First day out with the Dog! NEED advice on dog ramp

[Lester]

We just took the dog out for the first time on the new 242 LS. I assumed I should get to know what the heck I was doing before doing that. Anyway, as you can see from the attached video, she had a great day even for an 8 year old dog. However, I do think we will need a better way for her to get back into the boat. Who has any recommendations? Does anyone have a Load-a-pup dog step and can give any feedback on that?

 

[Boat Crazy]

Our dog is a lot smaller. Not sure how much your dog weighs. Do you have a Doggy life jacket with a handle? You definitely need to find a solution. The dog seemed to love the water and having a great time.

 

[Lester]

She is 47 lbs and is a Standard Poodle but is small for her breed. I have the doggie life vest on order c/o our friends at Amazon.

 

[Lester]

Ok folks, are there no dog lovers out there??

 

[Dough]

Mel had one type. @txav8r

 

[Julian]

Our labradoodle wasn't keen on the water....we took her out with a doggie life jacket we borrowed from a neighbor....made it easier to lift her in....she weighs ~50lbs.

 

[Rigger]

Well, we're in the same boat (haha). We've been looking at these ---> http://pupgearcorporation.com/products/doggydocks - the folding one. We've got Samoyeds, our 8 month old boy Luka is 52 lbs and still growing, and our 12 week old girl Katya is 11 pounds. Fully grown he should top out at probably 60lbs and she should be 40lbs or so. Reviews are hard to find though...

 

[txav8r]

Sorry Lester, I must have been busy with modding the new boat! We have a load-a-pup. Chester wasn't smart enough to figure it out himself, and apparently we weren't smart enough to teach him to use it. We could set him on it and he might get up on the swim deck...but it was still a manual operation. And we anchor out off the shore in deep water, so he is swimming when he wants to board. We keep the doggie vest on him and lift him in and out. I don't use the load-a-pup and have had it for a few years. I have offered to sell it a few times but never a taker. If you are interested in it, let me know. I would be happy to discuss using it or how we work with Chester on the boat. He is a big part of our boating. He is a 75 pound boxer. He has a papasan to float on, and a vest, and we have tried noodle contraptions as well. He just wants to be with us.

 

[Papa]

We use a vest on our Lab and use the handle to lift him back on. He is about 70lbs and my wife can lift him enough to get his feet on board. We anchor off shore in deeper water also and he loves it. Used a water bottle about half full and threw it to get him used to the life vest. Now he just jumps in onhis own. Not sure about the other types of things they sell to board a dog. Most look to bulky and big to keep on the boat.
Papa

 

[cozilla]

@txav8r I am still interested in the load-a-pup if you still have it.

@Lester here is a thread I started a few weeks back with the same question https://jetboaters.net/threads/dog-ladder.1408/

 

[txav8r]

I am sorry @cozilla , it is spoken for now.

 

[Glassman]

We've gone a long time without anything special to help our guy Bogey get on board, he'd just jump up and pull himself on board. But he's 13 now and his old legs just don't have it anymore. I usually pull the boat in close to shore so he can climb on. We'll see how well he does this next trip. I may be shopping or building something.

I did have a wild thought about modifying the swim platform so that there would be a pull-out ramp for him to climb on. Either that or make a board that clips on to the ladder when extended and fashion some sort of support leg underneath to prop it up on an angle. I'll have to design that and see if it would work.