swim tank

[wheezie wayne]

anyone ever build one? i can get a 100 gallon plastic horse trough with a drain plug at the bottom at TSC for 70 bucks. thinking of buying one and building one. any suggestions would be appreciated. im really wondering if i should put some kind of pump into so the dog has to swim against a current.

[chris mercer]

I never thought of that, as long as you had the depth and could secure them so they won't swim out it may be great. I would make sure the water doesn't get too warm as they can become over heated even in water when the temp. is 80+ and you have a high air temp. For conditioning my water race dogs I would swim them until they became bored or tired, rest them and then use the retrieval training for interval work. Problem is having a pond,especially a clean one. Off subject a bit I also road mine some, but as summer progresses it becomes harder because of the heat. Oh yeah, if your in gator country and using a pond, well don't if there are gators. The pool on pics that peanut has the video of her dog in the pool seems like a good idea although a bit more expensive. Chris Mercer

[wheezie wayne]

here is something i have found so far chris.

http://www.sarschips.net/Pages/schiptank.htm

a swim tank would be much more convinet than driving out to a pond. any input on the actual construction of the swim tank would be great. my dog is recovering from a pinched sciatic nerve and i think this would be great exercise for him

[chris mercer]

Sorry Wayne, I didn't know you were trying to build a tank for hydro therapy. It would be nice to have one around for recovering dogs. Is your primary objective conditioning? I'm eager to see how this works out for you. Yes, if it's cheap I may build one too.

ChrisMercer

[Dansgrizz]

Id think you need something atleast 200+ gallons wheezie. I dont see the point of the current, water has alot of resistance in itself. if Rex has enough drive and smarts to swim after the toy, but not enough smarts to dislike the motionlessness. I think youll do alright with something like that. Buy a nice PH kit and pool treating kit for the tank, dont want nasty stale water in there, dog might get some nasty disease.

[wheezie wayne]

it all really depends on the depth of the trough Dan, ill have to get some dimensions and go from there. i definitely agree with you on the ph testing

[Dansgrizz]

i got an 80 gallon trough and its pretty shallow...

[wheezie wayne]

im not sure how deep the one at tsc is. ill have to call them tomorrow when they are open. i cant seem to find it on there web site either.

i did find this however

http://www.smartpakequine.com/ProductClass.aspx?productclassid=8031&cm_mmc=Shopping.com-_-Shopping%20Feed-_-NA-_-18031

50" x 33 1/4" x 24 1/4"

and the dog is between 15 and 17 in at witheres... hmmm

[chris mercer]

Therapy swim tank. Wayne did you ever finish your tank? A customer called the other day looking for a local place to do hydro therapy and I told her about the discussion. She has a Rottie and all of the cattle tanks are two feet or less in depth. This dog is recovering from a blown out ACL and is still being confined. Any way how's your tank coming along?
Chris Mercer

[Blue]

man thats way to small i use a 500 gallon paint storage container and its even to small to a point. im current looking for something longer and wider and deepertill then a pond and a rope and a couple pullies witha a chain and a harness works ok