How many of you are willing to bring your little sht kicker dog up there? One of those dogs that weigh less than 10 lbs? If you do, do you always bring the dog out in the canoe with you, or do you sometimes leave them in camp? If you bring them in the canoe with you and fish, how do you keep them out of the lures? We've brought labs and retrievers with, but we always left them in our base camp, when we went fishing.

Right now we have this little bichon/yorkie. I call her a bitchie. I love that little dog, but worry a coyote, or bird of prey or something might mess with her, if I leave her in camp. And if I bring her out in the canoe, she just wants to sit in my wife's lap, and makes it tough for her to fish.

After all the stories I've read lately about people losing their dog in the BWCA, I don't think I'll ever bring her with. It's kinda sad though. My golden retriever absolutely loved it up there, and I woudn't have thought about leaving him home. He used to spend more than half the trip in the water. Every time I turned around he was standing waste deep. He loved it.

The canoe problem is an easy solve. Make sure she has a way to be comfortable in the canoe, and deny her the lap. Comfort in the canoe for her might mean a softer, stable place to lay down, a way to get out of the sun, or maybe a way to be able to see out of the canoe. Make sure she has what she needs in the canoe without resorting to a lap, and then teach her that she is not always allowed to have lap time in the canoe. If she was a golden, would you or your wife tolerate her trying to be in your lap all the time? No. So teach her the same.

Oh, and no, I wouldn't leave her in camp. I'd never leave ANY dog alone in camp.

We’ve got 2 of em. One is blind so biz adventuring days are done. Little sis loves to run around the shore of the river and swim and get filthy, but I still wouldn’t bring her on a trip. In my opinion dogs need to be trained for this kind of stuff early. If you haven’t trained your dog to stay off the lap, not to bolt when it sees a squirrel, etc, I don’t think you’re gonna have a ton of success at this stage. Mine don’t listen at all. They are great little idiots basicslly.

I also would never leave any dog unattended at base camp. Do you crate it somehow?

I brought my 20lb dog twice last year when he was 2 years old. He thinks he is a tough guy (Patterdale Terrier). It's a little bit of a trick when fishing since he gets a little excited to see fish but other than that he's not very noticeable in the canoe since he is so light. I bought a foldable mat from RuffWear that goes in the canoe, I also can bring it out of the canoe for camp. We practice having him go on the mat in the canoe and give some good treats (String cheese is a great training treat)

analyzer: "... I don't think I'll ever bring her with...."

Looks like you've solved your problem!

We also have a Yorkie, he’s only 5 pounds. I would never take my little buddy up they and leave him. He would be a nice snack for a lot of critters. He’s too worried about us and he gets stressed out. We do a lot of trips with our camper and we do leave him inside in a small crate. We just cover it up with a blanket and he doesn’t bark. That might be an option for your dog in a tent. The small crates collapse flat for storage.

We had two of our Border Terriers (13-15 lbs. usually) in our canoe once on Sea Gull. The PFD on one was too big so I took it off en route. A butterfly came past the gunwale. I heard a soft splash as I was looking the other way and managed just in time to pluck the terrier out of the water behind me. If I hadn't been successful, my bow paddler/spouse would have ordered me into the water.

OMGitsKa: "I brought my 20lb dog twice last year when he was 2 years old. He thinks he is a tough guy (Patterdale Terrier). It's a little bit of a trick when fishing since he gets a little excited to see fish but other than that he's not very noticeable in the canoe since he is so light. I bought a foldable mat from RuffWear that goes in the canoe, I also can bring it out of the canoe for camp. We practice having him go on the mat in the canoe and give some good treats (String cheese is a great training treat) "

Another of our Border Terriers used to spot Dolly Varden rises from the bow for me in AK. I didn't have to watch the water; the dog was better at it than I.

