Any advise on where to start training dogs for canoeing? My wife and I have two dogs, both currently 10 months old. They both are a handful at the time. Hopefully they will be calmer after they take "that trip" to the vet. Both are males, one a choc lab and the other a labradoodle. They tip the scales at 70 lbs each. We have a smaller sized river with slow to moderate current to paddle on near by. Should we take one at a time? Guess yes, unless we want to swim too....

Thanks for any help folks.

Labman

In my humble opinion, I think people often expect "the snip" to make a big difference in their dog's behavior, but I have rarely seen that big a difference. Starting their boat training one at a time is probably smart, but I would suggest a lot of discipline work outside the boat first. If they can't behave sitting next to each other on dry land, I doubt they will in a canoe. Good luck!

I only have one dog and I'm about to put her in the canoe this upcoming Saturday for the first time. It will be interesting to see how your trip goes. Ours in July.

For sure start with one dog at a time. If two are a handful at home then two will also be a handful in the canoe. You need to be able to focus our attention on each dog so limiting to one at a time for now is best.

What sort of foundation in basic obedience do they have? Do they know sit, stay, lay down, leave it? Do you have a command for "going to bed" or something similar?

Really the first part of canoe training for a young dog with a lot of energy is a strong foundation in basic obedience. They need to know the commands and they need to listen to them and obey them when you give them.

If all that is squared away then you can start moving to the canoe. First thing I'd do is put the canoe in the grass and teach the dog to get in and out. Have them get used to being in the canoe and teach them its a good place to be but praising and rewarding them when they are in it. Let them get used to how the canoe will tip side to side a little and praise and reward them as its happening. Once you are confident they aren't freaked out by the canoe then move to the water.

Start with one dog and have it sit in front of the bow paddler where they can have control of the dog if need be. The bow paddler may not be paddling at first, if there isn't room due to the size of the dog then have them between the legs of the stern paddler. Either way just make sure that someone can have physical control of the dog if need be.

Give them commands to lay down and stay and then praise them as they comply. Continue praising and rewarding the dog as long as it is doing what you want. Help them build the connection between laying down and being still in the canoe = good things will happen.

Once you have worked with each dog one on one and are confident in their ability to be chill in the canoe then I'd start the process over but this time with both dogs. Start on dry ground and get them used to laying down where you want them. Then move to the water once you feel good about it.

I appreciate the replies. I will start in the back yard, one dog at a time and progress from there. Bosco, the choc lab is pretty well behaved. It is Mumford the labradoodle I worry about. He likes to be the drama queen that demands all the attention.

Thank you all

One last tip, be sure to exercise them as much as possible before you shove off for the first time - tired dogs are good dogs! Again, good luck, and let us know how it goes!

How is the training going?
Our trip down stream went well. We were surprised to find that our pup is afraid of water but it worked to our benefit because she did not have any interest in jumping from the canoe. Our trip was a success.

We have also been working with her on packing her own food. She now knows when I pick up her backpack that she is going for a trail walk and behaves especially well in order to go.

I am curious to know how your prep is going.

We will be taking ours to BWCA this July.

I have trained two dogs to get in and out of a canoe. Here is what I did. Not saying it's right, just what worked for me.
I went to a local lake, put the pup in the canoe at the dock. We paddled close to shore in shallow water. The dog was scared shitless!!! I was just waiting to tip! :) much more difficult in an empty Kevlar canoe for sure! Loaded is much easier because of the ballast and more stable. I did this on numerous occasions. 3 or 4.
Then I went to the same lake and practiced getting the dog to go into the canoe from the shore and out of the canoe from the shore. The command at home to go back in the kennel is "kennel up" so I used the SAME command. KENNEL UP mean get in the kennel or get in the canoe. They both figured that out. Get out Molly or Get out Karma was the command to get out of the canoe. after several trips, they both learned it well. Just what worked for me, I am no "Dog Wisperer" or anything :)

SunCatcher

and it doesn't need to be puppies...Katie was 8 when I started her canoeing...she loves it

With Katie the command I use to get in is..."Lets go for a ride". getting out can be problematic. you don't want them jumping out as soon as you get to the landing. You want to get out first and stabilize the canoe. For Katie, I tell her to stay, then I get out and steady the canoe and tell her to get out.