What is the ideal canoe dog for a solo canoeist?

[Mike McCrea]

Glenn, an unanswerable question. Beyond size and weight there is nature and nurture. You can assist the latter with training, but the former can be a crapshoot with any breed.

A longtime friend had a series of Golden Retrievers, all males son-of-son-of-son from his extended family’s Goldens. All were typical goofy friendly Goldens, except Brugal. Brugal, raised and trained the same way, from the same lineage, was mean, the only snappy and untrustworthy Golden I have ever met.

Our dogs were always mix breeds or mutts; too many pure breeds have been ruined by breeders. Golden retrievers had the brains bred out of them after Gerald Ford had a couple in the White House. Suddenly every suburban cul de sac family had a dumb arse golden. Lassie ruined Collies, bred for a long nose, not smarts.

The best of our dogs was a Rhodesian Ridgeback/black lab mutt. Smart, trainable, people friendly*, Shane’s single flaw was that he did not like other dogs.

*When our sons were babies I noticed an odd Shane behavior. If we had friends over, even friends Shane knew, he would habitually position himself between them and the baby. Not growling, not menacing, just watching.

Aside from a true working dog/hunting dog, bred by a known reputable breeder, I would not want any “pure bred” dog. Just look what happens with Royal families.

 

[Waterdog]

I wouldn't say you can go by the breed exactly, but whether it's pure bred or mixed, but if the puppy projects this level of joy you may just have it made in the shade!

Cardigan Welsh Corgi: Compact, smart, friendly, member of the working breeds, great companion...

I have a chessie and my previous canoe pal was also a chessie with a "gazillion" miles of backcountry tripping. I don't necessarily recommend chessies, they are stubborn as pine pitch, tougher than a pine knot, and relatively big. Like Bob B. and others mentioned a dog that eats 20# or more every 10 days presents challenges all in itself. I also think they lack in self preservation tendencies so you need to keep an eye on them for their own good. I have a chessie because I spend a lot of time in the cold, either backpacking and cold tenting or canoe tripping at ice out or dead of winter. Plus, their unique temperament suits me.

But the ideal dog smiles like a corgi, eats like a beagle, swims like a retriever, and is affectionate like a Labrador retriever. The training part is pretty easy, just make sure they are tired first before jumping in the boat. Once they are 3-4 years old and have some boat time I think they will settle in nicely. The dog wants to be with you so if you stick with it you will come to terms with each other most of the time. A Nova Scotia Duck Toller would be a good candidate as a week or more tripping companion. If I can find one while my current chessie is still active enough to be a good mentor I may try to get one through a rescue some day.

A blue foam pad in the bottom and he is happy

Gold! life sucks when i forget the pad!

Cheers,
Barry

 

[RickR]

Very little prey drive

I agree this is important. Our Brittany, Libby, checks all the boxes except for this one. At 30 pounds she's a nice size for what we like to do. She fits nicely in the house, truck, canoe and tent. She's intelligent and very well trained. She loves to swim. But when outside she's simply incapable of not hunting, particularly when on new ground. When we canoe, whether for a day or a trip, she's a supervision project. She'll go wherever her nose sends her. We live with it because it doesn't seem fair or realistic to try to train her contrary to her breeding.

 

[alsg]

My airedale terrier, Berkeley, aka the Very Good Boy, is a great canoe dog He hates getting his feet wet but hates being left behind even more. He didn't come out with me this year, but I enjoy his company in the canoe, around camp and in the tent. Only drawback is he seemed to like McCrea, which makes me question Berk's judgment.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

You described sadie.

Great. What is she?

(Alan lists a gazillion ideal qualities.)

I'll get one! But . . .

She's a rescue so what breed, if any, I don't know.

I know you've posted pictures of Sadie in the past, Alan, but could you post a couple in this thread for future readers.

