Just looking for advice on best practices for taking a dog on a BWCA trip. 4-6 days is what I’m thinking & the trip is scheduled for end of May. I will be portaging a few times as well. The dog I would bring is a 62lb golden retriever. Never been in a canoe or camping but loves to hunt with me and could swim all day. Any help and advice is greatly appreciated.

If you put this question in the Solo Tripping Forum you are likely to get alot more responses.
One thing I would suggest is to get your dog used to sitting in boats or canoes if possible before you go.

You can learn a lot by just Looking at the titles of post on the dog forum and reading some of them. I’ll toss a couple things I think are key, however.
1. What’s your dogs prey drive like, and how is it’s recall? If it sees a moose, bear, or rabbit, will it give chase, and can you stop it verbally? You don’t want it running off after some beast and getting lost.
2. Is it/he a leg lifter who marks his territory? That can be serious trouble if he pees on someone’s pack on a portage. It’s happened.
3. How is it with lightning and thunder? You could get storms in late May. If it has not experienced any while outside, it will take its clues from you on how to react - so don’t project that it should be afraid. Again, dogs have been lost up there that ran off when thunder scared them.
4. Ticks will be out in late May, and black flies may pop out by then too. Consider bringing a bug net for both of you.
5. Consider de-barbing your fish hooks.
Good luck and have fun. I love going wi5 my two dogs.

I'll add a few more things.

First, taking a dog on a BWCA trip isn't really any different than taking one elsewhere, just use common sense.

I've taken 2 dogs canoe camping with me, not at the same time, and both have done great. I started them early, getting both on the water while they were puppies. If you can, before your trip, get your pup out in a canoe as often as you can. Get him, and you, used to him being in the canoe for a few hours at a time. Give him a spot in the canoe to sit/lay. I use half of a cheap closed-cell sleeping pad for my dogs to sit/lay on and they quickly learned that is their place to be. And it's insulation from the cold water.






Command that he either sits or lays in the canoe, do not permit him to stand or move around to much. A single whack on the back side from a paddle blade is usually enough to reinforce this. Have him wait until he's told to get in/out of the canoe. Golden retrievers are smart, he'll quickly learn.

At landings/portages have a leash handy if needed, some folks love dogs and some don't, esp. if they jump up on them. If you're portaging with him off the leash and you don't see him for more than a few minutes call him back to you. If he hunts with you he should be already good at staying only so far from you. Same at camp. My current pup has a bit of wanderlust in him, so I have to keep close tabs on him. I like island campsites.

He should do just fine around camp, he'll probably love it, other than the bugs. You might want to pick up a bug house, for you both. Also, pack a camp towel just to dry him off and clean his paws before getting in the tent. Nights can be cold in late may, don't forget about him. He also can be a little heater for you.

An over looked thing may be his food. My experience is that some days they gobble it down, some days they nibble at it and some days they ignore it. Plan on him eating slightly larger amounts than at home though, he'll need the extra calories too. To get my pup to eat some days, I pack Pedigree pouches of wet food to mix with his dry, about one every other day.

With a little experience he'll do fine and he'll be great company. Have fun and enjoy your trip.

jaywalker: thank you for the tips! That will really help me out.

LittoralZone: "I'll add a few more things.


First, taking a dog on a BWCA trip isn't really any different than taking one elsewhere, just use common sense.


I've taken 2 dogs canoe camping with me, not at the same time, and both have done great. I started them early, getting both on the water while they were puppies. If you can, before your trip, get your pup out in a canoe as often as you can. Get him, and you, used to him being in the canoe for a few hours at a time. Give him a spot in the canoe to sit/lay. I use half of a cheap closed-cell sleeping pad for my dogs to sit/lay on and they quickly learned that is their place to be. And it's insulation from the cold water.






Command that he either sits or lays in the canoe, do not permit him to stand or move around to much. A single whack on the back side from a paddle blade is usually enough to reinforce this. Have him wait until he's told to get in/out of the canoe. Golden retrievers are smart, he'll quickly learn.


At landings/portages have a leash handy if needed, some folks love dogs and some don't, esp. if they jump up on them. If you're portaging with him off the leash and you don't see him for more than a few minutes call him back to you. If he hunts with you he should be already good at staying only so far from you. Same at camp. My current pup has a bit of wanderlust in him, so I have to keep close tabs on him. I like island campsites.


He should do just fine around camp, he'll probably love it, other than the bugs. You might want to pick up a bug house, for you both. Also, pack a camp towel just to dry him off and clean his paws before getting in the tent. Nights can be cold in late may, don't forget about him. He also can be a little heater for you.


An over looked thing may be his food. My experience is that some days they gobble it down, some days they nibble at it and some days they ignore it. Plan on him eating slightly larger amounts than at home though, he'll need the extra calories too. To get my pup to eat some days, I pack Pedigree pouches of wet food to mix with his dry, about one every other day.


With a little experience he'll do fine and he'll be great company. Have fun and enjoy your trip."

LittoralZone: really appreciate all the helpful tips. the pad in the canoe is a great idea and you brought up a few things I hadn't thought of yet. Planning on taking Duke on a canoe trip on the Little Miami River near where I live at to get him use to being in a canoe.

For what its worth, I have been planning to go up to Knife at the end of May for a week or two with my two dogs. If you are up there and paddle by, I'm not hard to spot - red canoe and two black dogs! Good luck up there.