Getting dogs into the boat

Dennis P.

Dennis P.

Member
Greetings all-

What do you do/put on the boat to help the dogs get back in.

The Blackjack is so low to the water, the dog is able to get her feet on the deck and I grab her collar and push/pull to help her in. Its not he best way, but it seems to work. There really is no room to add a step or platform, at least not that I have been able to work out.

I am thinking of gluing (4200/5200) a bit of conveyor belting to the corner to give her more traction on the top surface, and maybe let it hang over the rub rail.

What do you guys think?

Dennis
 
In open water that's how I have been doing it for years, when up against a bank dog gets on the bank and then hops back into the boat on his own.
 
A hunting partner used carpet glue to adhere a series strips of carpet parallel the keel line on the aft deck of his boat (Hoefgen) to allow the dog a place to sit and also enable it to gain a gripping surface to get back on the boat. There is a neoprene dog vest that has large overlapping cutouts that are reinforced to enable you to grip the vest and lift the dog onboard. I use one of these- very easy on the dog, and me as well. The last option is to put the palm of your hand on the dog's back just behind the shoulders and simultaneously push down with that hand while grabbing a handful of folded skin immediately over the hindquarters and lifting up to lever the dog into the boat.
 
I'm a pretty small guy...my boats were 12ft jon boats and scull boats. Generally my dogs have weighed over half my body weight.
That being said here's our technique:

Open water retrieve, dog gets back to boat with duck/goose. I reach over grab bird throw in boat.

Here's the tricky part. Dog puts front feet on deck/gunnel. They're gonna do that pretty much anyway right? Then I put my off hand on opposite side of boat and grab on to something. Usually the deck or combing, or a fixed to the boat piece of gear. Then I put my free hand on the back..., yes, the back of my dogs neck. The dog will arch its head against my hand and hop right in. No neck pulling, or collar pulls, or grabbing a vest deal. I just basically cradle the back of the neck, and they lean into it as they hop up. All done in open water. They don't use their back legs at all. They just use their front legs as a post, then neck muscles, and arch their backs into my hand.
You couldn't use this with a high sided boat, so this trick is made for low profile. It's so easy and fast you'd be amazed. No pulled muscles, no choked dog, no floundering, splashing or scary. You'd think I was Popeye if you saw this at a distance. It's almost like they just hop in from a bank.
It took no practice, all my dogs did it naturally, from CBR's to GWP's. I think its some normal trick dogs use somehow.-Seth
 
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Seth-

That is how we do it too. Grabbing the collar is not what I meant. Yes, down pressure against their neck does the trick.

I am thinking of adding something to help them gain their foothold. Something clean and simple- but what?
 
Seth, Couldn't have said it better. You just left out one point- practice in warm water until it is second nature. I used to get my 85# lab into a 12 ft. Canyak in open water without floating my hat once!! Dogs do have a knack for getting their feet in the right place and then just brace oyur hand on the back of the neck, in they come. Then duck!! BTW the "shake" command has nothing to do with a front paw. ;-). Having a dog wait to shake the water off is not just impressive, it is very handy.
 
I suppose you are gonna have to mod something? Cutting down a cheap boat ladder/platform or something?


I'll let you in on a old Coast Guard secret...Spantex Roll-Tex. I guess it was a patio/walkway rubberized non-skid paint? We couldn't use it on our boats as they had to be a specific "Colors and Coating Manual" mil-spec, contract, blaw blaw deal. But we used Spantex on all our docks, ladders, walkway's ect. in a salt-water environment.


Anyway, the stuff comes in all colors and we used battleship grey. If you didn't use this crap it all it went bad pretty fast. So with access to gallons and gallons of this stuff going bad I painted all the horizontals on my boats from bow to stern with the left over's. It wasn't like skateboard tape, or gritty at all, just paint with tiny hard rubber chunks mixed in. I painted all my boats in 1998. To this day hasn't even came close to flaking off or peeling. I just thin out whatever color I'm painting my boats with and roll it right over the old paint.


The point I'm dragging along is my dogs stick to this non-skid like its glue. I stick to this stuff, no slipping. The dogs get a good grip climbing in. I didn't buy it so I have no idea how insane the price may be but my boats decks will always be painted with that stuff. I just rolled all horizontals, but you could tape off areas, make squares whatever. I won't use skateboard tape or any non-skid with real grit anymore as it really chews stuff up, but that rubberized crap doesn't do that.. But you just might have to custom up something.- Seth
 
Sounds like Herculiner bed liner paint. I painted Everything with it. Boat, trailer, truck nerf bars and anything I might slip off of.
 
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Thanks again Seth... Roll-tex is a little out of reach right now.

I was considering epoxy seeded with walnut shell media or crumb rubber, then topcoated with paint.
 
Seth, Couldn't have said it better. You just left out one point- practice in warm water until it is second nature. I used to get my 85# lab into a 12 ft. Canyak in open water without floating my hat once!! Dogs do have a knack for getting their feet in the right place and then just brace oyur hand on the back of the neck, in they come. Then duck!! BTW the "shake" command has nothing to do with a front paw. ;-). Having a dog wait to shake the water off is not just impressive, it is very handy.

I hear ya on the shake command, amazing how much water you can keep outa the boat, my oily stinky chessie was almost dry in one shake, my new ugly dog, not so much. She's not allowed in the cockpit till two. -Seth
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