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Shake, Rattle and Roll: How To Introduce The Bottle Pool

by | Dog Breeding

As we raise each litter our goal is to do everything we can to help the puppies become confident, stable dogs enabling each of them to thrive in their homes. Each litter presents a new opportunity for us to try and create a new way to stimulate the pups. A few years ago we began using the bottle pool.

Over the years we have watched numerous litters interact with the bottle pool. Some of the puppies are perfectly happy when in the pool but make no effort to get in it themselves, some puppies have no interest whatsoever in the pool while other litters are in the pool most of the time – wrestling with each other and loving to fling the bottles all over the puppy pen. There is no way to know in advance how your puppies will respond to it.

The bottle pool is quite simple. As I think about the puppies and the pool I remember my friend whose mom just tossed her in a pool to teach her how to swim. There is more to using the bottle pool than just tossing the bottles and puppies in the pool. If done correctly experiencing the bottle pool will help make the puppies very comfortable when stepping on things that move, hearing noises around them and having their bodies touched by non-living objects. It can build courage and overall confidence and is just plain fun!

How To Make An Appropriate Bottle Pool For Your Litter

Crabbie SandboxYour puppies’ size is the biggest consideration when making your bottle pool. You want to use a pool your pups can get into without too much trouble. Be sure it has sides that are sturdy enough for them to crawl over without collapsing as well as tall enough to keep the bottles in the pool. For the sporting breeds a child’s sand box is the best choice. You can often find these things on the side of the road making the price just right, but if you would like to purchase one here are two suggestions:

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For sporting and working breed puppies this “Crabbie Sandbox” works well. The lid can be used to cover the box at night so you don’t have to empty the rainwater out of it. You can also flip the lid over and let the puppies play on the “saucer” and have fun rocking and rolling in it. This sandbox is 38 x 43 x 12 high.
The sides on this “Little Dunes Sandbox” are 3.5 inches lower than the crab box shown above so would be better for smaller breed puppies. It measures 45 x 29.2 x 8.5 inches. During the spring and summer months you likely can find an appropriate sandbox at your local Toys R Us, Walmart, Target or K-Mart.

You can also look around to find a container that would be an appropriate size for smaller puppies. Just be sure the sides don’t fold down/collapse when the puppies climb into the box.

Choosing the Right Bottles

Once you have found an appropriate box for the pool the next step is choosing the right bottles. Whatever bottles you choose you will need to make safe by removing the rings that are left on the bottle after you unscrew the cap. You can use a pocketknife or screwdriver to easily pop the rings off each bottle.

If you leave these rings on there is a chance that a puppy might get a tooth caught in the ring when playing with the bottle. Better to be safe than sorry. You do not want the bottles to create a negative experience for your puppies so take time to remove the rings.

Now think about your puppies’ size and then collect bottles that would be stimulating but not overwhelming to the puppies. Our sporting dogs do well with any single serving size of water-type bottles – pint, half pint, liter. (NOTE: If you use a bottle that contains a sweet beverage be sure to clean the bottle before adding it to the pool otherwise you will attract bees and wasps to your pool.)

Bottles for Bottle PoolYou can use any shape bottle. The puppies will change the shape all on their own.

If you have a smaller breed your puppies might do well with something like a cosmetic bottle or the 3-oz Listerine travel bottle shown below. Although it is much better to collect used bottles at no cost if you need different sized bottles you can go online and get them from sites like www.sunburstbottle.com.

Introducing the Puppies to the Bottle Pool

Now that you have your bottles collected it’s time to introduce the puppies to the bottle pool.

  • Place three or four bottles in the bottom of the pool.
  • Toss in a small handful of really tasty, smelly treats around the bottles.
  • Place two puppies in the pool and let them move the bottles to find the treats. (Be sure to watch the puppies to make sure they are not overly stressed when the bottles move. If a puppy is really stressed remove some of the bottles and have more treats than bottles in the pool.)
  • Allow the puppies to continue to move the bottles while looking for treats even after they have finished the treats. You can toss in a few more to keep them interested.

Giving Puppies Treats

The treats should “fall from the sky” not come from your hands.

  • Take another pair of puppies and repeat the sequence above until the entire litter has experienced the pool.
  • With the litter outside the pool toss treats into the pool. Let the puppies climb into the pool to get the treats.
  • When the puppies are moving the bottles toss more treats into the pool.
  • As the puppies are comfortable getting into the pool on their own add a few more bottles.
  • Continue to add bottles and treats to the pool until the pool is filled with bottles.
  • As the puppies are looking for treats many will learn to enjoy just spending time in the pool. At this point you can stop tossing treats into the pool.

Aside from all the benefits the puppies get when experiencing the bottle pool you will get what everybody loves, a tired, sleeping puppy!

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