"Dog Paddlin'"—An essay on canine-ical canoeing by Marc Ornstein

[Glenn MacGrady]

Some good tips on how to train and paddle with a canoe dog in this essay:

Dog Paddlin'

The title is also a self-referential pun. Marc's business name is Dogpaddle Canoe and Woodworks.

 

[ppine]

I have paddled with dogs for many decades. Herding dogs are pretty easy to train. Make sure they can swim first. I put them in an empty canoe on shore first and get them to calm down and lie down. It helps to run them first. Then I put them in a canoe in shallow water by themselves. Then they can feel the boat move when they move. Then we start paddling. At first near shore in warm weather. I took my BC Ruby Begonia down the Willamette River in Oregon for a week when she was 6 months old with no issues.

I had a rescue BC that was a year old and not experienced. She was afraid to swim. We left her on shore and paddled away slowly with the whole family, Mom, Dad and 2 other dogs. She finally swam after us and was a good swimmer after that.

I always use a life jacket on my dogs, especially in aerated water. Once in awhile a dog will be antsy and full of energy. I have put dogs on shore before and let them run along the bank until they settle down.

I really like boat dogs.

 

[Alan Gage]

I've been fortunate with the two dogs I've had since I took up canoeing. Neither required any special training. Just get in the canoe and go.

The first was a springer spaniel that was easy going and liked the water. I still have a funny memory of him jumping into my Bell Magic for the first time. The boat was empty and it was floating in shallow water. He overcorrected for every little movement of the empty boat with a look of panic on his face as it quickly rocked back and forth more and more. But he got it under control after a few seconds and was rock solid for his remaining years. His only downside was being on the chunky side and when he would lean against one of the gunwales I had to shift the other way to counteract him.

Sadie took to it immediately as well. She was a year old when I adopted her and I chose a dog her body shape and size with canoeing in mind. When I picked her up we stopped by a small pond where we could relax and get to know each other before the long drive home. She wanted nothing to do with the water and jumped back any time a small wave broke on shore. This had me a bit worried but the next day I put her in front of my canoe and she took to it like a duck to water and we had many years and thousands of happy paddling miles.

Here she is on that first day in the canoe:

https://flic.kr/p/8hSTbm

In the last few years I haven't paddled much and as Sadie has aged (currently 16) she's liked getting in the canoe less and less and would rather walk on nice trails. She'll still get in and go for a paddle but I can tell she isn't as relaxed anymore and is happy to get out. Maybe it's just because it's not the normal thing for us to do anymore. She does like routine.

Alan

 

[Punkinhead]

I've had four dogs - one found abandoned in a campground and 3 from the humane society. All four would happily hop in a canoe and, despite their 50-60 lbs, didn't upset the balance. The bummer is that my current dog barks or whines the entire time. She knows the "quiet" command but the only place it doesn't work is in a canoe. I can't tell if she's overly excited or has anxiety. I've tried long walks and sessions of tossing a stick in the water for her to retrieve, hoping to wear her out before launching but nothing stops the whining. I've tried frequent stops to let her get out and explore an island and swim and she eagerly hops back in the canoe when it's time to move on but then she starts whining again. If it's just excitement I'd keep bringing her along but I'm concerned it's anxiety. Besides worrying that she's anxious I also don't want her whining to break the silence of the river, especially when I'm paddling with friends. It's a bummer to have to leave her home.

 

[Alan Gage]

I can't tell if she's overly excited or has anxiety.

I'm not quite sure if you can glean any applicable info from this or if it even applies but the springer spaniel I used to have would do that in the boat when out fishing. He was constantly restless and would whine. Absolutely drove me nuts. I'd never had a dog that didn't like being in the boat before. Like you I was unsure if it was anxiety, boredom, or what that was causing it.

Finally, one evening, I found a big school of white bass and tried my best to get him excited each time I caught one. The action was quick and it didn't take him long to start getting excited every time I said "fish on!"

That night did the trick. After that he knew there was a purpose to being in the boat and he never whined about it again, even if we weren't catching fish. He would attentively watch me fish and if the action was slow he'd take a nap.

It was a few years later that I got into canoeing and even though we often weren't fishing when in the canoe he showed no anxiety or restlessness. He was very interested in the wildlife we saw from the canoe. He loved it when I'd try to paddle down a mother wood duck that was acting lame or summer evenings when the carp started coming to the surface and we'd bump them with the boat and they'd splash.

Thankfully, even if there weren't distractions like fishing or wildlife viewing, he was content to being in the canoe. I think he knew it was a place where good things can happen if he was just patient.

Alan

 

[gumpus]

One of the many things I like about paddling with a dog is that you see more stuff since their senses pick up things that you would have missed.

Latest recruit still learning as evidenced by picture showing deer on the shore watching oblivious dog. Other pic shows her learning that sometimes we pull up to a log and just take a break but don't get out. She had reached out and gently touched the log with her foot so I said "no" and she said "oh, OK". Cool how they readily accept boat rules as part of the deal.

Black lab was the only dog allowed in the Great Lakes paddlers club. She would lay down on her own as we approached a drop or anywhere where she thought I might tell her to lay down. If you wanted to play freestyle she'd just lay in the chine. My SRT was too deep for her to see out of when laying down so she'd start a play fight with me and roll over and bark so anyone nearby would hearing barking and see 4 black feet going up and down.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Latest recruit still learning as evidenced by picture showing deer on the shore watching oblivious dog.

I don't see deer but I do see a lovely rib/plank canoe. Is that a Tom MacKenzie build?