Fear of people in the pool!
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| Hi, I don't have a pool so please note my advice is guesswork on my part. I suspect it's not so much the pool (although it's something new) that is causing her to bark but the high pitched squeals of laughter and excitement from the people. To get her used to "people in the pool: I'd start off by just her and you outside - you standing close to the edge and speaking to her to show her you are not being harmed and not harm with come to her either. You can slowly move into the pool and as she becomes desensitized you move further out. This takes patience, consistency and do it only for a min or so and increase it daily. The only thing I can think of is besides getting used to something she's never seen before (an that causes some anxiety in dogs) is again those high pitched squeals (summer fun!) that come from people. When I did pet talks several years ago with my dog Shaggy, I'd sing a song about going on a Monster Hunt and then get to the part about having to go in the cave. I'd make whining, high pitch noises (much to the laughter of the kids) and Shaggy would immediately start barking and race over to me and lick my face as if saying, "Mom, what's wrong, Mom? The purpose of this activity was to show kids: it's almost inate in dogs to check out those sounds as usually it means someone is hurt or in trouble. Should they come across a dog and they're afraid it's better to stand still and remain silent so the dog doesn't further approach them. We did those pet talks for years together and as if on cue, Shaggy never failed to bark at the part when I started my high pitched squeals, whines...ect..LOL! (Kinda like a mom dog checking out her babies if they hear that sound of what they think is distress). So you'll probably have to destress your girl and slowly desesitize her that nope...the people are not in an anxious state , nor in danger. Slowly..just you in the pool...then perhaps anothe body or so....but no loud noises...just calm and also speak to her and reassure her. Worth giving a try as with anything you do to desensitize a dog you introduce the object of their stress....S L O W L Y and with reassurance and eventually they become accustomed to it. Good luck and hope others with pools pipe up ad perhaps give more thoughts. Marianne |
We have a pool and our boys are pretty good until people start jumping into the pool from the diving board or from the side. At that point they race around the pool barking. I don't let them into the pool without permission--if I give permission they will go in and they are fine. If I don't give them permission they will continue to try to 'herd' everyone out of the pool.  We do use 'no bark' and it works unless people are jumping in- |
| We do. In our case, Bones is not a fan of the water, and not being able to stay in close proximity to us sets her off. She'll run frantically around the poolside trying to get to us, and eventually starts barking; it usually starts when someone goes underwater. Pretty sure she thinks they're drowning-- one time the boyfriend went under water in the middle of a pool, and Bones lost it and dove in to "save" him. Upon hitting the water, however, it was moreso the boyfriend saving her...  She immediately realized what she had done and flailed toward the pool's edge, with his aid.I think it's concern and a need to have us safe and sound and near as possible. We haven't worked out this problem as we don't have a pool and are rarely in water, but I noticed the same behavior when a dog at the park jumped onto a high ledge while Bones was stuck in the pen, and she ran back and forth along the fence blocking the ledge from less skilled jumpers until the dog got back in the enclosure. Definitely a herding instinct kicking in, with concern for the safety of their people/pack leaping to the forefront of their mind. So I don't have any real advice, just chiming to say it seems like normal herding dog behavior, and nothing that can't be helped. And just as a side note about the squeals of excited children (although it would definitely contribute to the chaos), any time we were in the pool, it was all adults, and no screams or jumping or splashing. Just laid back swimming and hanging out. Were we to work the issue out, I'd roughly follow Marianne's advice: desensitization and de-stressing your dogs, working in baby steps till it's finally OK. Starting out individually so they don't feed on each other's anxiety, and so they can get some good one-on-one training. Good luck! |
| Maybe just maybe she thinks the people are in distress? and trying to call for help? What has happened to the ground WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THE UPRIGHTS???????? it's eating them! Lucky to be able to have a pool  |
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