Not sure about your type of dog, but my Cocker Spaniel pretty much left the pond and the fish alone. She liked to drink out of the waterfall but that was about it. She was outside alone during the day also.

If your dog likes water its going to be in the pond, fish or no fish. If it doesn't like water that much it may not bother the pond at all. My dogs pretty much leave my stuff alone, except the Golden Retriever. If it moves, he's after it. He wiped out a large kiddie pool I had set up last year that had water lilies and a few fish in it. The lilies lived, the fish didn't.
You might consider an electronic fence system, a kennel, fencing off the pond,etc.
Also, if you leave the dog alone with the pond, make sure the pond has a shelf or something that he will be able to climb out if he would jump in. Ponders have lost dogs to drowning in their backyard ponds.
Congrats on your new home and new pond. :)

My basset hound loves to swim down at the lake, but he doesn't get in my ponds.

He watches the fish when they are eating, but that is only because he is trying to get some of their food.

I have 2 labs and 2 golden retievers, 1 of each that was a problem. The golden stalked the fish and the lab kept trying to rescue the plants from drowning, knocking the rocks in and generally making a mess.

Emma "fishing" before the underground fence...
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I have a loop of my underground fence going around my pond area now. They also make above ground electric fences and wireless 'sound' barriers you plug into an outside outlet.

I certainly would not get rid of the fish 'til you find out if your dog even is interested in the pond, many dogs aren't. But I would monitor the situation closely from the moment you put the dog in the yard and be ready to confine him/her 'til you install your preferred option ASAP. Lots of dogs can be taught "keep back", meaning stay back 10' or whatever from the pond, but you'd need to supervise until the training was done.

Good luck!

My four Shelties have had to adjust to a backyard pond since we moved to this new house a year ago. The pond and backyard used to be pretty nice - now there is a sandy dirt circle around the pond and most of the surrounding landscaping has been trampled. But that is with 4 dogs, a pack, not one, so your dog may not pay much attention to it, except most dogs I know with ponds do believe the thing is one big water dish, and they will pass fresh water to drink out of the pond. Three of the dogs do not bother the pond at all except to drink, and the goldfish come up and suck at the dogs tongues when they do - very cute. Dog #4 will steal any NEW plants I put in within his reach from dry ground, but will not go after the established plants that were already there. None will jump in the water or barely get their feet wet. I don't worry about the dogs or the fish, but I can forget planting any new marginal pond plants or landscaping around the pond. Good luck with your dog. I thought an electric fence was a good idea, but I like them being able to drink from the pond, since they dump their water buckets over no matter what I do to keep them upright, and they need water in this 90 plus degree weather.

Thanks, everyone. You've calmed my nerves a bit. I'm like you, sheltieponder. I sort of like the idea of her having the pond there to drink from, in case she dumps her water bowl.

She's not a swimmer, but if she gets hot, while playing and running around, she's been known to get her feet wet in her own water bowl, so I'm assuming that's probably as much as she'll do in the pond.

BTW, here's a picture of the pond. It doesn't look too deep to me, but I'll be sure to check it, to make sure it's not. I just don't know what I'd do if Jaz ending up drowning in our own backyard!!!

The two times we've been to the house, it's been raining, so I never ventured over to check it out too closely. This is the photo that was posted with the online listing of the house, so that's the only reason I'm sure the pond even has fish. And, the people stated in the reserve item list, that they are leaving the fish. Anyway, I'm rambling. LOL

I appreciate everyone's replies.

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That is an adorable little pond. You'll love it.

I put in a small backyard pond for the sole purpose of adding life to the backyard after my heart dog died. It has a plaque and is a memorial to her. A few months later we got a puppy and I was worried about the pond and how he would do with it.

My senior dog totally ignores it for the most part. Rarely she will look at it after the pup goes near it. Jordan uses it as a water bowl and the fish also like to attack his tongue but he shows no more interest in them then that. We also have other friends dogs over and they use it as a water bowl and only once we've had a friends German pointer fall in and get right back out.

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My dogs do great around the pond. When cooter was a pup he did pull up all the plants that he could reach. Now that he is older he just drinks out of the pond (koi's do come up kissing his tongue as well), he watches the koi's and trys to help eat the koi food at feeding time :o). I do have a kiddie pool set up for the dogs to play in.

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My giant schnauzer loves water. On walks in the park or forest, he goes into every stream, pond or lake that we pass. However, at home, he has never gone into the pond.

I have had to chase stray dogs out of my ponds, most recently a couple of weeks ago. They tend to jump right in. :(

Australian Cattle Dogs are highly trainable so you should be able to train the dog too leave the pond alone. (It is adorable)

You can always get a Fido Shock fence, it won't hurt the dog and it will keep raccoons out if they become a problem.

Your cattle dog will probably try to herd the fish - not harm them! LOL Just give the dog a job most of the day and you will be golden. ACD and boredom = havoc.

Each dog is different. My niece's large mixed breed wouldn't hesitate to jump in if she let him. While my Pembroke Welsh Corgi, Teddy, has absolutely no interest in swimming. I was warned that his grandmother destroyed her owner's pond on more than one occasion, but thankfully that trait wasn't hereditary. Our pond is 4,000 gallons and that was a concern to me because he's so rambunctious and I was afraid he could drown. While he likes to walk around in the pond if it's dry, he has no desire to get in with the water. He's funny because he throws his toys in the pond and watches them float around, but that's it. He'll wait for us to retrieve them. He'll scarf up what fish food floats to the edges and will take a drink out of it, but will not go farther than that. He likes watching the fish, but doesn't harm them. And he doesn't destroy plants at all. He treats it more like a big water bowl.

You should measure the depth of your pond. If your dog can step out of it easily and it looks like he can, then you should be OK. If he won't stay out of it, you can either fence it or use a deterrent. I can tell you what works - a motion detector sprinkler. Scarecrow and Havahart makes them. It didn't work on the heron, but it was VERY effective on Teddy!

Thanks for all the great help, everyone! If we get the house, I'm sure I'll be back for lots more questions! LOL

I forgot to mention... everyone's doggies (and ponds!) are adorable too!

I just want to say that Cooter is very delicious! LOL

Brenda

Love the 'Teddy' description!

Just yesterday my Mom was here with her 10 month-old Corgi 'Toby'. He had finally figured out he could swim (and liked it) when they were up at their lake cabin 2 weeks ago, and when he got hot playing in my yard he just walked right into the pond like it was a beach...only to discover the sides drop off after the very first rocks! He tipped right in, bounced back out, and looked around, all embarrassed, to see if anyone had noticed! Mom and I were hysterical with laughter!

Well, we had the home inspections this morning (and it wasn't raining, for once!!!), so I got a better look at the pond. It looks to be only a little more than a foot deep and it also looks like the fish will have hiding places if they need them. So, I feel a little better now. I am curious to see how Jaz reacts though. I'll keep you updated (if closing goes through, that is)