Dawndenise. Listen to Matt4x4! I agree with him. As far as the dogs go you CAN teach them not to drink from the pool. I have 3 and a cat who thought the pool was their own outiside water bowl also! It took a bit of time and a lot of patience but they have all learned that their water dish outside is for drinking, not the pool! I used a combination of a loud NO, a water pistol or a hand clap to stop them from drinking from the pool and then lead them to the water bowl and when they drank from it I would give them a treat. I kept ice in the water bowl so the water was cold and that helped also. The cat was the fastest learner. It just took a few loud NOs. Now he is content to just play with the Deck Jets when they are on. BTW, I DO have borates in my pool.