Introduction: DIY Dog Pool

About: Hi I'm Linn and on my Youtube Channel I have lots of great videos about building, construction and fun projects. You can also check out my site @ http://darbinorvar.com

It's been hot here lately with several 100 degree days. My dog, Darwin - a golden retriever has been hot too.

So I figured, maybe he would like a pool to cool down in. I looked around the shop, found some scrap plywood, an old tarp and figured, hey why not.

Step 1: Building the Structure

For the structure I'm screwing together a bottom and sides, so five pieces.

I ended up making my dog pool 43 1/2 x 25 1/2 inches in size, with 7 1/2 inch sides.

That means I used the following cuts of 3/4 inch plywood:

  • (1) 43 x 24 - the bottom
  • (2) 42 x 7 1/2 - long sides
  • (2) 25 1/2 x 7 1/2 - short sides

Of course the size could be altered depending on your materials and the size of your dog!

Make sure the pool is shallow enough so your dog can easily walk in and out of the pool.

Step 2: Lining the Box

One I had a box, I folded a tarp a couple of times, lined it over the box, arranged it and screwed it down on the sides. I was pretty generous with the amount of screws, and I made sure I first had pushed the tarp down properly, so nothing would tear once it gets filled with water.

Step 3: Fixing Holes

The tarp I used was old and had a couple of small holes in it. To fix the holes, put a couple of pieces of duct tape down. Of course, it would be ideal to have a tarp or thick plastic without any holes :)

Step 4: Fill It Up!

Once I had the tarp attached to the box, and any small holes fixed by duct tape, I started to fill the pool with a hose and invited Darwin into the pool.

Step 5: Improvements

So this isn't super permanent, I just threw together what I had on hand, and I'm emptying the water after each use. Hopefully it will last the season. If I was serious about making this more permanent however, I would paint both the inside and the outside of the box several times with exterior paint and I would also make sure I used a new tarp without any small holes (although repaired by duct tape!)

My dog seems to really like his new pool, even though he could use an even bigger one. On a hot 100 degree day however, you really can't beat having some way to cool down! And while you could buy a kiddie pool in the store, why not make your own if you have the supplies on hand, plus then you could make it sized to fit your dog perfectly.