby brother or sister)...

I think we won't get a dog till next year but this list is very useful to read and write questions to prepare me as much as possible, so that I've got my eyes wide open about the reality of this new family member.

What Midori said, and "The Complete Idiot's guide to Positive dog training". If you do everything in there you'll have an amazing hound . Don't forget to order a few clickers, mine keep going astray!

Mine is a golden retriever. The other thing to be aware of is that at 6 months, he's about 26kg, and if he jumps on the dcs he generally knocks them flying, then thinks it's a game and leaps all over them. So it's better if the children are a bit older. My youngest is just 4 and it's OK, but not brilliant. It would have been better, if I'm honest, to wait until he was around 6 and stronger. It's another reason why you have to be prepared to do the training - an untrained large dog is a complete nightmare for everyone. Once you get going it's quite fun, but some days I don't really feel like it. It would be better for me if I could find a local Jean Donaldson-a-like for some coaching, but I haven't found one!