Boating tips?

[Julie Kudron]

Those of you who take your doodles boating/swimming, how do you get them in and out of the boat from the dock? And how do you get them back into the boat when they are in the water swimming?

We just bought our first boat....(small 18' open bow) and plan to take Maxwell out to the lake with us. He is a very large doodle and I am afraid if he gets in the water we won't be able to get him back in!

Also, boarding and up boarding dockside- I'm thinking using a yoga mat on the dock while getting out so he doesn't slip? I. Afraid ex might not be close enough for him to comfortably jump though.

Since our boat is so small, those big stairs will take up all the room!
I'm looking for a good, inexpensive way to try this until I know how often he will boat with us.

Oh, and he has a life jacket, just in case!

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

We have a pontoon boat and bought the Paws Aboard steps that hooks onto our ladder. When we are in deep water we use the Paws Aboard. Otherwise,  I prefer we beach our boat and let them get on and off from land. Our ladder is this one. This folds in half when not in use.

I have also seen a platform that attaches to a boat ladder. The place where you got your boat might have other suggestions. Our Vern is 108 pounds and Fudge is 46 pounds. They both wear life jackets that have handles on top and we can lift Fudge in and out, but not Vern. He is just too big.

Congratulations on your boat. Our dogs are in heaven out on the water. Fudge was less enthused at first, but we found having her wear a life jacket really helped her like being in the water. Now, we can't hardly get them out of the lake and we love it, because it tires them out for the rest of the day.

[Julie Kudron]

Thanks. That's one of the ramps/stairs I was looking at.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Oh, and our dogs just jump in and out of the boat from our dock. We have a wooden pier that runs parallel to our boat and they just go in through the door.

[Emily, Bentley, & Maserati]

We have taught them to get in and out near the dock or when we beach. Since we go out in either a canoe or double kayak I don't like the dogs to jump in or out as it increases our likelihood of tipping! They know once we get close to shore they can jump out as we "free" them. They have their life jackets when we're on the water. If they were to jump out when we were actively paddling the handle of the life jacket would make it easier to get them back in if need be. Once we dock they get to take them off and swim around naked. 

Here is a picture of Maserati with my husband and I yesterday out in the kayak!

[T Eaton]

We boat all the time with our doodle, Hunter. We started by training him to go up the ladder on the dock first. Using treats, allowing him to use his legs to pull himself up. This way we know he will never drown if he gets trapped in an area where he cannot get to the shore. Then, we taught him how to go up the ladder on the back of the boat. It's just a very small ladder, which I am sure you could purchase and mount on the back of the boat. You may want to invest in a good life jacket for him so you can use the handle on the middle of his back, to help lift him into the boat. Instead of a yoga mat, jI just use an old throw rug with a rubber back to prevent slipping when he jumps into the boat. We have trained our boy to paddle board, jet ski and dock dive for balls, now he will even dive out of the boat (with permission) to retrieving, scampers up the back ladder and we pull him in....so have fun with it!