Almost ready to adopt another dog, heart hasn't quite healed yet but getting there. The real problem is although I have always had pets /hunting companions, I have never had a camping dog, canoe or otherwise. I watch the you tube guys and their doggy companions and I want that experience too. They great to scare away the boogie man also.

Please post what in your experience /opinion #1 what qualities make a good canoe dog. #2 any suggestions on breed, age, size, weight or sex. #3 any conditioning or trainings tips. pros or cons, harness-leash, dog pfds any thing you can think of.

The dog will be a neutered or spay shelter dog. The dog will be a family pet and will need to get along with my old yellow lab. In case the dog doesn't work out as a canoe dog they will have to be content with living a life of doggy luxury, sleeping on the couch and too many treats.

I would enjoy seeing any pictures of your pups in action. thanks in advance, Merlyn

Merlyn, Sorry you are still grieving the loss of your last dog. Hopefully the good memories will prevail, especially as you start to look for a new pup. Good luck in your search and post pics when you choose your dog.

We have an English lab, named Zaga, which is a shorter and stockier breed than an American lab. They are also calmer and less rambunctiously energetic...both things we thought would make for a great paddle partner. And Zaga is a great dog in the canoe but she is simply too doggone happy to see people or other dogs on the portage trail that I don't trip with her. If I didn't have to pack a canoe and backpacks, it wouldn't be a problem because she walks just fine when I can use some leverage when she tugs and pulls to greet people.

Our dog was actually trained in prison by inmates as a service dog but couldn't quite pass all of the tests. So instead she is a breeder dog and her puppies become service animals. She birthed two litters and has since retired. I think one of her puppies is now a k-9 unit on the east coast and another one is a seeing eye dog, if I remember correctly. The other puppies are more comfort animals for people with special needs which is due to how they accept different trainings, I think.

As for canoe training, I take her to local lakes and she is very calm and obedient around the boat. Does great, really. Not sure if I have any tips because she came to us very well-trained so it was just a matter of spending time with her in the canoe. We walk between 2-5 miles through the woods four or five times a week and she loves it. She's very spoiled too but simply not a canoe-tripping companion. My daughters love her though!

Here's a pic of Zaga with one of her puppies who came to visit.

I go with a border collie. Not your typical breed to do well in a canoe or around camp but Luna is the perfect companion. She’s very very low key unless it’s play time with a ball or frisbee. She loves to fetch a ball out in the lake too.

Qualities to have are perfect recall. They listen to you, don’t chase wildlife, don’t bark at other trippers, don’t bark around camp.

I prefer this medium size of a dog too. She’s around 50lbs. If you find those qualities or the dog can learn them, then you have a canoe tripping buddy!

TomT: "I go with a border collie. Not your typical breed to do well in a canoe or around camp but Luna is the perfect companion. She’s very very low key unless it’s play time with a ball or frisbee. She loves to fetch a ball out in the lake too.


Qualities to have are perfect recall. They listen to you, don’t chase wildlife, don’t bark at other trippers, don’t bark around camp.


I prefer this medium size of a dog too. She’s around 50lbs. If you find those qualities or the dog can learn them, then you have a canoe tripping buddy!




"

Great looking dog. Cool eyes!

I also vote for Border Collie, though Django is a little big for the breed (I think a 40# canoe dog might be a better size). He is a wonderful companion and loves camping and tent life.

I prefer medium sized and shorter hair- easier to haul back in the canoe if we have a mishap, quicker to dry at night so being in the tent is less of an issue. Amelia is 37#, Staffordshire/cattle dog mix from a S Dakota Rez.

As others have said- not a barker, excellent recall. And really, still leashed on portages...too many dogs get lost out there. She's been taught to walk behind me on portages if I say "slow", very useful for solo trips.

As far as training, everyone has had good ideas for you.....I would start as young as you can. Just like being in the tent, it needs to just be part of their normal world. I set up an old retired tent in the yard and we take naps in it, eventually spend the night.

Some folks start with a canoe in the grass and practice laying still, getting in and out, etc. I just started on the water, lots of short paddles- maybe 30 minutes at first, then most of the afternoon, then we started tripping. I think I'm different than most folks in that Amelia is trained not to get out on her own. I lift her out by her lifevest. She does stand up when it's calm and look around, but if it gets at all windy she's down.

And I forgot.....Ruffwear makes really great PFDs

Any dog can be a good canoe camping dog if properly trained!

Make sure your dog is trained to loose leash walk or walk with you and stay under control with voice commands. Other people (or dogs) on portages might not want your off leash dog running up on them.

Everyone in the canoe wears a PFD, including the dog. Second Ruffwear PFDs.

