Kayaking with Your Dog – Share the Kayaking Experience with Your Best Furry Friend!
Kayaking is a fantastic experience. While kayaking, you can enjoy the serene nature, fresh air, and explore wild animals. However, can you share this fantastic experience with your best furry friend?
Definitely! Your dog not only can accompany you when you’re hiking or during your evening stroll, but also when kayaking. But the mere thought of taking your dog to the waters may appear intimidating.
But that’s still possible. You need the best kayak for dog and some knowledge on how to do that the safest way possible. Just follow this guide and stay stress-free.
Where to Start
Kayaking with a dog is different than walking with him on the ground. So, when you decide to take him to the waters, make a well-organized plan first. The planning process can be divided into these steps:
- Check Your Dog’s Health Condition
- Train Your Dog
- Find the Ideal Kayak for Your Dog
- Gather Necessary Essentials
- Choose a Suitable Sunny Weather
- Launch Your Pleasure Trip with Your Dog
Let’s make a brief discussion on each part of the plan.
1. Check Your Dog’s Health Condition
Not all dogs are capable of going to water. If your dog is too old or he has asthma or arthritis issue, don’t take him to water. Another important thing does not take heavy weights dog- dogs weighing more 40 pounds to water. It is because the bulky dogs can result in capsizing your Kayak. One useful recommendation is to check the health of your pet with a vet to ascertain whether the pet is ready to take part in kayaking with you.
2. Train Your Dog
Training is the most important part of planning. Since the training part is the most crucial part, this part can be subdivided into several other parts. Let’s break down the training part.
Introduce Your Dog to the Floating Vessel
Take your dog to the kayak when it is docked onshore. Have him sit comfortably there. Assure him that there is nothing to worry about.
Teach Him Some Basic Commands
In this part of the training, teach him some basic but useful commands. These basic commands are load, stay, sit, unload, and leave it. Help him patiently to understand your dog how to react differently with these commands. It is also true that teaching these commands are difficult. When you command him, leave it, for example, it implies the dog need to ignore if it encounters another kayaker or a dolphin in the water.
Train Him on Nature Calling
Yes, your dog may need to poop anytime while floating on the water. Train him how to poop in poop bag on command. Collect his poop in the bag and then buried it when onshore.
3. Find the Ideal Kayak for Your Dog
Like dogs, there are different types of kayaks on the market. Select a kayak that has enough space for you and your dog. The larger the space inside the kayak, the better it is. It is because sometimes your dog may become excited.
Under this situation, place your dog between your feet and calm him down. Or, tuck him away to one corner of the kayak. This is only possible when you have a spacious kayak.
Your kayak also needs to be stable enough to prevent easy flipping. Of course, you should avoid rough water and kayak in calm water. Kayaking in calm water is more pleasurable than fast-moving water.
4. Gather the Necessary Essentials
In this part of the planning process, gather the following necessary items –
PFD or Personal Floating Device
Purchase or manage a PFD or personal floating device for your canine. There are some PFD’s on the market that is designed for dogs. Wear the device on your dog’s body and let him accustomed to the device. It is a life-saving device for dogs.
If your dog jumps into the water or falls accidentally, the device wills him afloat until you rescue him, the PFD device comes with a handle that will help you to pick your dog from the water and return him to the Kayak or shore.
Dog Harness or Collar
The dog’s harness or collar is pretty useful if your dog falls accidentally on board. The harness will help you to pull him back on kayak board.
Sun Lotion or Cream
Like humans, dogs are too susceptible to sunburn. Though they are covered with fur, their nose and belly are fully exposed to sun increasing the chance of sunburn there. There are some effective dog sun lotions or cream on the market. Apply those lotions to your dog and protect him from sunburn.
Food, Water, and Bowls
If you plan to spend a long time on the water, don’t forget to take some food, water, and bowl with you to feed your dog. Particularly, if the weather is hot and humid, your dog will be thirsty. So, let him drink to quench his thirst.
5. Choose a Suitable Sunny Weather
Kayaking is a pleasure under sunny weather. So, get weather updates before kicking off your kayaking. Select a sunny date and then start kayaking with your dog.
6. Launch Your Pleasure Trip with Your Dog
When everything is gets set that is your dog is ready; you have completed his training, you find the right Kayak and have all the necessary gears, it is now time to start kayaking.
Some Additional Tips
Here are some additional tips to make kayaking with dog safe and secure:
Start kayaking in flat water: Start kayaking in calm water. Kayaking in turbulent water is risky and unpleasable.
Do not tie the dog to the Kayak: use a leash and tie your dog to the Kayak is extremely dangerous. Your dog may be drowned if the Kayak is capsized while your dog is still tied to the Kayak
Trim the dog’s toenails: before starting your journey, don’t forget to trim the toenails of dogs. Trimming will prevent the dog from scratch the Kayak and damaged Kayak’s surface.
Conclusion
On a sunny afternoon, kayaking with your dog is a fantastic experience. Paddling with a dog is not a daunting task. If you follow the above plan, kayaking with a dog will be a breeze.
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