Building a Dog Pond … From the Dog’s Perspective

By Barbi Holdeman

Published on October 26, 2024

Tuna's pond before the remodel
Tuna’s pond before the remodel.
Damage to pond liner from a dog
Tuna’s damage from trying to get the fish out of the skimmer box.

Hi! I’m Tunafish, a rough-and-tumble, 80-lb. pit bull, and I still act like a puppy a lot. I love playing and hanging out in water. Momma says I’m her baby. I am her whole world, and she is mine.

We had an old pond in our backyard that I liked, but it was really hard for Momma to take care of, and it leaked pretty badly. Even the waterfall quit running. So, Momma started searching around for someone to help. She had a couple of different guys come over and work on it, but it never worked for long.

After a few months, Momma finally hired The Pond Gnome to remove the old pond and replace it with a new one. Momma told the guy who came to visit and talk to her about a new pond that the pond was all about me. That Paul guy seemed pretty cool. He brought me treats every time he came over!

We had to wait a couple of months for them to come back and start building. When they finally started, I watched impatiently as the guys came over early every day and worked on building my new pond. I know it wasn’t easy, because they had to work around the existing shade structure that Momma wanted to keep.

Building a dog pond

I wanted to help them dig, but they wouldn’t let me. I barked and tried to be scary sometimes so the guys would pay attention to me, but they just kept on working. The guys were really nice to me, though, and even let me play with the hose when they were finally putting water in the new pond. They even thought to create an area where it’s easy for me to get in and out — but I don’t use it. I prefer to just jump in belly-first, because that’s just the kind of gal I am. Maybe I’ll use it when I get older.

I love my new pond! I run out the door and jump straight into it. Splash! The water is very clean and tastes great. I’m not sure what those green things are around the edges, but they’re not in my way, so it’s OK. (And Momma seems to like to look at them and talk about how pretty they are.)

Goldfish and the puppy don’t mix

Dog pond
Tuna enjoying her new pond and chasing fish

Momma put some goldfish in my pond, thinking that would be fun for me. It was! I had never seen fish before. They move funny. I hopped around and chased them like crazy. And then a couple of the little buggers just disappeared into a big hole on the side of the pond. Momma says that’s the skimmer that helps keep the pond clean.

Well, I was having none of that! I dug at the rocks for hours and got ahold of some black rubbery stuff (Momma says that’s the liner), ripped it away from the hole and tore it to shreds in my frustration. It was good exercise, but I still couldn’t find the fish, so I ripped at everything I could get my paws and teeth on. The fish never came out, but a lot of water did.

Momma got pretty mad, because I guess I caused my new pond to leak really badly. The Pond Gnome guys came back right away and fixed it for us. They put a bunch more of those darn big rocks in my way. They thought they glued them down really well, but I’m pretty strong and worked hard for hours moving them out of the way again. I must get those fish that keep disappearing into the hole! So, after a long time and a whole lot of work, I managed to open it all up again. I don’t understand why they keep putting stuff in my way!

Goodbye Goldfish

Well, Momma got mad again and got rid of most of the fish in the pond. I was sad to see my playthings leave. The Pond Gnome guys came back and fixed up the hole again. I guess there’s no reason to dig it all out again since the fish are gone. I’m pretty sure Momma will buy me some new toys, though. She loves me lots.

Moral of the Story: When the client has a dog (and especially if the pond is specifically for the dog), research the breed and ask lots of questions about the dog’s behavior so you can build the pond sturdy enough to withstand the dog’s activity.

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Specifications

 

Designer: Paul Holdeman

Installer: The Pond Gnome

Contact Info: sales@pondgnome.com; 623/572-5607

Project Location: Phoenix, Arizona

Size:10’ x 15’ x 2.5’ deep

Components:Aquascape Pro Series 2500 Biofalls, Aquascape Pro Series 1000 Skimmer; 45-mil EPDM liner; Aquascape 3PL pump; Aquascape 1-watt cascade light; Aquascape 1-watt bullet light; 150-watt transformer

Time to Complete: 5 days

Crew: Aaron, Ryan & Aiden

Buyer’s Cost:$22,260.50

 

 

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