What is the minimum age to introduce puppies to canoes, rivers, and swimming? Should we wait till he's fully vaccinated?
I introduce mine right away, I think the earlier the better. I have creeks here so start with that to see how they do then to the river to give them the exposure and again see how they like it. May sound silly but I have even used Cheerios as treats (they float) to get the pups to stick their heads in the water! Works like a charm! I would do the same with a canoe. Treat introduction, entice pup in. If he is going to be around other dogs you aren't familiar with or around where any wildlife is, (we have coyotes around her) I would probably wait until vaccinated.
We live right near the River Thames in London, tidal with strong currents. We let Homer paddle about on the river edge at low tide on a long line from about 4 months old, after he'd had all his inoculations. He soon became confident, maybe too confident!
Sorry, made spelling mistake in my previous post. I meant to write-we have coyotes around here, not her.
We start out when the pups are about 8 or 9 weeks, just wading in a creek or pond. We let them decide how far they want to go in, and maybe toss a ball in to entice them to go in deeper. We always use life jackets when the dogs are in a boat or canoe, both to make them more visible, and to give us a handle to get them back in the boat.
