Help with Doodle and frozen pool

[Libby & Bentley]

Help! I'm at my wits end here.  Bentley keeps walking all over our frozen pool when he is let outside into our back yard.  I'm just nervous because as it gets warmer, I dont want him to fall in!

We tried shoveling the deck completely down to the wood and pushing snow off the ice..so it looked like a big drop..but he went on it again. I may have to go back to the days of letting him outside on a leash..which is a shame because he loves lounging around outside.

 

Ideas??

[Dan, Judi, & Timbow]

Bentley is such a cute boy! We live in Atlanta, so my advice may not be as good as the others, but I would think that you should take him on a leash for a while. It would be so bad if he falls in and we'll keep fingers and paws crossed that spring is right around the corner so that it won't be a long term thing. Do you have pool fences (like for babies or kids) that you could put up for winter months? They might be cheaper to buy now too since it's winter. You should also post a picture of your frozen pool for all of us down south to see! :) Hope you find a good solution!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

In my area, most people cover their pools in winter; is that not an option for you?

[Linda,Yankee & Finn]

I love the picture, Bentley soaking up the rays.

I found that a pool cover is worse. It looks like they can walk on it and they do try. Mine both go on the pool in the winter. Yankee just seems to know when he can't walk on it anymore and it's never been a problem. I haven't experienced spring thaw with Finn yet. I will be keeping an eye on him.

I would just watch him very closely when it does get warmer. He will only fall in once. They do have to learn. Maybe he will just know when he can't walk on it anymore.

[Libby & Bentley]

Haha, that is cute. Yeah..we started off winter with a cover..and then found out that it is worse..so we removed ours before everything froze over.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

This picture is so great, Linda!

[Michele Barton]

Haha, this picture just gave me an idea of what to do for my hotflashes! (I need to get a pool!)

[Linda,Yankee & Finn]

Yeah, never thought of that. Maybe I'll join Yankee on the pool.

[Eva]

Your dog is quite lucky, just cooling off. Our Willow girl is always out back lying on the cold cement, every chance she gets for hours on end. I might have to buy her a kiddie pool and let it freeze, but it wouldn't stay frozen long enough out here in Vegas. good luck, Eva

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I love this picture!

[Linda, Webber and Seda]

This is a really great picture! Thanks for sharing.

[Sheri & Murphy]

We used an electric fence around the pool the first year. And it isn't a problem at all this year. It's a rope with a wire you hook to a battery, often used for horses. One zap was all it took, doodles have great memories. We used the fence around a construction area this Summer and never plugged it in, Murphy wouldn't go within 5 feet of the fence:0)

[Debbie and Thomas]

This is our first winter with a pool. It is also our second winter with the doodle who is 16 mths old and weighs 86 lbs. SO...we did not want to take any chances and had a safety cover installed. The ad for this thing showed an elephant standing on it so I figured it would be safe for my mini-elephant/doodle. It was expensive though; $2500 !!! The funny thing is that he has never once gone anywhere near the edge of the pool, even when it is covered in snow...but at least I know that if he does he is safe.