How do you keep your dog in the boat?

[jtexas]

Re: How do you keep your dog in the boat?

That's my concern TexomaAv8r, in the event of some unlikely incident, he'd be in way more jeopardy tied to the boat. I'm inclined to agree with the consensus - it's a training issue. <br /><br />Meanwhile guess I just have to assess the risk & decide whether it's acceptable.<br /><br />Thanks for all the responses everbody!<br /><br />p.s. LOL crabby, now that's thinking out of the box!

 

[POINTER94]

Re: How do you keep your dog in the boat?

jtexas,<br /><br />Just my 2 cents. Take the dog with you as often as you can. I have a golden who likes to bite waves from the swim platform. No means NO. And if for some reason she jumps in, she stays in. For an hour or more. She can sit on the outdrive if she has to. (She doesn't have to swim, it floats like a cork!) Slowly but surely it has impacted her in a positive way. I have no problem running with her in the boat and she won't jump out. Still gets real excited when you stop moving or anchor. But it has taken two years. One nice thing is if we pull into a waterfront restaurant she stays in the boat and doesn't bark or damage things. Thank Goodness.<br /><br />Good luck, having a dog on the boat is a real asset for me and hopefully for you.

 

[Captn Dave]

Re: How do you keep your dog in the boat?

Jtexas,<br /><br />My girlfriend found a beautiful block head chocolate lab at the pound. Great dog but lacked in discipline. He's now improving but it's still a struggle when he sees another dog. Alfa male syndrome I think.<br />Anyway, can you imagine a lab who doesn't care for the water. It's tough to get him to swim. I don't think he ever saw a body of water before. He's getting better though. <br />We always take him on our 15' dory. He likes going out on the boat.<br />This past summer we stopped and were digging clams on the flats. The water is only a foot deep so he's able to walk between the beach and the sand. The next day we go to the beach and we're approaching the shore, going at a fast idle, and what does this knucklehead do, but jump out. I think he thought he could jump in and run to shore. He goes completely under. I know he got the shock of his life. We were only about 50' from shore so he was able to swim in. <br />He hasn't seemed to want to do it again but we still keep a watch on him.<br />I bet Ol Yella thought he could walk on that blue stuff. <br />Then again, I knew a couple of clam diggers who always bought along their labs when they went clamming. On the way back, about 100' from the dock they'd slow down and the dogs would jump in and swim the rest of the way. <br />Take Ol Yella out again by all means. Go slow the first 10 minutes or so and see what he does. Keep an eye and maybe a short lease on him. But get him out on the water. I bet he likes it.

 

[SeaJayacas]

Re: How do you keep your dog in the boat?

You could always buy a bigger boat with much higher gunnels.

 

[salty87]

Re: How do you keep your dog in the boat?

i have to agree with the training comments. <br /><br />make that a priority over fishing for a few outings. get the dog comfortable in the boat on the trailer in the driveway and make him obey there. if he is good at that, fire up the motor on the hose and progress some more. if that's no problem, head to the lake but don't fish...concentrate on the training.<br /><br />trial and error, find what works for you and the dog and then practice the crap out of it. it won't take long once he understands.<br /><br />had him neutered? my dog was a stray so i had him snipped, made a world of difference.

 

[chicken louie]

Re: How do you keep your dog in the boat?

we hava a jack russel, and when we float the river in our 11 foot flat bottom she cant handle sitting stillwe use a 44# thrust trolling motor to slow us down while we cast for brown trout and when we catch a big brown we go to shore to land it,so as not to injure the fish.when in the boat the dog will listen(she has jumped out many times in the past)but when on shore she wont come, so we just leave and she runs along shore for a bit then swims to the boat,and we pull her in. if we release a fish from the boat she will dive in after it its quite comical.<br />my dog loves fishing so im not about to tie her to the boat and ruin her day. she is a good dog that super curious about those slippery little fellas that live below. she to will drop everything if she hears the drag release.<br />dogs in general are pretty smart and have a memory of what is good and bad for them.<br />if your dog swam back to the boat it probably wont jump again.

 

[jtexas]

Re: How do you keep your dog in the boat?

We're camping this weekend, and Dusty is going along, so he'll get another try. We've been working on "stay," and he's getting better.<br /><br />Hey louie, those float trips sound like a great way to spend a day. I wouldn't mind trading a day chasing whites & stripers around one of our big reservoirs for one of those. Or Lake Fork, but I'm not as good at finding big bass.<br /><br />These are good stories...keep 'em coming!

 

[EFIS]

Re: How do you keep your dog in the boat?

Tie its leash to the front of the boat and you've just saved on buying an auxilary motor You just need a big bucket of "treats" to throw them out the front and steer it.

 

[phatmanmike]

Re: How do you keep your dog in the boat?

marine tex his paws to the deck

 

[jtexas]

Re: How do you keep your dog in the boat?

The marine tex didn't work - cures too slowly. Now I have white paw prints all over the deck! <br /><br />Looks like Dusty learned his lesson the first time - didn't even come close to jumping this weekend. All that worry for nothing.<br /><br />I wonder: whenever we take the dog camping, does he think we've moved into a tent, and from now on we're going to spend every day boating and exploring the woods, chasing critters, eating steaks, cheeseburgers, chicken (I let him eat our food when camping). Maybe that's why he seems so withdrawn when we get back. Just tired, or is he disappointed & depressed?<br /><br />Or, does he think that's what I do every day when I leave for work? And now he's building up resentment against me for not taking him every day?