Before Cindy considers working at a pool, the first thing she considers is how that pool owner is caring for the water. The pools she uses are maintained by people who strive for the best options for care…
The variables she considers as most important are:
- Access from the parking area to the pool
- Access into the pool
- The configuration of the inside of the pool so we can have safe resting
places when we are inside the pool. - The quality of the water which is comprised of: the Water flow, the
Filtering System and the Sanitation System
Water… its all about the Water…
The first time I walked into the pool store and asked about what they recommended for my canine hydrotherapy pool, I was met with nothing but horrified blank stares from the staff …. Looking around at the store, I saw various bathcaps and other contraptions used for the few hairs that are shed in the pools that these folks are used to and I just started to laugh… canine hydrotherapy is new to the pool industry and most people who are in this industry don’t really know how to handle us…
Pools are not designed for hair….
Pools are not designed for hair… this is where we have to step in and beef up the system!
When it comes to hair and pools – its all about WATER FLOW, CATCH POTS and FILTERS. When I help someone design a canine pool, this is what we talk about… usually the first thing someone has to do when buying a pool for a canine program is to beef up the circulation pump so that the water turns over more often and that hair is pulled into the skimmer pots and the filter system.
Pools with swim jets have the added advantage that the swim jets are usually plumbed into the filtering system and come on periodically to churn up and water and increase flow.
Once we’ve beefed up the flow of the pool and are sending it into the filters, now we have to decide which s filtering option is best for us. These include cartridge filters, sand filters and DE filters to name a few… I personally prefer oversize cartridge filters as its easier to just toss em than to clean em.. but each has advantages and disadvantages.
Pools are not traditionally designed to be healthy…
Pools are also not designed to be healthy… public health rules require excessive chlorine and other chemicals to assure water quality standards. Luckily most areas recognize that ‘therapy pools’ are different than ‘public pools’ and are more lenient with the requirements. Today there are many options for healthier sanitation. Some people are leaning toward the salt sanitation systems as more natural system. Bromine is found to be less toxic than chlorine and an ozonator with a degasser unit has been known to help cut the need for chemicals.
Partner with the water… it’s a living breathing
entity that supports at many levels
We live in a world where we cant always control our environments… but we can control what we think about. When I enter a pool environment where I am going to work for the day, I always spend a little time before I start my day being in meditation with the water that I’m about to partner with for my day. I allow my thoughts to go over each dog and person that I will be seeing that day and set out my intentions for the work. I let go of anything that doesn’t serve the day and remain thankful and present as the day unfolds.
I always give the water time off. After a series of appointments, we always take a break. I urge pool owners to allow their pools to rest 1-2 days each week.
As a client, you can also take some responsibility here in changing your experience. When you enter the pool setting, enter calmly, sit down and take it all in, listen to the soothing water sounds and allow yourself to feel the healing properties of the environment. Give it time… sometimes things need time to shift… trust that if ever it feels toxic or agitated or wrong, you can get up and leave… it is really that simple.
There is a Japanese researcher named Masaru Emoto who has now written a couple of amazing books on how your thoughts affect everything in, and around you. Emoto has taken photographs and documented how human vibrational energy, thoughts, words, ideas and music, affect the molecular structure of water, the very same water that comprises over seventy percent of a mature human body and covers the same amount of our planet. Water is the very source of all life on this planet, its quality and integrity are vitally important to all forms of life. The body is very much like a sponge and is composed of trillions of chambers called cells that hold liquid. The quality of our life is directly connected to the quality of our water.
For more information on the importance of respecting your pool and honoring the water and environment that you work in read this interesting article THE LIFE AND SECRETS OF WATER.
Cindy has put all of her year’s of research and time in the water into her own home town pool in Sequim, Washington and clients marvel about the water quality. Read more about what system Cindy thinks is the best: The Sequim Pool: Clean and Green