 

[Rubbaboo]

Im with Ppine, Border Collies. SMART. Big enough and definitely agile enough to handle tough terrain. Small enough to fit in, around and on top of packs in boats and in corners of tents. Tough as nails, weather and bugs not a problem. Protective, make good bear alarms. And the one attribute I really think makes them the best canoe dog is they really don’t love the water, they’d rather stay dry, they will go in to chase a stick and will swim to save their lives but that’s about all they’ll do. Nothing worse than a dog that runs into the water 10 minutes before tent time.

Not a fan of field bred hunting dogs as canoe pals, theyre way to spastic and love the water too much and like others have said the prey drive can be super annoying and border line dangerous. My springer is anything but a good canoe dog, but come fall….

 

[yellowcanoe]

I had a border collie two decades ago.. That dog would get into anything and try to bring it home. I was not happy to find Jake trying to herd a skunk. I find that my Buddys prey drive is an asset. He does have a bit of a brain not to go after a large animal like a moose ( we have the occasional one here at home) but clears the campsite of the pests that plague all of us.. rodents. Squirrels have no chance.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Im with Ppine, Border Collies.

My springer is anything but a good canoe dog

Rubbaboo, what breeds are the three pictures you posted?

 

[Gamma1214]

Personally, I like hot dogs. They come in packs of 10 and are delicious on the fire! (note: other dogs may be able to claim the second half of that but I have no firsthand knowledge of, nor any desire to test, such a claim)

 

[Rubbaboo]

The first two is a Border, she grew up in tree planting and other silviculture camps so bush life was second nature. Smart was an understatement for her, but she demanded a lot of stimulation/exercise in the off seasons. Wasn’t a problem pre-kids. That’s about the only down fall of the BC is they need to be run down hard every day. There is no off switch, especially for the first 15 years . If you’re super active, it’s not a problem. She figured out canoeing pretty quickly.

The red headed gal is a field bred English Springer from field trial lineage. Love her to death, but not in a canoe. She goes, but needs reminded of her canoe manners constantly. She pays her way in the canoeing off season chasing roosters.

 

[Mike McCrea]

I enjoyed meeting ALSG’s Berkeley, despite his affectionate attempt to de-pants me.

In my younger days I worked for a vet, a breeder/boarder kennel and for the Maryland SPCA. In those years of canine exposure I came to the opinion that medium-to-large coarse haired/wire haired dogs are some of the best and brightest.

 

[Black_Fly]

Here’s my boy. He’s a cattle dog, very prone to squirming and barking at wildlife. Takes up a lot of room too. On the bright side, he’s trained to lie down in windy conditions. I’d suggest a smaller and/or more sedate breed. Spring litter really helps train safely. Good luck and let us know if you get a pup.

 

[ppine]

Nearly any breed can be trained to be a good boat dog. Take them everywhere. Get them tired so they listen. Retrievers are the one group that makes me nervous in an open boat. They love the water, but you never know when they might jump over the side.

Life jackets are important for dogs in aerated water. My first Border Collie was a fearless swimmer. She would swim in the ocean, swim rapids for fun and would head for islands a quarter of a mile away. Boat dogs need to be able to swim pretty well incase they come out of the boat.

I like herding dogs, BCs, Aussies, Heelers, because they stick around and don't chase the wildlife too much. They protect camp and are not overwhelmed by hunting instincts. My dog or dogs go with me on every boat trip. People are optional.

 

[yellowcanoe]

love the people are optional! But my Border Collie got very arthritic and canoe trips with their dampness in our area were a problem The dog would go along but one rainy Moose River trip told me it was time to let the dog stay home with friends. The poor dog shivered and was soaking wet in spite of a raincoat.

But if we are tripping with dogs, where do you put a wet dog at night?

 

[Alan Gage]

I know you've posted pictures of Sadie in the past, Alan, but could you post a couple in this thread for future readers.

Some canoe pictures Sadie.

https://flic.kr/p/y6Qqnt

https://flic.kr/p/MQN5Uq

https://flic.kr/p/LuehLT

https://flic.kr/p/d2JuWy

I've talked to some people who know Brittany Spaniels well and they say she likely is one. I saw her twin one time and it was supposedly a Brtittany.

