Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Group Forum: Doggie Paddle :: non-swimming dog
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wharrier |
The dog loves boating, I take him in my walleye boat and he loves that. But he hates water. We went hiking in St. Paul and came to a boardwalk that was underwater by an inch for 2 feet and he refused to cross. There are 5 guys on the trip and we're doing 8-10 portages a day. I'm sure I could get him to jump in and out of the canoe if we could get it close but I'm afraid of having to carry him in and out of the canoe 20 times a day. How do people load/unload their dogs? Do you lift them in and out? Am I overthinking this? Thanks |
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TomT |
The life vest is just for peace of mind if I happen to dump the boat out from shore. Also, on our first trip I was fishing and accidentally tapped her on the head with my rod and startled her. She immediately bailed out of the boat. Luckily we were near shore and she swam for it. Good luck and post pics if you can. |
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Jaywalker |
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ducks |
If your dog is that afraid of getting it's feet wet and won't get in/out of the canoe on it's own it could make for some time consuming and frustrating portages. |
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KPow |
Echo sounds like my black lab. Loves to stand in the water, but not so much on swimming unless it's to retrieve a bobber while we're trying to fish.. |
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TomT |
At 3 years old she finally starting swimming. For nice quality dog coats check out this company. I really like the 2 coats I bought with them. D fa Dogs Here's Luna in Quetico. |
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wharrier |
I'd read your "1st trip" post and found some useful information there. Hadn't thought about a life jacket before that, but will definitely get one. He's fallen off of docks a couple times and always has this horribly panicked look on his face. Luna's a good looking dog. I got mine as a rescue and love the border collie. Will probably look for a merle next time. |
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nofish |
You may find that there will be portage landings that you'll have to lift the dog in or out and others you can let the dog jump. My biggest concern would be that the dog may jump but end up still landing in the water to some extent. If the dog really hates water and that happens it may build the connection between canoe and water and then develop an aversion to the canoe as well. You want to avoid that while in the BWCA. I'd advise a reasonable amount of practice and training ahead of a BWCA trip. A little bit of conditioning the dog to the water may help. You may never get the dog to love water but if you can get the dog ok with at least getting its legs wet that will make your life a lot easier. |