Canoeing with a dog
Hello Wouafer's! Today, I'm talking about an activity that I love: canoeing with my dog. A few weeks ago I invested in an inflatable canoe so I can go on adventures whenever and wherever I want with Musher. It is suitable equipment for canoeing in the river or canoeing at sea. In this article, I present to you my dog's equipment for a safe canoe trip as well as my equipment. I also share some important tips for your first outing. Ready for a new nautical and canine adventure?
The dog's equipment for a canoe trip
My dog is always equipped with a dog life jacket. Useful or useful this accessory?
Here are 3 good reasons to equip your dog with a dog life jacket:
1- Your dog may be surprised by his fall in the water and panic in the water. Vest helps him to rise to the surface and regain his normal position to resume swimming. Imagine: your dog is calmly on the canoe, confident, he is dozing in the sun and PAF, the canoe turns over. He finds himself in cold water without having been able to anticipate this change.
2- dog life jacket will allow you to hoist your dog on board. Whether he jumps off to cool off or falls in the water, you'll have to bring him back on board. Either you can dock somewhere and bring it up from the shore, or you'll have to hoist it into the canoe. The lifejacket is equipped with a handle that will allow you to help your dog back up. No question of pulling him by his collar, that would risk strangling him and injuring his neck. The vest is perfect for that.
3- Life jacket swimming aid. A young dog, an older dog or an unsportsmanlike or overweight dog can quickly experience some fatigue in the water. The life jacket for dogs makes the session last. It supports the dog and gives it more confidence.
After our canoe trips, I wrap Musher in a microfiber towel to dry it and that it doesn't catch cold. Young, she risks nothing, but I think of her old bones. I'm careful that she doesn't have problems with osteoarthritis when she becomes a bitch granny.
In cold weather, she also wears a neoprene vest to provide warmth. It is the same material as surfing or diving suits. It is an essential accessory. Of course, I try to avoid her getting wet as much as possible at the start of the session to prevent her from being soaked throughout the canoe-kayak trip.
Canoeing equipment
My equipment is quite simple: a full wetsuit in winter with water booties to avoid having frozen feet, a shorty in mid-season and shorts in summer without forgetting a life jacket. We often find it ugly so we don't put it on, but it's not made to be pretty, it's made to save your life!
For a successful exit, you must:
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Sunscreen for you and your dog : the reverberation of water does not forgive. Take care to choose a non-polluting sunscreen: it would be a shame to destroy the places you take so much pleasure in going to discover by rowing.
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Water for you and your dog in sufficient quantity to be able to hydrate you throughout your exit. If your dog can lap up water from the river, he won't be able to do the same in the sea without risking getting very sick.
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Wear sneakers to be able to walk in the water or at the edge and thus be able to react quickly in the event of a problem.
As said above, I navigate on a inflatable canoe. It's very useful. It fits in a large backpack and weighs around 17 kilos. I have a small electric inflator that I plug into my car's 12v and within minutes I'm ready to go on an adventure. It is suitable for rivers up to class 3. This means that it passes small rapids without worries. I opted for the Solar by Gumotex a perfect 3-seater for my darling, my dog and me. I've been using it for two years now and it's great. The quality is there. And my dog adopted him. No problem to report with my dog's claws for the moment. If it resists the rapids and therefore the rocks, it will therefore resist my dog. I hesitated with a Sevylor canoe but the easily transportable backpack format of the Gumotex suited my needs better. The Sevylor seem to have good reviews for their resistance to the paws of our dogs that said… the choice is yours!
Canoeing: first time for my dog
Before renting a canoe and heading off on an adventure with your dog, make sure he knows how to swim, is fit enough to swim and of course loves the water. These fundamentals presented, let's see what you need to know to get started canoeing with your dog.
First of all, make sure of the bathing quality of the waters on which you are going to navigate. In some parts of France, when temperatures rise, cyanobacteria develop and can be fatal for dogs. It is therefore better to be well informed, but if you rent your equipment from a canoe rental base, they take samples regularly before letting you sail. A very important safety rule: NEVER tie your dog to the canoe. Under no circumstances should your dog be attached to the canoe. NONE ! If the canoe flips over and gets stuck in rocks, your dog would be trapped with no way to escape. Don't put a leash on him either; she could also get stuck and become a death trap for him.
Before setting off on an adventure, if your dog has never climbed aboard a canoe, it will need a little time to adapt. Take your time and show him the canoe ashore. Let him go around it, sniff it and offer to come on board. Dogs often don't like walking in the canoe too much, as it is a hard, slippery plastic for their paws. Do not hesitate to put a towel in its place in the bottom of the canoe. Then, once he is more familiar with the gear, put him in the water and repeat the operation. Get him on board where he has feet. Make him go up and down, jump… If he feels comfortable, go on an adventure. If not, I advise you not to force things. You run the risk of leaving with a dog who will try to jump constantly, who can put himself in danger at each rapid and who will constantly want to return to the shore. The canoe day can turn into a nightmare for everyone. Respect your canine teammate.
For a successful canoe trip
One last thing before you start: you need to find your playground! There are many great places to go canoeing with your dog. Tarn gorges, Gorges du Verdon, Gorges du lot… or even Lac Sainte Croix, Lake Annecy, Salagou Lake… I can't give you all the places in France and Navarre, but I'm sure there's bound to be a place near you or at your holiday destination where you can go canoeing for a few hours or for a day. . Besides, I invite you to read or reread the article The 10 most beautiful lakes authorized for dogs in France, this might give you some ideas! As I told you, I bought myself an inflatable canoe, but if you don't have your own equipment, all you have to do is rent one at a nautical base.
To identify the dog-friendly canoe bases, refer to the Too W'ouf Addresses shared by the W'ouafer's. Besides, if you know even canoe rental places not yet referenced on the site, share your Addresses Too W'ouf you too. If everyone shares all the places he has tested and approved with his dog, it will avoid many abandonments during the holidays. It's so easy to Share an Address Too W'ouf ! You must first create an account on our website, but don't panic: it's completely free!