Teaching my dog to sit on the board

[Josie18181]

But of a strange one but next to paddleboarding my dogs are very important and I'd love to take my best bud with me on a trip. Bear is a medium sized Flatcoated Retriever so not to heavy.

I'm sure there are fellow dog owners here who have taught their dogs to sit on the board? How do I go about it? He loves the water so that should not be an issue but I want him to enjoy coming out with me.

Any help and tips would be great.

[feet]

Hey Josie - I also have a Flat Coated Retriever. Like your dog, he loves the water. However, I've never tried to take him on my board simply because he won't sit still.  Apparently, the breed is super active when out and about. That's my dog to a tee at least.  He'll lounge around the house occasionally, but he's very energetic and always moving (usually getting into trouble, lol) otherwise. If you figure out the key to taking him on your SUP, let me know.

Good luck!

[SaMoSUP]

I have a very active Vizsla that I take with me. I started with a SUP on the living room floor and putting treats on them. Once my dog hopped on the board to eat the treats, I gave her the sit & stay command. Then I had her walk around on the board followed by having her lay down. Repeat the process without treats. Get out on the water and follow the same routine.

The stay command is key when you come across seals, ducks, seagulls, dolphins, whales. Or the man in the gray suit. In that case, I just put my dog on top of him...

[SeaMe]

Check out Maria Christina Schultz's book How to SUP With Your PUP, it might be helpful.

[PonoBill]

There's a book for everything.

I frequently try with Sam, but he's always on the lookout for an upgrade. Which means any other vessel that might have food. He abandons ship and tries to swim to them. The only way I could do it would be to bolt a ham to the deck.

[SUPcheat]

I wish I could step around on the board like the dogs I see.

I saw one guy with a moderate size dog.  The dog had a harness, and he would just pick the dog up and put him back where he wanted him and tell him to sit.

[Josie18181]

I managed to get Bear on the board! I so proud of him! This was after 10 minutes! I think we have a natural paddle-boarder here!

[Josie18181]

I also ordered the book "Sup with your pup". They sold it on Amazon. It was weird having him in the board, had to totally change my balance in the board.

[pdxmike]

Apollo needs no encouragement to get onto the board.   Biggest problem is avoiding sinking it.