cintinative Posted July 26, 2023 Share Posted July 26, 2023 (edited) Title says it all. Also, do they make doggie life vests? ETA: I found some! Edited July 26, 2023 by cintinative Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted July 26, 2023 Share Posted July 26, 2023 I would only take him if I thought he could actually swim, despite lack of interest. If he were bumped off somehow, I'd want him to be able to stay afloat until rescued. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted July 26, 2023 Share Posted July 26, 2023 Yes, they do make life vests for dogs. Whether I would take one or not would depend a lot on the dog's size and energy level. I'd do it with a calm, easygoing, smaller dog but probably not for an impulsive and/or very energetic one, especially if they were very big. And of course take into consideration how long you'll be out in the boat. I wouldn't want a dog pottying on board. 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2scouts Posted July 26, 2023 Share Posted July 26, 2023 Yes, they do make doggie life vests! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted July 26, 2023 Share Posted July 26, 2023 We took our dog on an all day pontoon. He never got in the water. At first he was a little scared, but I think that was because the boat was at the end of the pier and the pier was very wobbly. He did fine and seemed to enjoy it once we got going and the wind was in his face. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livetoread Posted July 26, 2023 Share Posted July 26, 2023 When I was a teen, my folks had a lab. We'd take him on our boat on the lake where my folks had a vacation cottage. There was a big sand bar there that was about three to five feet deep, and boats would anchor and people would picnic and swim, etc. Our dog would jump off the boat and just swim and swim. One time a lady yelled at us telling us our dog was exhausted and needed to rest or he'd drown. She pulled him up on her boat, glaring at us. He gave her a big lick and then immediately jumped right back in, lol. 2 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LifeLovePassion Posted July 26, 2023 Share Posted July 26, 2023 Well, we recently took our half blind, toothless, neurotic Yorkie on our kayaks and surprisingly, he loved it! So we took him out on innertubes when we were recently staying at the river. Every time we got swimsuits on, he was ready to go. It was so out of character for how we thought he'd react. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katy Posted July 26, 2023 Share Posted July 26, 2023 Be aware that if it’s a water breed and it gets tired of the boat it might make a leap for it and swim to shore. Might want to attach a leash to the life vest. Years ago we had a poodle mix who LOVED to kayak, but it wasn’t so fun for us when he figured out he could ignore our instructions and swim to an island he loved. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted July 26, 2023 Share Posted July 26, 2023 Might depend on the weather a bit. Super hot day with no shade on a metal boat for a dog who doesn’t want to be in the water, maybe not. Swimmer dog, sure. Not crazy hot, maybe. Might depend on what the alternative is for the dog and dog’s personality. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cintinative Posted July 26, 2023 Author Share Posted July 26, 2023 14 minutes ago, ScoutTN said: Might depend on the weather a bit. Super hot day with no shade on a metal boat for a dog who doesn’t want to be in the water, maybe not. Swimmer dog, sure. Not crazy hot, maybe. Might depend on what the alternative is for the dog and dog’s personality. Yes, the heat is a big factor. There is a canopy over the pontoon boat, but it will still be hot. He is not a swimmer dog that we know of. No interest in jumping in the pool and he thought the ocean inlet we took him to was scary. 😃 I can probably hang out on the shore with him somewhere but not for endless hours. Sometimes dog babysitting is more exhausting than human babysitting. 😃 Or we could crate him in the vacation rental, assuming it wouldn't be hours upon hours we were gone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted July 26, 2023 Share Posted July 26, 2023 No, largely because of temperature regulation and potty issues. Safety ones could be negated with a life vest if the dog is obedient in following commands. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MercyA Posted July 26, 2023 Share Posted July 26, 2023 Sure, but only for a few hours and only with a lifejacket. Don't forget to take water. 🙂 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katy Posted July 26, 2023 Share Posted July 26, 2023 If you’re going to be all day keep in mind he’ll need potty breaks. People who live on boats with dogs sometimes get a square of artificial turf to put on the boat. But keep in mind that’s a lot of gross cleanup and requires some training. Staying in a crate in air conditioning while you go out might be less stressful for everyone. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted July 27, 2023 Share Posted July 27, 2023 Sure! If he's comfortable on the boat, I think that's fine! You'd have to have a time limit, or a stop for a potty break if it got too long. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melanie32 Posted July 27, 2023 Share Posted July 27, 2023 We take our mini Aussie out on our pontoon all the time. It’s completely covered so there is always shade and we make sure he has plenty of water and we stop to take him ashore for potty breaks every few hours. He hasn’t chosen to swim so far but he is a chicken and would never jump off of the boat even if he wanted to swim. He has a doggie life vest but once we realized that he wasn’t going to jump off, we quit making him wear it as it makes him awful hot (this was after many, many trips out on our boat). We’ve taught him to stay sitting at our feet while the boat is moving fast. Before he learned to do that, we kept him on leash and held onto the handle so he couldn’t reach the edges of the boat. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indigo Blue Posted July 27, 2023 Share Posted July 27, 2023 Our chihuahua went kayaking. He had the most adorable tiny life vest. I took a golf umbrella and made him shade at the tip of the kayak. He had water. He was fine. We just didn’t stay out too long. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annandatje Posted July 27, 2023 Share Posted July 27, 2023 On 7/26/2023 at 3:22 PM, cintinative said: Title says it all. Also, do they make doggie life vests? ETA: I found some! No. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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