Dog on boat

[Wendystillflies]

Looking for some advice from all you experienced dog people! We are thinking of booking a week's boating holiday in the summer and are thinking of taking the dog. She's a black lab who will be 3 by the time we go. She loves water and I'm a bit worried she will try to jump on the river/canal all the time. I'm also not sure how she will be in the confined space of a boat; I'm worried it won't be big enough for her. Has anyone got experience of taking a lab on a boat holiday? Any tips? Things to avoid? Was it fun for anyone?

I believe there are special harnesses you can get. I think your dog would love it!

We've taken labs on canal boat holidays. Are you going on a narrowboat? If so, then she'll have a whale of a time. Neither of ours has ever tried to jump in, but you can get life jackets for them if you are worried. I'd keep them shut in if they are on a boat within a lock, but otherwise they will happily jump on and off the boat when you do. Again, only relating to narrowboats, you can choose to hire a boat which has a closing gate at the stern so she can be outside but shut in if you are worried - like this

Thanks for the replies. I'll look into the harness thingy. It's not likely to be a narrowboat Follyfoot more like a cruiser type of boat. I've seen others in the past with their dogs but the dogs all look sedate old things and not interested in the water. I like the idea of a doggy life jacket though. Our Ddog is so daft she just sees water and in she goes.

Our current lab is definitely not sedate and strangely she didnt jump in once, despite being obsessed with water too

Oh god, I'm having flashbacks to taking my old dog on a narrow boat for a day.

I jumped off boat to do a lock. I gave the dogs lead to my mums friend and told her to hold, well she did but not tight enough. Dog ended up in the tiny gap between the boat and the bank, with the boat getting closer. Swinging just above the water by his lead and collar, being strangled and was nearly squashed by the boat! I managed to grab him in time!

So be careful when you get off the boat that he might follow!

Please ensure your dog wears a life jacket at all times, a few months ago there was a very sad case where a family lost their beloved pet because she fell overboard at night. They had search teams/lifeboat out looking for her but sadly found her washed up a few miles away around a week later. This was a family that had their own boat so dog was well used to holidaying on it. Family devastated and urged everyone to make sure their dog wore a life jacket.