Canoeing

Our family is going canoeing (sp?) with the scouts this weekend and it suddenly occured to me that I have no idea what to do with the dogs!!

I might end up boarding them, but I am considering bringing them along. I just have NO IDEA how they will react in a canoe, and if we bring them then we can't all fit in one canoe! (I like being in my husband's canoe, because he is strong and good at canoeing.)

Or, I could bring them and leave them in camp and either stay with them or have one of the other dog mommies stay with them. (Several people bring dogs - some canoe and some stay in camp.) Nala is quite a handful, though. I could crate them, but I have never crated them outdoors like that and I don't know how they would react. Maybe I could use a tie out if there was enough room that they wouldn't get tangled on stuff?

If I do bring them in the canoe, should they be wearing life vests? My husband says no, because in a canoeing situation the vests could get caught very easily on something and hold them under. He says since it is a short swim to shore - not like the middle of a lake or anything - they are better off without vests.

Does anyone have any experiene with this? What else should I be thinking of making sure I have along?

Any tips for getting them to behave in a canoe??


Jamiya

 

Also, what should I have on hand to keep Nala from overheating and what emergency measures in case she does? Does Bonnie need sunscreen? Her nose is black. Is the nose all you have to worry about with sunburn and dogs?


Jamiya

 

Oh I wanna go!!!!

I think bringing the dogs is a great idea! If the "river" or whatever your canoeing in is pretty small, I'd say no to the life vests. he's right, they could snag. But if its going to be a pretty good size water area and swim, I'd say yes.

Do they handle well with being on a run? or tied?? That could be a good way to leave them at camp. I put harnesses on my dogs and put them on a run when we go out somewhere.

As far as overheating. Make sure they get plenty of water, don't let them play too hard in the heat of the day, and I don't think they'll need sunscreen. If they were pink yes, but black, no.

 

What do you mean by "on a run"?

I would love to take them. I REALLY need to get my lazy butt in gear and work more with these dogs so it is easier to take them places!! That was a big reason we got Nala in the first place - to take on trips. With two it is even harder, which was a big consideration when we got Bonnie.

Nala is just so wild - I don't know who else could control her. Bonnie seems to like water so I think she would be fine if we could get her to stay in the canoe (I'm sure she will be scared of the silly-looking canoe and the sounds her feet make on the metal floor). Nala is scared to go in deep water or be hosed down - not sure what she would do in a canoe.

Too bad I didn't think of it earlier - I would have found someone with a canoe to try it locally first to see if it is feasible.

Last year's trip SUCKED - it was before we got Nala so dogs were not an issue. But the place we went the water level was REALLY low and we ended up carrying the canoe a LOT. It was really, really not good.

Maybe I should condition them to the dog whistle really fast today and tomorrow, using incredibly outstanding treats. Then if my husband decides to let Nala off-leash (he does that) I can be more confident that we will be able to get her back.

We have learned (the hard way) that Bonnie is not ready to be off-leash yet. Inside, she is velcro dog. Outside, she is deaf dog.


Jamiya

 

I've learn from past outings, take some Benadryl in case of bee/wasp/ant bites and stings. My dogs alway tried to catch bees in their mouths and their tongues would swell. Also a pair or tweezers come in handy because dogs always seem to get a thorn or something in their feet.

 

They have a cable that runs between two trees (really easy to set up.) and two cable leads that connect to a dogs harness. They can run back and forth for how ever distance you would like them too with out getting a leash all tangled up. Usually you put the run cable about 20' apart and 6' in the air. The only problem I've ever had with them, is if you have two dogs on it, they allways get the leads entagled.The wistle would be great. Also I wouldn't let them completely off leash. Maybe let them drag it. I don't think I would take them out in the canoe. I think it would be better to let them float around in it around the bank. That way you can tell how they are going to react. If their scared and jump out, they don't have far to go, and You can stop at any time.

 

I have never seen this campground so I have no idea what it is like. I'll talk to my husband about the run. I have heard of dogs hanging themselves with those things, but with a harness on and someone in the camp to supervise they'd probably be okay.

I wonder if they would bark. So hard to know what a dog will do in a new situation.


Jamiya

 

if you can leave them at camp I would, we go boating with Jake and wylie and theyare big pains in the butts. Jake loves the water so much he is trying to jump in constantly, so know we have tie downs. wylie wasnt comfortalbe with water for a long time but know she loves it.

If they have never been to a lake and swimming, I would not put them in a canoe that can tip very easily. with Wylie it took her 3/4 week-end lake trips before she learned how to swim, she loves the water but I think freak in a canoe because they are wobbly.

I would definitely bring them so they can a\get adjusted to these types of trips. as for sunscreen jake and wylie are in our 100# sun and they are fine. Wylie likes to play too much in it, so I will put a stop to it and hose her down.

and they may be most comfy in their crates

honeybear

 

If I do crate them - then in the shade with water bowls inside....anything else?

Someone last year had a little dog that went in the canoe. It was cute as a button and just sat there. I think it was a pup. My dogs are rarely "cute as a button" unless they are asleep.


Jamiya

 

We take Cameron out on our paddle boat with us sometimes. If she's totally tired out, it's ok, but otherwise, it is more of a hassel. She barks at other dogs she sees on the shore, and at ducks, and birds, and pretty much any small movement she sees in the water, including ripples So it's usually easier to just leave her in the fence when we go. I can empathize when you say you wish it was easier to take Nala places-- I wish Cameron would just "go with the flow" better in terms of not barking at everything and getting all riled up all the time, but I guess, as we discussed in the forum about Cameron's not coming when called, they are just more high strung dogs and what can you do except try to train them the best we can and hope they grow out of it one day? :roll:

 

lets see, when we go camping it takes me an hour just to pack for wylie and jake, dog beds, ropes to tie them up in camp, extra towel to clean them, food and water bowls. toys, food, water


honeybear

 

I took Luna canoeing on my last camping trip. I took her hiking and swimming first so she'd be tired. I sat in the front of the canoe and she sat between my legs. She kept want to look around a lot and it made the canoe wobble so it was a bit scary. I pretty much held her in place with my knees. We had two kids in the boat with us and the water was really chilly so we made sure we stayed really close to shore just in case. It was fine for a while but then the wind picked up so we dropped the kids and pup off on shore for a bit.
Maybe you can take the dogs out in the canoe for short periods of time to see how they do. Good luck and have fun!

 

I took my old dog Sentry kayaking on class 1 and 2 (which is like flat water with some ripples)she never wore a life jacket but I had other friends (I was a white water rafting guide) who did take their dogs down on the rafts wearing lifevests. I wouldn'T worry so much about the snagging, but if you are going on lower class rapids, probably not that big of a deal, but I think class 3 and above it is a better idea. for humans we always said you must wear a life jacket in all rapids only during flat water can you take it off and anything above class 3 wear a helmet also. when sentry rode with me on the kayak she would always counterbalance me, so it was almost impossible fr me to flip! It was hilarious, because it was when I was trying to learn how to roll!! which river are you going on i might be able to give some advice. Have fun for me!

 

I'm sure this is only class 1 - it's a family scout trip and they aren't requiring any sort of expertise. It's an 8-mile float, so once the dogs are with us, we are stuck with them! Usually we are driven upstream and then canoe back to the camp.

Do you actually tie Jake in the canoe, honeybears? Isn't that dangerous if the canoe tips?


Jamiya

 

LOL, Jake would have us tipped over in seconds in a canoe
honeybear