# Rafting with K9 companion



## KayakWV (Aug 1, 2017)

Just curious what people are doing to help protect their raft from the destructive nature of your dogs nails?

We have a 100lb German Shepherd and would love to take him rafting, but don't want my raft destroyed.

Any ideas or thoughts is greatly appreciated.


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## PhilipJFry (Apr 1, 2013)

my dog loves balls.. I use one of those chuckit sticks for throwing the ball.. I take her on a street and chuck that ball a dozen times, she wears her nails down to nice smooth little nubs that don't touch much of anything. if that doesnt work for you.. Maybe you can get him a puppy pedicure before a trip. but really i'm not that concerned about the dog nails. most of the time she's up on a drybox, side boards, etc. its rare that she's standing on the tubes.


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## tjligon25 (Mar 19, 2015)

Yea if they hike a lot the nails are to round to do any damage anyway. The biggest issue I have found for dog nails are if they swim a lot (by choice or otherwise) when they wanna get back in the boat they claw at the tube, so having a good pfd for the dog with a nice handle and some strength on your part you can pretty much avoid them clawing at the tube and pull them straight back into the boat and on top of paco pad, decking or whatever they were on in the first place. i have a 80lb dog and when she gets back in the boat i turn her sideways so she doesnt claw anything and then use all 200lb of me to pull her in. not easy but it works.


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## KayakWV (Aug 1, 2017)

Thanks for the advice. He does hike quite a bit and his nails are pretty rounded off, planning to try him on the raft soon to see how things go. I actually considered the rubber nail covers (no frufru colors on my dog) if I see it causing issues.....


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## Lebowski (Aug 19, 2015)

My dog is about 75# and I haven't noticed even the slightest scratch from his claws on the boat. I have an RMR, so maybe that PVC is keeping him from doing any damage. I also second the PFD for your dog. My dog is a good swimmer so he doesn't need it for flotation, but it turns him into something of a suitcase to pull into the boat rather than yanking a flailing dog into the boat by the neck. So much easier.

Now, if only he would wipe his paws before getting in the boat...


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## KayakWV (Aug 1, 2017)

Thats good to hear, I have an RMR also (light gray) so hopefully it will withstand any scratches. Also, I do have a ruff wear PFD that he will be wearing, although I may have to dunk him to get the momentum going upward in order to be able to get him back into the boat, ideally he will only swim from the shore and not out of the raft, but we all know how that goes....


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## Lebowski (Aug 19, 2015)

Same here. Light gray RMR. He's been on a lot miles with me in that boat and no problems so far.

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## Rick A (Apr 15, 2016)

My dog is about 55lbs and being that she is 11 now her nails don't get as rounded off or short as they used too but she does great on the boat. She is not restricted at all, she jumps on and off at will while beached. I do make her ride in the bow for bigger Rapids (right on the drop-stitch floor) other wise she is usually laying on a pad, on top of the cooler, behind my wife's seat. Even with the longer nails there are no noticeable blemishes on the boat (PVC Outlaw). Take the dog and have a blast. 

One last thing I would not cut her nails right before a trip. A fresh cut nail has sharper edges than her natural nails even if they look a little long.


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## PAU in a NRS (Nov 1, 2014)

No issues


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## Noodle Arms (Nov 18, 2015)

You could always try the dog boots that they sell at REI or wherever else. We take our 80 pound boxer, never use the boots and have not had an issue


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## raftwench (Jun 8, 2016)

Never had issues with any of my dogs on rafts, paco pads, or any other gear for that matter. Dogs range from 30 lbs to 90 lbs. Doggie PFD with handle is definitely key, but it sounds like you have that covered.



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## Whitewater Worthy Equip (Dec 11, 2013)

I carry the EZ dog CFD's. They are a good Product for their price Point. I always encourage people to learn how to assist their hound back in the boat under their own power. 

If you hang your spare oar off the side of your frame it is simple for them to climb back in. All you have to do is put your hand behind their head/neck and give them something to brace against. They will arch their back and push aginst your open hand to get their back legs up on the spare so they can easily climb right in. It takes a little practice but will save your back.


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## Flydaho (Sep 29, 2016)

I two very energetic huskies that we take rafting every weekend, one is 55 lbs and one is 38 lbs. They bounce around on the raft quite a bit and I haven't seen one scratch from their nails. You will be fine taking your dog on the boat!

As for dog PFD's, in my mind they are absolutely required. There have been 2 sad endings for rafting dogs in my area this summer, neither had a pfd on. It doesn't matter how good of a swimmer your dog is (most likely you've only seen them swim in flat water, not whitewater). Dogs don't know how to get themselves out of trouble in whitewater. $50 for a dog pfd is a small price to pay to ensure your pup's safety.


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## DaveScott (Jul 12, 2017)

If you don't want your boat scratched I recommend leaving it in the garage... Preferably in a bag. Damage from my dog is pretty far down the list of worries on the river. I'm far more likely to do something to damage the boat than my dog.


