The Mistake of the Separate Dog Pool (and What People Traveling With Their Dog Are Really Looking For)

More and more rural guesthouses are investing in a separate pool for dogs. We believe they’re solving the wrong problem.

🤔 The question we asked

A few days ago we told the story of the call from the woman who was outraged to discover we allow dogs — yes, you read that right: she had three of her own, and still thought it was «disgusting» for them to swim in the same pool as people.

At the end of that story, we asked our social media community a question:

🏊🐶 Would you swim in a pool where dogs also swim?

We expected some debate. What we got was almost a collective statement of intent. One after another, the replies said basically the same thing, just in different words:

«Dog first, then me — so we can swim together.»

«If they leave me a little space, I’m getting in the pool.»

«If the pool is for dogs, I have to bring my Drack, who I think was a dolphin in another life, and I’d happily get in with them.»

«And if I had to get in, I’d just get in, no big deal.»

Almost no one replied «yes, but I’d rather it had its own pool.» Among those who already travel with a dog — which is mostly who follows us and who responded — the answer was nearly unanimous: people want to get in the water with their dog. Not watch it swim from a sun lounger. Not keep it in a separate splash pool ten metres away, supervised the way you’d watch a child who isn’t allowed near the grown-ups.

And that’s where the problem we’ve been seeing in the industry for a while comes in.

🏗️ The mistake of the separate pool

More and more rural guesthouses and pet-friendly hotels are announcing, as a big new feature, an exclusive pool for dogs. It sounds good on paper: the dog gets «its own space,» nobody feels uncomfortable, everyone’s happy.

We think it’s a mistake. And not just a financial one — though it is that too, since building and maintaining a second pool isn’t exactly cheap — but a philosophical one.

Because they’re forgetting the most important thing: their owners want to swim with them.

Nobody needs a twenty-square-metre pool just for the dog. What people are looking for — and we’ve read it dozens of times in the comments — is a pool where both dog and owner can swim together and have a good time. A separate pool isn’t an improvement on pet-friendly. It’s the most expensive way of still not getting it.

It’s the solution of choice for anyone who wants to sell «yes, we allow dogs here» without having to deal with the truly uncomfortable part: that the dog isn’t a second-class guest set aside in a corner. It’s part of the holiday. And a holiday with a pool is a shared one.

⚖️ The problem no pool can fix

But there’s something deeper going on, and it’s more uncomfortable than the pool itself.

In a pet-friendly room-based property — not an exclusive-rental house — two types of guest will always coexist under the same roof: the one who loves dogs and the one who doesn’t. And both have paid exactly the same for their stay.

The first will be bothered by disapproving looks for bringing their dog, having paid the same — or more, with the supplement — as someone with no dog at all. The second will be bothered by dogs roaming loose in the garden, the dining room or the pool, and has every right to complain about it, whether they simply dislike dogs or are actually afraid of them.

No pool, sign or rule can resolve that tension. It’s a contradiction from the start: two different, almost incompatible experiences, coexisting in the same space. And it isn’t a failure of our management, or of any other property going through the same thing: we’ve been through it before, with guests for whom living alongside other dogs ended up weighing on them more than expected, and the stay ended badly for everyone. We told that story in detail at the time. It’s simply what happens when you try to be two things at once.

Someone put it better than we could. Among the comments on that same post, someone wrote this:

«Every person is a world of their own, and some are pure contradiction (…) what matters is knowing who we are and, accordingly, seeking what we want.»

And they’re absolutely right. The problem isn’t having a dog or not. The problem is not knowing what kind of holiday you’re looking for before you book.

🐾 What we do instead

We don’t try to solve that contradiction with infrastructure. We’re not going to build a second pool to «fix» something that isn’t a problem of square metres, but of expectations.

What we do is be clear from the start. The pool belongs to the dogs. People, if they want, swim with them. The dining room is shared. The garden is shared. And yes, the pool has its own filtration system and pH control like any shared-use pool, checked daily — this isn’t about hygiene, it’s about who you want to share the water with.

When someone asks us on the phone whether dogs swim in the pool, we answer straight out: yes, and people too, if they want. If someone finds that «disgusting» — like the woman on the call — it’s better they know before booking than after, with the suitcase already unpacked.

We’d rather lose a booking on the phone by being honest than gain one fewer star on Booking as a surprise afterwards.

Because, in the end, it’s not about pleasing everyone. It’s about making sure whoever comes knows exactly what they’re coming to. And that whoever truly wants to swim with their dog — not just watch it swim from a distance — knows they have a place here.

🐶 The pool belongs to the dogs.
🏊 You, if you want, can swim with them.

saluDOGS, and may your dog come along.

Frequently asked questions about pet-friendly pools in rural guesthouses

Why do some rural guesthouses install a separate pool for dogs?

It’s usually done to avoid the discomfort of guests with and without dogs sharing the same body of water. It’s an infrastructure solution to a philosophical problem: separating instead of integrating.

Is a shared pool better than a pool exclusively for dogs?

It depends on what the guest is looking for. Someone travelling with their dog who wants to enjoy the holiday together with it usually prefers a shared pool, where they can swim with their pet. Someone who prefers to keep the dog in a separate space may find a better fit at a property with a dog-exclusive pool.

Can a room-based pet-friendly property satisfy both guests with and without dogs?

It’s difficult. In a property with shared rooms (not an exclusive rental), dogs belonging to different guests share the common areas. Someone who doesn’t enjoy the presence of dogs and someone travelling with their own have different expectations of the same space, and both pay the same rate.

Does Mas Torrencito have a pool exclusively for dogs?

No. At Mas Torrencito, the pool is shared between dogs and people, with its corresponding filtration, treatment and pH control system.