Looking for any recommendations on which canoes are the most stable. I am coming to the BWCA for the first time and bringing my dog with. Dog has never been in a canoe before and I would like to be as stable as possible. Any advice would be great.

look for a canoe with a flat bottom,these are usually called "sportsman canoes".i used a Old Town Pathfinder for many years and while it was sort of slow it was very stable,i stood up in it a lot and thats not something i can do for very long in my new Prospector before it feels tippy.i don't think you need outriggers or any add-on's,a good load set low in the boat go's a long way to make for a stable ride.

You know your dog, but my advice is to take him/her out for a test paddle prior to your trip.

I've found Souris River 17 foot kevlar canoes to be very stable.

quote Mort: "I've found Souris River 17 foot kevlar canoes to be very stable."

+1 on the Souris Brand. I don't have very much time in my Souris River Q18.5 as of yet, but could not believe how much more stable it is as compared to other canoes in Kevlar. Very Stable.

A Wenonah Boundary Waters would also fit the bill.
CB

quote snakecharmer: "You know your dog, but my advice is to take him/her out for a test paddle prior to your trip."

i will second this. again you know your dog better than anybody here but a dog that is jumpy in any canoe is gonna put you at risk of getting really wet. even more so if s/he is a big dog.

One trick with a dog, if it fits, and if you are in a tandem canoe paddling stern, is to put the dog behind you. There isn't that much room there, and the dog can go from side to side and not really effect the boat. Put the dog in the middle where it can move from one side of the boat to the other and it's not so fun.

I second the wide flat bottom canoes. I have an old Town discovery that I have no problem standing in. As mentioned they are not as fast but I have a novice paddler, two kids and a dog in there with me fishing and you really have to try and tip that thing over.

My Siberian Huskys are 65 and 95 pounds. They paddle their own canoe.

I'm sure some may disagree with this or think it's a "wimpy" way out (my boyfriend thought this at first), but if you can swing it financially I recommend ethafoam stabilizers Stabilizers. Think some of the outfitters have them available to rent too.

Brought our 2 dogs on their first canoe trip (and 1st time ever in a canoe) last year. Purchased these because we had very little faith that our 80+ pound Bernese would sit still (he's 6yrs old with a 1yr old personality). They came in VERY handy immediately upon entering Bayley Bay during 25-30mph winds - my guy who has been doing canoe trips for over 30 years says no way would he have done Bayley that day without the "pontooooons". I can't count how many times they kept us from flipping when Jake (the dog) would shift his big butt around or decide he was bored/hot and wanted to jump out of the canoe. I'm sure we would have done just fine without the stabilizers, but it was sure was nice to have the peace of mind (especially on the larger lakes like Agnes/Basswood) knowing there was pretty much no chance we would flip. Looks like a bulky set-up but it really isn't bad at all. Used bungee dealy bobs to secure the bar to the canoe when portaging and strapped the (very lightweight) floats on top of our packs. Didn't seem to slow us down much either when paddling. That's my 2 cents.....especially since I don't know much about the different canoe models :-)

check out these fisherman..pontoons,rowing system and a big wet dog!

Did they flip? I'm assuming the dog got wet since they're near shore and he decided to take a swim before getting in the canoe? Either that, or they didn't have the pontoons out far enough to keep it stabilized. We keep ours in when loading just like they have it, doesn't provide a lot of stablility that way.

Thanks everyone for the great advice, it has all been great!!

quote wetcanoedog: "check out these fisherman..pontoons,rowing system and a big wet dog!
"

Yep, I saw that vehicle in a James Bond movie once.