We have taken a springer in the past and years later a lab. Now we have a sheltie. Shelties run around 25-28 pounds which is smaller than our last 2 dogs. But this size is perfect for us in the canoe. He fits in better, is easier to help out of the canoe, and can still carry his pack.. plus he eats less so there is less food to pack. We also like that his fur is 2 coats so he is never cold. His name is Biblo and he loved his BWCA trip last year . Make sure to check out the canoeing with dogs forum

Thanks everyone and great pictures! I hadn't realized there was a "canoeing with dogs" forum, not sure how I ever missed it but intend to read every post.
I was surprised to see the Staffordshire mix and Sheltie as canoe dogs; without your input I would not have even considered that combination or breed. So much to learn. Our local shelter has a crazy high percentage of Pit /terrier mixed dogs, something to think about.
Geotramper, what kind of dog is in your picture?

Milly, I miss you!

My GSP (german shorthaired pointer) is 6 years old and never been in a canoe yet. I think she'd do well but likely not going to be a tripping dog for me.

The good: she's VERY well trained, doesn't bark, listens well and off-leash commands are good since she's a hunting dog. She does like to swim but not crazy about it like a lab or other water dog.

The bad: even at that age she's energetic. When I have her in my jon boat she likes to pace and lean over the edge and if birds are flying off the water around us she's very interested. I'm sure if I said commands to her all the time she'd be ok in a canoe but that's no fun for either of us.


I have been canoeing around another GSP that grew up canoeing and he's great and loves to swim. Also a springer spaniel that's about 50lbs and does great, she's not a huge fan of water though so that makes it easier. Yellow lab that of course loves water and does well in the canoe but at 70lbs plus you really don't want them moving much at all. All hunting dogs and obey commands very well and don't bark.

Forgot a picture

We have a yellow lab that is a hunter who takes over the couch and, as a family member, goes canoeing with us. A few pros and cons with her:

At 70 lbs she does take up room when we paddle with all the gear in the canoe. I would not go with a larger dog. And a 70 lb dog eats a fair amount of food, and not all of it fits in a dog pack (means you carry some of it). Labs like water so we have to ban her from it after supper so she is dry by bedtime.

It does take patience to train them to sit still. Mica is 4, and while her butt stays in 1 place, her front feet follow her head, which is on a swivel, while watching my husband cast for fish. She is always alert.

For the pros, she always lets us know when something is near camp, meaning I sleep better. Shes been trained to wait for the command to get in or out of the canoe. We never have leftovers. Labs are water dogs so she doesn’t get upset when her feet get wet. In fact she’d like to be wet all the time. She’s big enough that she won’t be eaten. She Always provides entertainment for us.

merlyn: " Thanks everyone and great pictures! I hadn't realized there was a "canoeing with dogs" forum, not sure how I ever missed it but intend to read every post.
I was surprised to see the Staffordshire mix and Sheltie as canoe dogs; without your input I would not have even considered that combination or breed. So much to learn. Our local shelter has a crazy high percentage of Pit /terrier mixed dogs, something to think about.
Geotramper, what kind of dog is in your picture?"

German wirehair pointer. 60lbs

This is Mozart, he’s 78lbs. He’s an East German Shepherd. He’s not particularly great in the canoe yet unless we play catch for about 20 minutes on all pre-trips just to wind him down a little. Portages are challenging and take a little more care and planning because he loves people but is reactive to other dogs getting too close to him. He’s large, eats a lot (many extra lbs of food weight on longer trips), and he never gets tired, so from sunup to sundown he needs a job to do. And and he’s pretty scary looking so I deal with the normal stigma from some people that we cross paths with.

Some good things though…

Fierce loyalty, he will never ever go too far from me
Nothing is boring with him around
He’s my best friend
He has near-perfect recall
And I don’t think anything or anyone wants to come into our camp to mess with us

My point is, we make the best of the trips and I’m ok that they’re a little more stressful when he’s with me because there’s no one else I prefer to be with while camping, and every trip is an adventure I’ll never forget with him. I wouldn’t over think breed or sex too much, get a dog that you feel you have a bond with and do a few outings locally and get him used to being in a canoe. Yard works but I found it was meaningless for us because it’s really the water factor he needed to understand. So we skipped that part and went straight to a local lake and just skimmed shorelines for a few hours. Maybe a Great Dane or Saint Bernard isn’t a good canoe dog though. Unless you’re solo tripping a 20-footer.

Obvious guidelines apply, they shouldn’t be habitual barkers. I support keeping dogs on leash while portaging for the same reason you would do so while walking in town, I don’t want a dog flying up the trail to myself and my dog who will react poorly to that. Life jackets in BWCA also, I take his off at camp or if we’re just fishing offshore close to camp. I don’t paddle big water with him yet, we’re working on that. Around camp, he’s really fun to watch, as he understands we’re alone in the wild and his whole demeanor shifts. He’s on full alert the whole time. He runs around the perimeter of the camp maybe 100 feet away. Back and forth all day, trees the occasional squirrel or chipmunk. At night I put a led lighted collar on him, just in case. Otherwise he sleeps in the tent with me, ears up and listening.

