If you paddle during the heat of the summer, do you bring your dog, and if so how do you keep the dog from overheating?
The local clubs here in south Louisiana tend to have fewer trips in summer months due to the heat, but we do have some paddling during the summer. About 6 years ago I inherited Maggie, a 19 lb cairn terrier, and have been taking her canoeing with me since then. She is the first dog I’ve had. Maggie rides right in front of me at my knees in the canoe. I had thought about making a shade covering for her and one time tried draping an old white T-shirt over a couple of arched pool noodles to try out the idea. That turned out to make an oven rather than a cool shady place. Making a canopy high enough to allow good air flow underneath would interfere with my view ahead and also with any cross strokes that might be needed so I didn’t pursue the canopy idea. At first Maggie didn’t seem bothered too much by heat, but she is now 14 or 15 years old and seems less tolerant of temperature extremes.
One time last summer we were on a creek with no shade and I was concerned that she was getting too hot. To cool her off I dipped a towel in the creek and draped it over her. She generally doesn’t like being wet, but she didn’t protest the cool wet towel so apparently she really needed the cooling. She has gradually gotten more comfortable going into water since I’ve been taking her canoeing but I usually try to keep her away from shore - there are too many places with alligators that would see her as a perfect snack so I don’t want to encourage swimming (and in some places the water is full of algae or other gunk not good for swimming). Of course I keep a water bowl available for her to make sure she has water to drink. I know her canoeing days are numbered but I'd like to bring her with me as long as possible if she can be kept safe and reasonably comfortable. Any suggestions?
The local clubs here in south Louisiana tend to have fewer trips in summer months due to the heat, but we do have some paddling during the summer. About 6 years ago I inherited Maggie, a 19 lb cairn terrier, and have been taking her canoeing with me since then. She is the first dog I’ve had. Maggie rides right in front of me at my knees in the canoe. I had thought about making a shade covering for her and one time tried draping an old white T-shirt over a couple of arched pool noodles to try out the idea. That turned out to make an oven rather than a cool shady place. Making a canopy high enough to allow good air flow underneath would interfere with my view ahead and also with any cross strokes that might be needed so I didn’t pursue the canopy idea. At first Maggie didn’t seem bothered too much by heat, but she is now 14 or 15 years old and seems less tolerant of temperature extremes.
One time last summer we were on a creek with no shade and I was concerned that she was getting too hot. To cool her off I dipped a towel in the creek and draped it over her. She generally doesn’t like being wet, but she didn’t protest the cool wet towel so apparently she really needed the cooling. She has gradually gotten more comfortable going into water since I’ve been taking her canoeing but I usually try to keep her away from shore - there are too many places with alligators that would see her as a perfect snack so I don’t want to encourage swimming (and in some places the water is full of algae or other gunk not good for swimming). Of course I keep a water bowl available for her to make sure she has water to drink. I know her canoeing days are numbered but I'd like to bring her with me as long as possible if she can be kept safe and reasonably comfortable. Any suggestions?
