Kayaking with a dog [Q&A with celebrity pet trainer TRAVIS BRORSEN]
Travis Brorsen, one of the most sought after dog trainers in America, shares tips and tricks for kayaking with your dog with the Flatwater Kayak Club community. If you’ve wondered what commands your dog needs to know, how to introduce a dog to a kayak, and more, this post of great information is for you!
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Who is celebrity dog trainer Travis Brorsen?
I’ve known Travis for many years, since back in the day when I was regularly freelance writing for The National Geographic Channel and Nat Geo Wild. If you’re not familiar with this kind and talented human, Travis Brorsen is one of the most sought after dog trainers in America today.
He’s been featured in People, The New York Times, and is the host host of Animal Planet’s My Big Fat Pet Makeover. Watch Rachel Ray or Tamron Hall? He’s been a guest dog trainer on those popular talk shows too.
Travis is perhaps most recognizable as the expert celebrity judge on the new Discovery+ show, Puppy Bowl Presents: The Dog Games, streaming now, so check it out!
And if you’re looking for some dog training support services or to try out some incredible new pet products, Travis is also Founder and CEO of Greatest American Dog Trainers and the mastermind behind some fabulous pet products, including pet CBD products, certified organic dog and cat biscuits, and all-natural pet beef jerky treats (so be sure to place an order for your furry friend).
In short, Travis is a long-time trusted and beloved pet expert and dog trainer.
So when we here at Flatwater Kayak Club wanted to develop reliable, actionable, and helpful informational resources on kayaking with your dog, of course we turned to Travis for his best advice!
Benefits of kayaking with your dog
As the founder of this online community and dog owner, I’ve loved my kayaking adventures with my dog Boomer. They’re really such a great time for us.
During the spring, summer, and fall months in Oregon and Washington, we can often be spotted flat water kayaking at our favorite spots near Portland, like Scappoose Bay, Ridgefield National Wildlife Center, Willamette River, Tualatin River, and Hood River area.
Some of the benefits that I’ve discovered from taking my dog out on my kayak include:
A great way to bond with my furry friend.
Enjoying the fresh air, new scents and sights in the Great Outdoors together,
Making friends with other people and dogs,
We both get exercise (sometimes our kayak trips involve a good walk or a little swim).
I did some prep work and positive reinforcement training exercises to train my smaller dog to feel comfortable with flatwater kayaking, and understand some of the safety rules we follow together.
Some of those preparation steps for me and my dog included:
Making sure that my dog kayak was suitable, safe, and comfortable for both of us to use.
Ensuring he was comfortable and safe wearing his dog life jacket,
Testing in my yard first that there was plenty of space in my sit-in Oru Inlet single kayak cockpit for him to be comfortable,
Rewarding his good behavior obedience to commands, so he was less excitable and distracted,
Initially investigating short, flatwater trips with more shallow water, such as calm rivers and lakes,
Bringing the right gear on my kayak, such as a dry bag, plenty of water, dog water bowl, a leash on hand with dog poop bags, treats in a ziplock bag, and a waterproof first aid kit,
Having a solid level of kayak training and confidence in my kayaking skills (with knowledge on what to do it the kayak were to flip over),
Wearing my personal flotation device (PFD) at all times, so I’m secure and safe for the water journey as well.
Travis shared so many great tips with us that I wish I’d known before the first time I took my dog out on a kayak! I’m going to certainly be working on a few of these steps to make our kayaking experiences even more enjoyable together next time.
How to prepare and train your dog to kayak
We submitted our questions to Travis and he generously answered them on his popular YouTube channel. We’ll also share highlights in text from his video answers to this post, below.
In this dog kayaking Q&A series, pet owners will learn expert training answers to important questions for dog owners interested in kayaking with their best friend before taking that first trip, such as:
What do I need to know before I take my dog kayaking?
What basic commands should my dog know before he or she goes kayaking with me?
How do you introduce a dog to a kayak?
How can I teach my dog to wear a life jacket?
Dogs should be comfortable and used to being on a small boat on the water. There’s some wobbling, some instability, even with the calm water paddling routes that recreational flatwater kayakers enjoy (here in the Pacific Northwest, but really anywhere in the United States).
But how to help achieve this level of comfortability for your pup, and acclimation to a single or double kayak and the water experience?
So if you’re ready to take a first step as a dog owner, check out Travis’ full answers on good things to keep in mind by playing this video, below, or scroll down to read some of his answers in this post.
WATCH NOW IN 6 MINUTES: Celebrity dog trainer Travis Brorsen shares tips on training your dog to enjoy kayaking with you.
Q&A Highlights with Travis Brorsen
Training Question #1: What do I need to know before I take my dog kayaking?
First off, you need to know if your dog likes water. The second thing is you need to know if your dog can swim. You might have a dog that’s a good swimmer, but doesn’t like water. Or that likes water, and doesn’t know how to swim.
And before you get on the kayak, does your dog need to poop? I know. Crazy to think about. But let them go to the bathroom before you go kayaking!
Training Question #2: What basic commands should my dog know before it goes on a kayaking trip?
Focus is very important. If they’re sitting, typically they’re focused on you. If your dog comes when you call them, that’s a great way to keep them focused. And from the time of a pup to when you’re ready to take your dog kayaking with you, they should be acclimated to sights, sounds, birds, squirrels, whatever you can.
Training Question #4: How do you introduce a dog to a kayak?
All of this work starts before you ever actually go kayaking. I like to use mealtimes, their food, positive reinforcement. Put the kayak on the ground. Put some kibble - some food - an sprinkle it on the kayak.
To create the safest experience together, especially if you’re concerned that you have an excitable dog that might jump off the kayak, jump to the important full strategy for positively introducing your dog to a kayak boat before every getting out on the water at time stamp 3:15 on Travis’ YouTube video.
Training Question #5: How can I teach my dog to wear a life jacket?
Back to desensitizing, back to acclimation. It’s the same process. I have a life jacket, I have a dog, and I have a positive reward. I like to use the food. I hold life jacket, I pay with the food. Dog goes, “great! I see a life jacket, and I got food. Life jacket must not be that bad.” As long as they see it, and they’re taking food, I would do the next step.
Maybe I just undo the clip, then pay the reward. The dog will see it’s not that scary. Maybe I undo both clips, pay, put it over the dog, take it right back off, pay with praise and food.
Whatever you do, don’t just throw the life vest on the dog and go out there. That’s not the way you want to do it. Go slow, take your time. There’s multiple steps that will help you know if your dog is acclimated and ready to wear it’s life jacket.
Thank you for your time & expertise, Travis!
Flatwater Kayak Club community, be sure to follow Travis on his social media channels to learn more great dog training tips and tricks from our nation’s best.
Follow Travis Brorsen, Host of Animal Planet's "My Big Fat Pet Makeover" Series, on:
Discover more resources on flatwater kayaking in the Pacific Northwest with these top blog posts:
Dog kayak [Read this before you buy a boat]
10 Code of Conduct Rules for recreational kayakers to stay safe & protect nature
Top flat water paddling destinations in Oregon and Washington
Our most-read wildlife blog posts for kayakers
5 best places to rent a kayak within one hour of Portland, Oregon