One tip I have for a dog new to camping, is get him used to sleeping and/or being in a tent at home. We didn’t have this luxury before our first trip out and we had a scary close call. Tent was close to the water while breaking it down one morning. He wandered into it to sniff some smelly clothes I imagine and got turned around inside. He panicked and sprinted but since the tent wasn’t staked down it rolled with him inside it right to edge of a drop off that went into the lake. I dove on top of him grabbed two fistfulls of tent mesh to save him from going over. Tent got some holes but it was a bad situation averted. And a good reminder to keep my tent zipped up at all times, even when taking it down.

You can't go wrong with a sporting breed. Peggy gets it (and learned it quickly). Sit down and sit still in the boat, portaging is leash time. More people should leash their dogs on portages. If I can single portage solo with a leashed dog in the shape I'm in, everyone else should be able to do it too, especially the group member carrying just a pack or a handful of paddles and fishing rods. I just clip her leash to my PFD and she helps pull me uphill. Also downhill (not helpful).

Plus she trims my boat. At 60 lbs she's actually a bit too heavy for the perfect trim. I tend to pack pretty light, so it feels a little bow-heavy sometimes. Not bad though, and only noticeable in a strong tailwind, but kind of nice in a strong headwind.

Here's a frame of my Dutch shepherd somewhere amid a 5-day trip in the BWCA.

I tend to think herders and retrievers, somewhere around the 35-45lb range, make for some of the best canoe dogs. Easy to train, enjoy being close to you, and not so big they flip the boat. Definitely always a dog PFD while on the water. If you do flip for some reason, one less thing to worry about, even if your dog is a good swimmer.

Also, be conscious of the bug situation before you go. I made the mistake of taking her once in July and never will again. She couldn't wait to get into the bug shelter.

Mutts. Seriously (and also what geotramper said about training). Every mutt I've seen in canoe country has been a great canoe and camping companion. There are LOTS of wonderful adult mutts in shelters waiting to be a companion.

And, if you have 3 minutes, please enjoy this video. The song was inspired by Suncatcher here on this forum.

Me And Molly

Any breed with the right temperament can work with the right training.

I highly recommend a dog that you can lift by the life jacket handle. That comes in handy.

Duckman: "
I highly recommend a dog that you can lift by the life jacket handle. That comes in handy.


"

Highly agree with this. Especially if not trained on entry into the canoe (aka paws on the gunnels)

Our current pup is a bernedoodle named Pretzel. He'll be 11 months old in 5 days. My opinion on what makes a good canoe pup is training and exposure (especially when they're young). Last summer I brought Pretzel on 5 separate canoe excursions, only one of which was overnight. We kept him leashed on portages.

He's alot larger today than he was in the pics. Today he weighs about 60 lbs. Looking forward to getting him out there more next summer.

My dog, Callie, is a yellow lab, 50 pounds, 13 months old, and not very well trained. Barking and wandering into the neighbors yards are an issue for her so I'll have to think about if I want to take her to the BWCA.

She is a great boat dog though. On a busy lake in a bigger boat, she tends to lay down and relax, even with other dogs there that are anxious and moving around a lot. In the hunting canoe, she laid down under my seat and only occasionally wanted some attention.

Labs are natural water dogs. Callie was cautious about the water as a puppy, but eventually (after I pushed her off the dock a few times) she was doing running jumps off the dock. She loves to swim. By 9 months old she was 100% comfortable with the water. If you want a boat dog, labs are a great choice.

I go tripping with Lexi a 60# female American Black Lab. Perhaps you've seen us on YouTube. She is awesome, best dog I've had by far. Listens well and stays by me. Hops in and out of the canoe on command. It is something special to be able to trip with a dog and share that connection with them. Some of it was training by me but mostly just good breeding. Lots of good advice given here. All I can really add is the two main criteria for a good camping dog is personality and trainability. You want a dog that is mellow and easy to train. Personality is always a crapshoot even from a breeder. You can do you best research but you never know. I commend you on getting a shelter dog but if you do decide to go the breeder route you can't go wrong with a lab. Of course you already know this as you have one. Here is a couple pictures of Lexi as well as a link for a dog tainer on YouTube that I think does excellent work and I have learned a lot from.


Stonnie Dennis

We got a puppy right before Christmas. He is a rescue mutt of questionable lineage, like me. We have no idea what breed(s). But he's going to be medium sized, he's smart as a whip and really fun. Still a little riled up from time to time because he is so young. I look forward to seeing how he does in a canoe. And in state parks.