Introducing a puppy/dog to boating

[RightStuff]

Ok, so we have a new puppy in the family and I'm thinking ahead to next spring when we want to go boating and want to bring the pup with us (pic of him below). He's currently 16 wks old so that will make him about 9 mo. old in the spring when we'll get back on the water again.

Does anyone have any tips/suggestions from experience to get this guy into boating with us? Obviously the normal obedience is being worked on (sit/stay/come/etc), so I'm looking more for boating specific tips.

 

[Helipilot11]

@RightStuff Is he a Lab mixed with a Weimaraner? My male dog is a lab/weimaraner mix and is the best dog ever.

 

[RightStuff]

@RightStuff Is he a Lab mixed with a Weimaraner? My male dog is a lab/weimaraner mix and is the best dog ever.

That's amazing how close they look since mine is not the same breed... He's a German Shorthaired Pointer and since he's all liver in color it throws a lot of people off and they think he's a chocolate Lab.

 

[txav8r]

Absolutely socialize him. Get him to classes, to home depot, to petsmart, anywhere you can take him. Get him used to the car/truck/plane/elevators/escalators...everything. A big recommendation is to use a dremel with a drum wheel to do his nails, and do them twice a week whether they need it or not until he is totally used to it. This all is in addition to 15 trips to potty per day! Get him used to going potty when you tell him! We trained Chester to potty on the swim deck on command. He holds it now, but when he starts pacing, he is banished to the swim deck to potty before he comes back into the main boat cabin! Being on the boat or in a vehicle isn't much different. Bouncing will be different and a little more noise, but very similar if they are used to going with you. Take treats and make them "place" where you want them. If you don't want them on the seats, don't let them in ANY furniture...ever! We spoiled Chester but that is a different story and we are perfectly content with him getting in the seats. But you can't have it ok there and not ok here. The hardest part is getting used to letting them in and out of the water. We will take about phase two next year! Congrats on the pup and LMAO...hang in there! They are truly great, but getting past the puppy stage is tough! So good luck!

 

[Evildwarf]

Handsome puppy!
He looks so serious.
The key to dog comfort and good behavior is for the dog to understand what is expected. Dogs are comfortable with what they know and when they understand their role in the "pack".
Familiarity is important. Get the puppy on the boat as often as you can and make it a comfortable, familiar experience.
A boat toy and blanket, life preserver (dog life jacket - don't laugh could be important) water/food dish are all items the pooch can be familiar with that he sees only on the boat.
We have a small dog who loves boating and these are things that worked for us and him.
Bathrooming is an important piece of the pie, our pup understands that he better shake the bush when we get to the dock. He has one area near the dock that he goes every boating trip, dogs are huge on routine.
Enjoy your dog enjoying the boat, especially if he is a swimmer!

 

[Julian]

What @Evildwarf said....get the dog on there EARLY! Also, get the dog water in general as much as you can. You want them comfortable with water. We failed to get our dog in the water early and she's afraid of it. Next dog we won't make that mistake.

 

[RightStuff]

Handsome puppy!
He looks so serious.

Puppy business is serious business I guess.

Good tips from everyone, this isn't our first dog, but will be our first 'boat dog', so it's good to hear all of this. Keep the tips coming!

 

[Seadeals]

If you introduce him to the lake without the boat, you can learn how he will behave around water before complicating the situation with the boat. Our golden has always LOVED the water. She gets very hyper around it and would just keep swimming until drowning. With our old boat, she would hang off the side and bite at the wake spray. When anchored, she would also jump off the boat, swim around then climb up the swim ladder then jump right off again...over and over. Since she loved it with such enthusiasm keeping a life jacket on her was a must for her own safety and to help pull her out of the water using the handle on top. We also used a leash (in hand not to boat) while inside the boat as a backup to obedience, which restricted her movement some if she made a break for it. It also helped minimize erratic movements on the seats, which could destroy the vinyl. On that note, good (frequent) nail care is also important.

 

[Troy]

I'm really glad someone wrote this post. We just got a new puppy and I would love for him to be a boat dog. I'm gonna start using everyone tips.

 

[txav8r]

It is a good idea exposing them to the lake first. But now is very different than in the summer. Lots of people and activity in the summer. Now it is colder and no activity. You would be miles ahead to look at water as a secondary experience and look at socialization, exercise, discipline, and affection as your challenge. @PEARCE had a new pup, Jessie, that was a water dog from the word go. But Jessie had a strong will, Alfa dog, personality. That won't work in a family and any dog has to know who the boss is. And the boss is you, your wife, even your 8 year old daughter is the boss! Otherwise, problems occur. Any dog is going to get excited. What it takes to manage that without them hitting the red zone is key. A puppy is an opportunity to set the stage from now on. If they know your top dog and they are socialized well, you can introduce them to anything, and I mean anything, because they look to you for both assurance and protection, outside of instinct. They are pack animals, but they also live in our families and the lines get blurry. That blurring sometimes causes problems, but overall, a good basis and socialization will allow you to do most anything.

