Kayak Dogs

Just wondering if anyone regularly takes their dog on kayak when fishing?  Any tips?

I do. I regularly take her on Tomales bay. She sits in the back hatch quietly for three hours but then starts to complain so we land on a west side beach and walk for a bit. If I have fish I place them under her waterproof pad in a bag for the journey back to the dock. Nice to have a non talking companion aboard.

Please consider a PFD for your dog who cannot consent to the risk of not wearing a PFD.  I've handed too many drowned dogs to owners over the years... it's not worth it for anyone involved.

Just to drive the point home... here's a case I worked just south of the Berkeley Pier (photo taken by a good samaritan on another boat).  Operator of the capsized vessel and dog owner is the gentleman in the RHIB on the right and the dog is recovered, deceased, by the good sam on the left.  Not one person in this photo is enjoying their time on the water at this point.  Sad day for all...

rogerdodger on our sister site NWKA has posted on the setup he uses for his dog, including wetsuit and PFD.

A direct link to a youtube vid


A couple of threads with wetsuit and fishing

https://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=21511.msg225370#msg225370

https://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=21029.msg221054#msg221054

Time and place for dog PFD. Calm day at Tomales no PFD.  Offshore rock fishing always. Dog swims well.

I used to take him pretty often, but he preferred to be up front with me so he could lick the fish and I would leave the mirage drive at home. Now with 2 dogs it doesn’t really work.

I used to take him pretty often, but he preferred to be up front with me so he could lick the fish...

Does he prefer catfish? (ba dum tss)

I used to take him pretty often, but he preferred to be up front with me so he could lick the fish...

Does he prefer catfish? (ba dum tss)

I don't think there's any catfish in ruff water

I used to take him pretty often, but he preferred to be up front with me so he could lick the fish...

Does he prefer catfish? (ba dum tss)

I don't think there's any catfish in ruff water

You guys are killing me 

I used to   

http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=12303.0

Check out Great Bass 2 reports where he took his pooch molly out on his AI.  They'd cover big water and had all the gear

I tried it a few times but found that the dog didnt have nearly as good a time as I imagined. It seems to me like one of those things that you wish your dog would be into, but you're really kind of forcing them and they understandably dont love being stuck out in the sun for multiple hours in an uncomfortable position doing absolutely nothing. I dont think it's in a dog's nature to enjoy it honestly.

I'm sure someone will point out that their dog loves it. But i think broadly speaking most dogs probably don't.

I've taken my dog out a couple of times. She's deathly afraid of fishing poles (???) so I don't make a habit of it.

She always wears a life jacket. She's a great swimmer, but I figured that if we got run over by a PB, I'd have a better chance of recovering her whether she was dead or alive.

Side note - it looks like the deceased pooch in Tedski's post was wearing a lifejacket. Great reminder that even a lifejacket doesn't guarantee survival.

My GSP is 5 months old and loves water. I hope to take her out on the ocean but wonder how many hours she would be good for. At this stage I would worry about her grabbing a baited hook and then having to deal with trying to extract a hook out of a panicked dog on the high seas.
Today she lasted for over 1/2 hour in the canoe before going overboard.

My Jack Russel mix gets super excited to jump into her spot behind me on an old air mattress.

I have a PFD for my dog but with all his fluff hates it. Excess velcro on some of the PFD's we've bought for him in the past have stuck to his hair which has been a yelping moist mess at the pull-in when we unstrap him. For a lake like Lewiston (below photo), it's so shallow most parts that I'm not at all concerned with a PFD on a calm day. Especially in this heat (100F+) and his fur, that's not a good idea. Add all that to the fact he HATES water and this is not an ideal kayak dog nor a kayak dog setup. I flipped the front hatch because he kept going for panic swims to shore from the rear hatch as I kept trying to launch. Hydrophobic. Did a voluntary leap a few times in the middle of the lake before for whatever panicked reason. Even gets scared when my drag clicker sets off.
Will not take him anything deeper/colder than I'm willing to dive or swim, doggo PFD or not. He loves fish, but apparently not fishing. I'll take him on the yak when I'm camping or pleasure yakking. Up here isn't suitable most of the year for him.