I recently picked up a new buddy, say hello to Crawford.
I'm considering doing a Boundary Waters trip with him this summer, and it looks like it would be just me and him, a solo trip of 10 to 12 days. Crawford would be 5 months old at the time I'm thinking of, late June into early July. With my last pup Ruger I took him on a 4 day local river trip when he was just 5 months old and he did great. And at a little over a year old Ruger did his first Q trip with us and I know he loved it. I know a long solo trip with a 5 month old pup would be much different. Regardless if we do a trip this year, I will get him out in my canoe and get him used to it for the years to come.

So my question to all of you great folks on the Doggie Paddle Forum is: What age was your pup when you first took him/her with you on a BW or Q trip, how long was the trip, group or solo, and how did your pup do?

Thank you in advance. I am also going to post this in the Solo Forum.

Wonderful looking puppy! I think there was a thread like this not long ago, but Ill add these couple thoughts. I don't think the actual age is all that important, but knowing the dogs behavior (prey drive, reaction to thunder, swimming ability, willingness to stay in boat), obedience (ability to come when called, heal, stay, etc.), and your own willingness to monitor and control is the way to think about it. I can remember two cases of adult dogs that got spooked by thunder, bolted, and got lost for days (both later found alive). Arguably you could take a 2 month old, but like a two year old child it would need constant monitoring. I'm guessing it would be hard to solo with either. At 5 months it should be easier, but hopefully you will have established some good discipline and practiced in a canoe. I'd still watch a youngster closely.

I did plan a solo trip with my five month old lab but got cancelled at last minute. My planned route was substantially less ambitious than my norm. At 15 months we got out again and he did great but I still watched closely. By age 2.5 he was fully dependable and I travelled the same with him I would without him.

Good luck!

Here is my two cents.

My Basecamp JRT is always invited on trips
My Basecamp GSP is no longer invited on trips

You can read my trouble with Basecamp GSP here - Basecamp GSP was just over 1 years old, and did not do good on the trip as you can read... and also my hesitation with bringing our late Cane Corso pup ... for us - both dogs were either too big, or too rambunctious for us. Our Jack Russell is an AMAZING canoe partner, and will always be invited on trips.

Plus - she's so sassy, I never have to worry about bears in camp. Not only do we keep an anal retentively clean camp - she'd probably tree a bear because she thinks she's 6x bigger than she actually is. She is such a sass. (She is 5.5, but has been tripping with us since she was 4)

5mos is probably young for a long hiking style trip, but if it is more of a paddle trip he should be fine. At 10months or so I brought my pup up for 5-6days and the biggest issue we had was a blister on his soft puppy feet, that and repeatedly learning the lesson that lily pads can't be walked on and aren't for eating.

The training time that you two will get should be invaluable and help set your pup up for a lifetime of fun. Just be sure to leave plenty of chances for the little guy to rest and know that this could end up being a training trip with a bigger focus on the dog then you planned.

There are a few old threads in the doggie paddle forum addressing this too. How old, how far, advice for first trip, etc. Good luck and Take Him With!

We took Piwi on a one-night canoe camping trip when she was 5 months, mostly to see how she would do in the tent. (Answer: Fine.) But we did not take her on a real trip until she was 8 months. That was a 9-day trip in Quetico with something like 40 portages, many of them very long and rugged. We planned it as a portage-heavy trip so she could burn off energy, and it worked. She could not have done the same trip at 5 months though.

My main concern even at 8 months was that she was pretty good at recall, but not really really good (now at 5 years she's really really good). It can be a little nerve-wracking when your puppy gets after something in the woods and you're not absolutely positive she'll respond to your command to come. I'm sure other dogs have other issues, but generally speaking, a 5 month pup is unlikely to be so obedient that you won't have some worries.

Basically, though, if you do some test drives near home to see what the pup is capable of, then you can decide what's appropriate as the date approaches.

We have a smart, well-trained 40lb Heeler mix who was three or so on his first trip. He's not invited anymore; he was just too anxious to enjoy the trip and his anxiety made everyone else nervous.

We had a 100lb Great Pyr who was much less well trained on her first trip at about one year. She did great - never made me nervous at all and was pretty mellow the entire time.

Now we have a 55lb Heinz Hound coming on his first trip at about 2 this year.

I think the important factor isn't so much age as temperament and behavior. I've called this dog off mid-chase on a rabbit and a deer before with no problems. But I wouldn't have brought him last year even with that solid recall. He still behaved like a puppy last year - unable to stay still for more than a moment and feeling the need to stick his nose in every little thing.

My dog Jake's first trip - he was 6 months old.



Looking forward to our next trip this summer, he will be nearly 2 1/2. We love paddling and portaging both.