Are you a dog owner looking into building a koi pond or a koi pond owner preparing to welcome a new furry friend into your home?
If so, you may be wondering how to treat your pond to keep it safe for dogs AND keep your pond safe for your koi fish!
Read on for our top tips on koi fish pond safety for dog owners.
10 Tips for Keeping Your Pond Safe for Dogs
Our Guide to keeping our fury friends safe while also looking after our fishy friends.
1. Fence It In!
One of the easiest ways to keep your dog safe around a koi fish pond–and vice versa–is to make sure your dog simply can’t get too close to the pond. An unobtrusive, low-height pool fence will do the trick.
Alternatively, if you don’t want the fence in the way of your pond, you might consider some kind of more decorative barrier, such as rocks, gravel, or larger plants.
2. Keep Your Pond Algae-Free!
Watch out for algae growth.
Odds are you already keep a close eye on any developing algae bloom in your pond water.
With a dog around, however, you should keep any extra close eye on algae growth.
While we hope our furry friends will keep away from the pond, the fact of the matter is that dogs are curious creatures who may try to drink from the pond.
While we wish this weren’t the case, you’ll want to be extra careful about string algae and other algae bloom for this reason.
3. Koi Hiding Spots Are Important!
Give your koi fish good options of places to hide.
This advice isn’t just about keeping your koi fish safe from your dog, it’s also about keeping your dog safe.
We love our dogs, but the truth is they can get a bit over-excited at times.
By giving your koi fish places to hide in the pond–for example, rock shelters or pond plants–they’ll be able to move out of sight when your dog comes around.
This can help to assure that the activity doesn’t make your dog overstimulated.
This and other water features will help your koi fish get out of the sight of any other pets if they need to.
4. Keep Your Pond Water Chlorine-Free!
Make sure you’re keeping your pond free of chlorine.
Odds are you already watch out for chlorine issues, but it is doubly important when there’s a dog in the picture.
If you’re filling your koi fish pond with tap water, there may be low levels of chlorine present within it.
While these low chlorine levels are harmless to us and our dogs, they can end up being concentrated within your koi pond.
This is a risk not only to your koi fish but also to any overly curious dogs who may have sensitive stomachs.
5. Keep Your Koi Pond Copper Sulfate-Free
Make sure your cleaning products are free of copper sulfate.
Copper sulfate is present in certain pond cleaners in the United States, but it is not safe for koi fish and may be hazardous to dogs as well.
You should always double-check that your cleaning products are meant specifically for koi fish ponds and not simply regular, decorative ponds.
The buildup of copper in your pond is something you should always do your best to avoid.
So, next time you’re at the store, check labels carefully because loading your shopping cart with new products.
6. Keep Your Furry Friend Hydrated With Their Own Water
Make sure your dog has enough access to drinking water throughout the day.
This is something all dog owners should be doing, but it’s worth remembering if you’re worried about your dog drinking pond water.
Keeping your dog nice and hydrated should prevent them from venturing to your pond for a drink.
Pet owners should make sure that your dog always has access to drinking water.
You may even consider putting a bowl of water outside for your dog to drink, that way they have even less reason to venture over to the pond water.
7. Change the Water Regularly
Don’t neglect regularly scheduled water change for your pond.
You might be beginning to notice a theme here: what’s good for your fish’s health is good for your dog’s health.
Regularly changing the water in your pond is vital to the health of your fish and your dog (of course depending on the size of your pond).
It’s inevitable that pets will occasionally venture near the pond, and changing water can be essential to avoiding harmful algae blooms, buildups of unwanted chemicals, and buildup to plant matter that falls into the water of your pond.
8. Avoid Doggy Boredom
This might sound a bit silly, but a big reason why dogs end up in mischief is simply that they are bored.
Dogs are extremely playful creatures, always looking for new, stimulating activities. If you are struggling to make sure your dog doesn’t go near ponds, consider a new exercise schedule.
Regular walks have been shown to make dogs happy, reduce boredom, and overall create a safer home atmosphere.
Supplementing playtime with new toys or treats may also help you to reduce boredom.
9. Reward Good Pooch Behavior
Positive feedback is a powerful mechanism for making sure your dog is sticking to safe activities around your pond.
For this reason, you should consider some sort of training regimen combined with positive feedback.
You might, for example, take your dog on a leash near the water of the koi fish pond. If they go to drink the water, use a stern (but not a scary) voice to tell them to stop.
If, on the other hand, they avoid drinking the water or interfering with the pond, walk them away and give them a treat and some verbal praise.
This will help your dog to build positive associations with leaving your pond alone.
10. Consider Consulting with a Veterinarian
At the end of the day, your vet and you know your dog better than anyone.
Consult with him or her if you have any specific worries about products, plants, or habits that make you worry about the safety of your dog in relation to your koi fish pond.
Whether it’s a chemical concern, any worries you may have about water safety, or a simple concern about how your dog is interacting with the pond, the expert advice of your vet should help you with maintaining a safe environment for your pets.
Final Thoughts On Keeping Your Pond Safe For Dogs
Between feeding your fish, keeping their water safe and clean, and doing general maintenance to maintain a nice looking area, we know koi fish ponds can be a lot of work.
Thankfully, by making sure it’s safe for your dog to be around the pond, you can check at least one concern off your list!