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## stribtw (Mar 19, 2009)

when i had a lab she didnt really scratch the boat but had a hard time staying stable while standing. i used the cheap blue foam sleeping pads that you can buy at walmart on the floor of the boat to give her traction. i cut a little off the end then trimmed the corners of the pad and i would tuck the ends in between the floor and tubes and the foam would stay in place. she could flex her nails down into the foam and get a nice grip.


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## MountainmanPete (Jun 7, 2014)

Teach your dog how to use the groover. If they understand that then they will definitely not pop your boat.


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## fishingraft (Aug 30, 2015)

My dog hasn't done any damage to my raft and he hits the water with me weekly. Even with freshly cut nails, he doesn't scratch the boat.

However, he has broken four fishing rods in the last ten days (my fault, I know he's a spaz and shouldn't have placed them where I did). I've renamed him RodCruncher.


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## griz (Sep 19, 2005)

dude... dog's nails?

You need to get out and see what kind abuse a good raft can take and not even leave a mark at the end of it.

Here is a excercise to start with...get some repair material and a screwdriver. 

Now try and put that screwdriver through the patch material.

A long time ago, when I was first getting into rafting, a salesperson was showing me a Maravia on the showroom. He got a screwdriver, leaned into it with all his weight on the inflated tubes, bounced a bit for added measure and the only tiny,tiny mark wiped away. And you'd never know it happened.

Enjoy your raft. It's not a fragile pool toy.


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## raftwench (Jun 8, 2016)

MountainmanPete said:


> Teach your dog how to use the groover. If they understand that then they will definitely not pop your boat.



Hey my dog is halfway there. She pees in the river. I didn't even have to teach her. 


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## lhowemt (Apr 5, 2007)

Trim his nails if they aren't worn by normal use (few are)

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## shappattack (Jul 17, 2008)

No damage to any of our boats from all our dogs either, as said before, PFD 100% if at least for the handle to pull then back in.


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## Jamesdking (Mar 14, 2016)

Ez dog for the win. Even when we had some torn straps they sent one over night no questions asked. Great customer service!

Our Great Dane is can get pretty dancy when we approach whitewater and I have seen worse scratches from straps than his claws ever cause. I really can't find any and it's a 40 year old Avon. 

He typically rides on the floor (bucket boat) with an anti fatigue mat under him for peace of mind but I doubt it's necessary. Recently we got a cargo net and he hasn't trashed it yet. He did however get a toe stuck in a D ring and I wrapped the straps tag end around them to prevent it again. He appreciated not being in standing water anymore. Last week he rode on the gear pile and my dry bags are perfect. He crawled around for 5 days and not a scuff. And his nails are literally an inch long and he weighs 150 lbs. 

Don't sweat it and keep them safe. Learn how to pull them in the boat in an emergency like you would a human. It's not easy with big dogs but I can do it. I let him in eddys to cool off and we can get him in with a big heave. He uses the spare oar and all of his claws. No problems yet. 

https://imgur.com/gallery/v4xCX


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## Jamesdking (Mar 14, 2016)

See!


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## Lebowski (Aug 19, 2015)

'We're gonna need a bigger boat...'

That's awesome!

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## MountainVisions (Jan 6, 2017)

No issues on two seasons. Rafts deal with a lot worse than dog nails. Besides it will probably even out the wear. this weekend my wife's leg got destroyed from the dog on a continuous class III creek run. He wasn't bad, he just had happy feet and occasionally stepped on her, which over 5 or so miles led to her legs having what look like knife slices. I got a few myself. Ironically, this never happened before and I just trimmed his nails a few days before with a dremel to nice flat nubs. Perhaps they hadn't rounded off yet. 

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## MountainVisions (Jan 6, 2017)

in 20 years with two different dogs, I've never had a tent or thermarest torn from the nails. One ate some cycling gloves as a puppy. The other chewed a backpack buckle. But no nail related gear damage. 

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## elkhaven (Sep 11, 2013)

fishingraft said:


> My dog hasn't done any damage to my raft and he hits the water with me weekly. Even with freshly cut nails, he doesn't scratch the boat.
> 
> However, he has broken four fishing rods in the last ten days (my fault, I know he's a spaz and shouldn't have placed them where I did). I've renamed him RodCruncher.


My old springer jumped right through 2 borrowed Winstons years ago, snapped them both off like twigs... Rod storage is key but even with it I still break a rod or 2 every year - it's just the nature of the beast...

As for nails? Yeah, not a problem as mentioned repeatedly. 25 years and dogs and almost every trip I've ever done.

Beyond the PFD handle concept the next most critical improvement I made was side boards and decking. I was reminded how awesome the decking is for dogs when I took my dogs on a buddies boat with out this summer... they were stumbling and falling, in and out of the boat. It was really annoying. In my boat they walk, sit and lie down on the decks, they rarely fall unless they're riding on the bow.









There's actully 3 springers on the boat in this pic 2 on the front deck and one partially on the back deck... the other nice thing is the decks keep them out of my way - without decks one of the most stable spots is between the rowers seat and the tubes but I'd constantly hit them with my elbows.


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## Soup76 (Aug 19, 2009)

Jamesdking said:


> See!


This a great pic!


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