OMGitsKa: "I brought my 20lb dog twice last year when he was 2 years old. He thinks he is a tough guy (Patterdale Terrier). It's a little bit of a trick when fishing since he gets a little excited to see fish but other than that he's not very noticeable in the canoe since he is so light. I bought a foldable mat from RuffWear that goes in the canoe, I also can bring it out of the canoe for camp. We practice having him go on the mat in the canoe and give some good treats (String cheese is a great training treat) "

Great shot of my old Magic OMG. I never tried to take either of my labs in the canoe. Neither of them was properly trained and I had visions of a disaster.

Did you get the footbrace reattached ?

Bill

Banksiana: " "

Early trip huh? wow.

I'm not sure what I would do with her on portages. Some of those portages we're wading mid portage, shin deep, in a beaver bog, or something. My hands would be busy carrying a canoe, or whatever. With bigger dogs, they can fend for themselves. But then I saw someone bring their 1 year old baby on a portage trip, so I guess it can be done.

bobbernumber3: "

analyzer: "... I don't think I'll ever bring her with...."

Looks like you've solved your problem!"

I know, but I feel bad leaving her home. She loves going car camping with us.

Make great muskie bait.

WHendrix: "

OMGitsKa: "I brought my 20lb dog twice last year when he was 2 years old. He thinks he is a tough guy (Patterdale Terrier). It's a little bit of a trick when fishing since he gets a little excited to see fish but other than that he's not very noticeable in the canoe since he is so light. I bought a foldable mat from RuffWear that goes in the canoe, I also can bring it out of the canoe for camp. We practice having him go on the mat in the canoe and give some good treats (String cheese is a great training treat) "

Great shot of my old Magic OMG. I never tried to take either of my labs in the canoe. Neither of them was properly trained and I had visions of a disaster.


Did you get the footbrace reattached ?


Bill"

Hey Bill, just took the Magic out for the first time this year! Yes was able to reattach the foot brace, back in business! Yeah the little dog does great in the canoe.

Make sure to check our the bwca dog forum.
We have always found a dog to fit nicely behind the stern paddler Dog forum

Canoearoo: "Make sure to check our the bwca dog forum.
We have always found a dog to fit nicely behind the stern paddler Dog forum "

Wow, that’s a little dog in most canoes! Good advice to check out the dog forum... I’m not a little dog kinda guy, but I’d think it would depend on the trip you planned on taking. My biggest concern is the barking those little guys tend to do. And the greater possibilities of things happening like predators, cold and water... also for long haired dogs would be the matted hair. Black dogs can get real hot as I found. I had one that would all of the sudden just jump in the water. And a black lab that would do everything possible to find shade.

My 13 pound Katrina rescue, a chihuahua/terrier mix was a great canoe dog. She was small but had the spirit of a wolf. I never worried about her in camp, actually I was more worried about her in our Richfield backyard as it seems we are in a main bald eagle flight path.

Canoearoo: "Make sure to check our the bwca dog forum.
Dog forum "

Thank you. I wasn't even aware there was such a thing.

Can't find any pics of Sophie in the canoe, but she came along and loved it.

My heeler checks in at 30 pounds.

Big enough to fend for herself on portages and obstacles, small enough that I can lift her by the handle on her life jacket (always buy a dog life jacket with a handle).

On leaving a dog in camp, that’s not possible with a heeler. She’d unzip the tent, unlock a crate, read a map, and come find me.

Toy breeds/mixes in camp alone are susceptible to predators. They have more gumption than is good for them, sometimes.

Ask Mark (housty9) and Lisa what would happen should I leave Kira behind to check out a portage. Lisa was not happy...

I have a small (18 lb) mixed breed mutt I would love to take with me. She is my best buddy and is my shadow. She has yet to go on a paddle trip in my canoe. While I feel she would do well, I am hesitant to make the leap to take her to BW. I feel like I would use common sense approach. Needs to be the right dog, right place based on type of trip. If you can't leave her behind then you will certainly be willing to accommodate her on the trip. If it was my dog, there is no way I would leave her at camp; she would be with me always. (by my choice and hers) Make her comfortable in the canoe and train her to have "her spot". Best of luck and enjoy your trip.

lundojam: " Can't find any pics of Sophie in the canoe, but she came along and loved it."

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