Taking your dog canoeing is an amazing way to share some quality time together as well as seeing the world bait through their eyes and brooding their experiences.
There’s a couple of key tips to making sure your dog is both comfortable and safe on the water
A dog buoyancy aid
It may seem a simple thing but adding some extra floatation is just as important for your dog as it is you especially if the water is moving or choppy, It’s important that your dog buoyancy aid has a strong handle stitched into the back so that you can easily lift them out of the water, there are alot on the market that are made from weak materials or have a shark fin sown on instead, these are a waste of time. Another key feature is have some pockets sown into the buoyancy aid for storage of poo bags or other litter, we use the ones on Katie’s BA for carrying little bits of litter we find around the lunch points and for keeping a small bag of treats in for her.
We recommend the Ezy dog range for durability, build quality and functionality
A bed/pad
The bottom of a canoe can be a wet, cold place for your dog to be. If you want your dog to be comfortable and enjoy the experience especially if its a longer trip then consider a insulating waterproof matt such as available from Decathlon.
Fresh water
It may seem logical that your surrounded by water so you don’t need to bring water for your pet as they can just drink from the water right? Well yes in some places but its better to have some fresh water to avoid pollution and an easy drink solution like this bottle from Ezy dog
Don’t tie your dog in
Dogs can go a little crazy for the first 10 minutes of their paddling experience, I mean its exciting right? Ducks everywhere the thing wobbles when you run around and … WATER!!! So the temptation could be to tie their lead onto the canoe and its important not to do this incase of capsize.
Footwear
If using an inflatable canoe or paddleboard its worth worth considering some protective foot wear for the boat as dogs can grip tightly with their claws while paddling which in tern rips apart the soft decks on paddle boards and in the worst case can puncture an inflatable which would be awkward if along way from the end point.
All in all its great fun to take your dog canoeing with you and dog forget you can use the Wild Otter app to find launch points, paddling routes and wild swim locations too! Available on the app and play stores.
Download Wild Otter to get exploring the great outdoors
