When we first got Zeus, we thought he might like having his own little pool.

All of our other dogs had loved having a pool during the summer, and it seemed like a great way for Zeus to splash around and cool off when the weather got warm.

So we got him one.

Zeus had other ideas.

Instead of thinking, Oh, how nice. My very own swimming pool, Zeus apparently thought we had presented him with an enormous new chew toy.

He was much more interested in chewing on the pool than actually getting into it.

Needless to say, the pool experiment didn’t last very long. We put it away and didn’t think much about it again.

As it turns out, though, that wasn’t the end of our French Bulldog pool adventures.

Then Electra Discovered Water

Another summer came around, and by then Electra was part of the family.

That was when we discovered something important about her:

Electra LOVES water.

It started with the sprinklers.

Actually, both Zeus and Electra loved the sprinklers.

They loved them so much that by the end of that summer, they had managed to tear up our entire backyard sprinkler system.

Apparently running through the sprinklers wasn’t enough. They needed to investigate where the water came from, too.

So that was the end of the sprinklers.

But we hadn’t forgotten how much they enjoyed playing in the water—especially Electra.

Maybe We Should Try the Pool Again…

This summer, we decided it was time to give the pool another chance.

We bought them a soft-sided inflatable pool.

It lasted approximately two seconds.

Okay, maybe a little longer than that—but not much.

The important discovery was that Electra absolutely loved it.

There was no hesitation with her. She climbed right in on her own and immediately seemed to understand that this wonderful container of water was there specifically for her enjoyment.

Zeus was a little less convinced.

He would get into the pool, especially if Electra was already in there, but he usually needed some encouragement. Electra was the bold one. Zeus seemed to take the position that if Electra had tested the waters first and survived, then perhaps he would consider joining her.

Once they were both in, though, they had a great time.

Unfortunately, Zeus hadn’t forgotten his original opinion about swimming pools.

They are also for chewing.

And eventually, true to form, he destroyed that pool too.

The Pool Zeus Can’t Eat

At that point, we started thinking about buying them a hard-shell pool.

Then we realized we already had something that might work.

Our son’s old sandbox from when he was little was still around. It was sturdy, hard-sided, and—most importantly—far more difficult for Zeus to destroy.

So we repurposed the old sandbox into a Frenchie pool.

Problem solved.

Now Zeus and Electra have a pool they can splash around in without us wondering how long it will be before Zeus eats it.

They both enjoy it, but Electra is definitely our little water dog. She loves getting into the pool and splashing around. Zeus enjoys himself too, particularly when Electra is there with him, but she’s still the adventurous one when it comes to getting into the water.

The Water-Balloon Experiment

Of course, at some point our son decided the pool could be even more fun.

Water balloons!

We thought Zeus and Electra might enjoy having balloons floating around in the pool to push, chase, or pop.

That was another idea that lasted approximately two seconds.

It quickly became obvious that Zeus and Electra weren’t interested in politely stepping on the balloons or batting them around.

They wanted to eat them.

That experiment ended immediately.

We took the balloons away because the last thing we wanted was for either dog to swallow a piece of a popped balloon.

Sometimes figuring out what your dogs enjoy also means figuring out which seemingly fun ideas are definitely not good ideas.

Water? Yes.

Pool? Absolutely.

Water balloons?

Never again.

Wading Is Not the Same as Swimming

As much as Zeus and Electra enjoy their pool, there’s an important distinction to make:

We have never actually taken them swimming.

Their pool is shallow enough for them to stand and splash around. We’ve also taken them into rivers where they can wade in shallow water, but we don’t take them out into water where they would need to swim.

We don’t know that either of them can swim safely, and we’re not willing to find out by simply putting them into deep water.

French Bulldogs aren’t built like the dogs people typically picture happily swimming across a lake. Their compact, heavy bodies and short snouts can make swimming more difficult, so enjoying water doesn’t necessarily mean a Frenchie is a good swimmer.

Electra may confidently march straight into her pool, but confidence and swimming ability are two very different things.

Next Adventure: The Beach

Later this summer, we’re hoping to take Zeus and Electra to the beach.

Considering how much Electra loves water—and how much Zeus loves doing whatever Electra is doing—we’re pretty excited to see what they think of the ocean.

But we’re also looking into life jackets for both of them before we go.

Even if they only end up wading along the shoreline, we’d rather be prepared. The ocean is obviously very different from their little backyard pool, and we’re not going to assume they can swim just because they love playing in water.

For now, they’re perfectly happy with their converted sandbox pool.

Electra gets to splash around to her heart’s content.

Zeus gets to join her once he’s decided the water is acceptable.

And we finally have a pool that—so far—Zeus hasn’t figured out how to eat.

We consider that a win.