Tips for getting your dog into SUP / SUPboarder

Hello everyone, welcome to this SUP boarder video where I'm going to be sharing with you our tips and tricks to get your dog into paddle boarding. Whether you've just got into SUP and have got a dog or you're already a paddle boarder and you've just got yourself a puppy, hopefully in this video there's going to be a few tips that'll help you get them onto the water happily and safely. Now before we jump into the video remember there's loads of ways you can do this and we are not dog trainers, we are paddle boarders that have a dog and this is just the way that we found was the funnest and easiest and less stressful way for a dog to get on the water. So the first thing to remember when you're getting your dog into paddle boarding is dogs are just like people, as in some of them love the water and some of them don't like the water and I do think you need to make sure you don't push your dog into a situation that they obviously don't really want to be in. But there's definitely a few things you can do at the start of their paddle board journey to make it way more fun and more enjoyable for them. But before we jump into that let's talk about the gear that you need. Well you're going to use the paddle board you've got of course but ideally you're going to want a bigger paddle board. We've been using the Thurzo Max Multi, it is a monster of a board, 11 foot 6 long and 34 inches wide. A good amount of stability for two of us to get on there and the dog because you don't really want to be worrying about your balance and the dog at the same time definitely when you start off. So a wide stable board is going to make it much easier and if you've got a nervous dog it's going to make them much more happy as well because it's not been moving around very much. Looking at the dog's equipment, if you do have a dog that loves to be in the water almost more than on it and is jumping off or falling off the paddle board all the time then having a buoyancy aid with a handle on the back of the dog is a really good move. So much easier for picking the dog up and putting them back on the board. Whether you want to have a leash or lead on your dog when you're on the paddle board is again personal preference. We opted to have a leash on our dog a lot of the times definitely when he was younger just so we could control him jumping on off the board and trying to get him to be a little bit calmer in one place. But again I wouldn't recommend tying the leash onto the paddle board just let it run free and having not such a long leash that it obviously can get tangled. Again use your common sense about this and think if it's a good move or not for you and your dog. So now let's jump on to the very first steps to getting your dog on the water happily. Well the very first step is probably not getting your dog on the water. The first step is really taking your fin off your paddle board. Maybe having half of the board in the water, half of it on the beach and let the dog get on the paddle board. Sit on the paddle board with the dog, give the dog a bit of food, play a game on the paddle board, make it a fun happy place. Every time they jump on that paddle board they're going to think happy things are going to happen and this is where I want to be with my owner having fun. Now it's really important also to address where you're paddling and the conditions you're paddling in. You are after somewhere that is flat, dead flat, ideally no wind because you don't want to be getting blown along in a certain direction when you're trying to control your dog and play with your dog. You might not even want to be paddling so no wind, dead calm, dead flat. Now the progression of how quick your dog takes the water is going to be different between every dog. Like I said for us after about 20 minutes of just taking our time feeding him, making him known that this is a happy and fun place, he was really happy just to sit on the paddle board as we slowly paddled around. Definitely starting off sitting down on your knees is great but then you can progress to standing up, you can progress to paddling further, you can progress to going out in choppier conditions as well. Just always manage how happy your dog is. Remember if they're getting a little bit scared I would recommend going back to flatter waters on your knees, a bit more play, a bit more reward, a bit more stroking, happy times on the paddle board and then slowly go out and carry on where you left off. There are a few rules we'd like our dog to do when he's on the paddle board. They are trying to stay up the front of the paddle board and either sit or stand still. Ideally the dogs that walk around in between your legs from the front and back is okay if they're smaller. The bigger dogs that start doing that I can imagine it's a bit more of a challenge and if you're on a smaller paddle board it's again going to be even more of a challenge. The other one is when we were coming into the beach or estuary to get off the paddle board we got the dog to wait for us to get off and wait till we released them off the paddle board. Again this is why we were always opting for a leash with our dog. Going out in the water with your dog is a lot of fun and I think a lot of your dogs out there will really enjoy it. It's nice to be close to you and also they get to take all the sights and smells that are right around them. If you've got any tips, tricks, comments about taking your dogs paddle boarding please let us know. Get them in the comments below but I hope you found this video a little bit useful. A few basic tips in there but I think they will make a difference to you getting you on the water with a happy pooch in the end. My name is Reuben. As always check out and subscribe to our YouTube channel. There's loads of SUP videos on there. Also check out SUP Boarder Pro which is our subscription service which is the next level of SUP Boarder content. Until next time, happy paddling, happy dog training and we'll see you soon.