Did you know drinking pool water can be fatal to pets?
I didn’t.
Our dog likes to drink from the pool, even with a fresh bowl of water available. It wasn’t until she had an episode of severe drooling that lasted four days straight, that we learned that drinking pool water is dangerous to dogs. Some dogs are more suceptible than others, with terriers as one of those breeds. Being a Yorkie/Bichon mix (toy breed), it doesn’t take ‘Casey’ much pool water to pollute her system.
In addition to the drooling, her weird, hunched posture made it obvious that she was experiencing abdominal pain. She barely ate, and I was scared.
Casey is not just our dog; she is a full-fledged member of our family, and we value her safety tremendously. Needless to say, I did a lot of research, and I learned that ingesting even properly diluted pool chemicals could be fatal to my fur baby. The main culprit, potassium bromide, can lead to liver failure and pancreatitis*. Thankfully, we still had our removable pool fence from when my boys were not yet strong swimmers. We put our fence back up and kept it in place until we broke Casey of her pool drinking habit.
Pool fences don’t just prevent dogs from drinking pool water. Many pet parents use pool fencing to prevent their pets from drowning in the pool, especially those owners with elderly dogs, who may have a harder time seeing, swimming, or getting out of a pool if they fall in. So Casey will benefit from our fence in her golden years, too.
I can’t say enough about how our fence has benefited our entire family as both a child safety fence and a pet safety fence. Even after safety concerns for my family have been addressed through swimming lessons and proper dog training, our pool fence still delivers peace of mind. When extended family, friends, and fur babies visit, we often find ourselves reinstalling our stored pool fence with ease. Everyone has more fun when my Protect-A-Child pool fence is at work
If you are interested in getting a fence for your pool, visit the pool fence dealer page to locate your local dealer.
Pancreatitis (Inflammation) in Dogs. PetEducation.com.
www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+2103&aid=335