Alan

 

[scratchypants]

Seems to be a bit of a correlation between canoeists and bird hunters.

 

[Alan Gage]

I have a friend who is an excellent vet that specializes in hunting dogs and his all time favorite is field bred english cocker spaniels. Field bred and English being the key words.

I've done a little research on them and their physical characteristics vary greatly since it apparently doesn't really factor into the selective breeding process at all. Overall they're supposed to be intelligent, eager to please, friendly, and not spastic. I've seen a couple pictures of field bred english cocker spaniels that looked very much like Sadie.

Whether Sadie really is an english cocker or not I'm always surprised how closely she mirrors their traits. Very friendly, personality, active but not hyperactive, learns quickly, eager to please, does not do well with negative reinforcement (locks up when yelled at), and adores children.

Here's one I found that looks very similar to Sadie:


I don't hunt but Sadie has plenty of natural ability and she exercises it. Being a pointer she doesn't generally run off chasing whatever she smells. She'll get somewhat close and then stare at it until I get close. Sometimes she'll rush in and flush pheasants on her own but often she waits until I get close and tell her it's ok. If I tell her it's not ok she'll leave anything alone and break off in mid-chase if she's hot on a rabbit (or bear).

I hadn't thought of it earlier but this might be an excellent choice for you, Glenn.

English Cocker Spaniel: Breed Profile - Gun Dog

The English cocker spaniel is not a specialists but will happily hunt whatever upland game you want to hunt.Anyone who has ever watched a dog show knows the American

www.gundogmag.com

Alan

 

[ppine]

A wet dog needs to shake for awhile and go in the tent and get warm.
We see a lot of Brittany spaniels around because chukkar hunting is popular. They are nice dogs, but I have seen them relentlessly chase wildlife like fox and deer fawns.

 

[Robin]

I had a couple of small female black labs back to back who were great canoe dogs. The last 3 labs have been males but I never really tried to put them in canoes, they all became very attached to my wife and vice versa, she enjoys their company when I'm gone.

 

[Bob B.]

One of the things I love about tripping with Jake is not only does he not smell like wet dog as he dries so fast, but a Vizsla is often called a Velcro dog - they just want to be with you, and on you is always better for them. So in camp we just hang out over a coffee a lot.

But he does give ample warning when there is a bear around. One time in the BWCA we had a bear sneaking around camp in the day time. Jake alerted and began to chase the bear away. Luckily for me he has very good call back and once I yelled, he immediately came back to me. Here he is guarding the tent just after the Bear incident.

He loves to find portages with me, and once given the "are you ready" signal, he scouts out the next portage ....

However he does not enter or exit the canoe unless given the command to do so. Jake is also a merciless mouse/red squirrel assassin. He can go from zero to Mach 8 quick as a hiccup and will not tolerate vermin in camp, but does not chase larger prey animals ... turtles still unnerve him however. Here he is waiting for the red squirrel to come back.

He really enjoys playing tug of war and fetch with one of my old gloves, it is fun for both of us.



As Yellow Canoe mentioned many posts ago, a pad for the dog is a must. Dry and comfy in the canoe, but also as a place to relax out of the canoe, and I can tell Jake to go to him mat when I want him to be in a certain place.



Jake is a big dog for a Vizsla, most males are like 45 pounds give or take. Jake is 63. Vizslas love to be with their person, are very loyal and ALWAYS want to be near - on you. What ever you are doing, they are into it. When I load wood at home, Jake picks up sticks and carries them around. They do not smell like wet dog, do not eat a lot - even the big ones. They have a way of convening dog joy that just makes ya feel good. So if you are active, socialize and train your dog early and often, can make accommodations for cold and bugs they are darn near a perfect canoe tripping partner, and your best friend. I guess all dogs can be great and if trained proper can be excellent companions and canoe dogs. For me, Jake is the best dog out there.

Bob.