 

[HawkTX]

Great looking dogs! Your pup reminds me of my Jagger! He's a Chesapeake Bay Retriever.

 

[Troy]

Got the Dremmel out and started working the nails. So far so good. He didn't like it, but he tolerated well.

 

[RightStuff]

We had our first trips out with the pup this last weekend, so I thought I would round this post out with some observations/tips.

First off, he did really good behaving on the boat overall. Here's a few things that we noticed that might help anyone else...

• We didn't do much introduction to water beforehand, but he had been in the water a small bit before. I wish we had done more of this, but ran out of time and the water was too cold. This ended up working just fine for us, but YMMV depending on the dog.
• While I had the boat in the garage this spring to work on the new stereo he was in/out of the boat a lot so he got a good handle being around the boat. I think doing this really helped.
• At the launch he was the last out of the truck/kennel, and first off when we pulled the boat/trailer out.
• Bring a leash (seems obvious). We used this and tied it to the handle in the middle of the boat for when we were underway. We didn't need a dog jumping off at 30 mph. I think for future trips we are going to come up with a quicker way to attach to leash, and have it be a little longer. We used a 6' lead, but 1-2' longer would have given him just a bit more to get all the way up to the bow, etc.
• We worked on getting him to shake the water off on the swim platform, doing it in the boat makes for a pretty wet boat.
• Towels, you will need more than usual (see above!)
• Bring toys. We played fetch off the back when we were anchored at a shallow beach-y spot.
• It is more work to bring the dog along, but not as much as I thought (since he is still a puppy). He was pretty good just hanging out in the boat by himself if everyone was in the water out back, or on boats tied up next to ours.

Here's his first voyage, guess he likes the wind in his hair (or ears) as well.


And he's grown a bit more since that first picture!

 

[HawkTX]

Great looking dogs!

 

[txav8r]

I think our experiences with Chester were very similar to yours @RightStuff . He loves the wind blowing by his ears too! lol When we first get to the boat ramp, he of course is excited. So much so, that we have to make sure we aren't, so that he is calm. But even so, when I put him in the boat, all 70 pounds of him, he is all over the place. I do so from the ground into the boat on the trailer, so he is up on the seats and waiting eagerly for me to get in. I too attach him to the window support once I am in the boat, but the longer lead just had him up in the seats and going side to side waiting. So I shorten the lead to keep him on the floor and center boat. Once we are away from the ramp area and underway, I lengthen the lead. After 10 minutes or so, he is calmed down and has his water legs back, so he isn't restricted to the lead. He has never offered to jump from the boat, so I don't worry too much about that, but he is a boxer, and not a water dog like labs and retrievers. I think a little rope running across the seat backs with suction cups to hold it, would prevent them from reentering the boat when you don't want them to, restricting them to the swim deck...just an idea. Because chester goes #1 on the swim deck for us since he was a pup. But his ritual is to run around anxiously until we tell him to go, it would be easier to just tell him to go potty and open the rope across the back like a door, and close it behind him. Then he could take his time intend of daddy prompting him to go potty!

One thing that I have noticed that is a big issue I think is jumping from the swim platform. They don't know the depth, and they get used to jumping in like the water is deep and then it is only inches. I worry they could break a leg easily. So if you can keep from having them jump, I think you might be better off in the long run. That may not be an issue where they can see the bottom but many of our lakes are not that clear, and I see chester pacing, unsure of how he should get off the boat. I have seen him hit hard too, and scared the crap out of me! Anyway, dogs on a boat...there is no other way!

 

[skbishop90]

Get them used to the water at an early age. The earlier the better. Ive had my dog, Tux, with me on everything since he was weeks old. He rides four wheelers, RZR, jet skis, tubes behind the boat, climbs the ladder by himself and everything. He is comfortable being as human as we are.

 

[skbishop90]

Dont let them drive, though. Theyre like a teenager getting their license. Theyll never NOT want to drive haha.

 

[RightStuff]

Damn, didn't think about that, I'll make note of that for sure...

Also one other thing I forgot to add was around seagulls sitting/flying around when we were out. Being a bird dog he was a little too interested in them, so the first one he saw sitting on a buoy he tried to go after. Luckily we had the leash on him, but man I'm sure glad the mid-ship handle is reinforced and that I was right there to catch him before he tugged as hard as he could. Might have lost the handle with that one. So keep that in mind as well with dogs and the boat...

 

[Seadeals]

It was nice to reintroduce our dog Emmy to the boat and have her spend the day with us. A bit bittersweet as our golden retriever Bailey passed away on Monday. Bailey had not been able to make the boat trips with us the past few years as she aged and Emmy was her company while we were out. The memories of Bailey will always bring smiles to my face. I can always see her making that big leap off the boat in my head. As for Emmy, well no leaps, but she is fun to have around and it is a lot less chaotic if I'm honest. I think she enjoyed it.

 

[Big Shasta]

Laila loved going out on the boat (still feels weird that I have to use past tense) She might miss it more than we do.