Great site ... one question

[newmswife]

We are searching for our first Cairn. I have found all answers to my Cairn questions by searching this site except for one. Does anyone know if Cairns enjoy boating?

Thanks

[tena]

I've not taken mine out on the water but I'm sure others have. They will tell their experiences.

[mrskti]

I think if you start any dog on something young enough that they adjust to it. Are you talking a summer boating trip or a speedboat on the lake? I'd get them little life vests either way. We have them for our around the pool. Ellie is a fish, dori is a floater......

[maggie]

Kai-lee went boating with us last summer and loved it!

[tlwtheq]

We are searching for our first Cairn.  I have found all answers to my Cairn questions by searching this site except for one.  Does anyone know if Cairns enjoy boating? 

Thanks

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I can't speak personally toward this, but there is a fellow Annapolis resident who occasionally frequents this forum who takes her Cairns, Trapper and Murphy on her sailboat with DH. Her login handle is "Linda"...you might try PM'ing her.

Good luck!

Tara, Olie and Teddy's Mom

[hallswel]

I took Rebel last year on my bosses boat and he loved it. He didn't want to play in the water but he liked the ride.

I had a life jacket on my Pug...he sinks when he is in water, Rebel swims.

[dianer]

My first cairn loved to go on the boat. He always, always, always wore a life jacket, which saved his life once. His favorite thing to do was go fishing. My mom's cairn loved it too and barked at the sight of seagulls. My dog barked at whales. This may not sound helpful but it was because the gulls would steal your bait, and the whales were fun to watch. He would hear humpbacks exhale very far away and point himself in their direction and start to growl, so we knew where they were all the time.

[tlwtheq]

My first cairn loved to go on the boat.  He always, always, always wore a life jacket, which saved his life once.  His favorite thing to do was go fishing.  My mom's cairn loved it too and barked at the sight of seagulls.  My dog barked at whales.  This may not sound helpful but it was because the gulls would steal your bait, and the whales were fun to watch.  He would hear humpbacks exhale very far away and point himself in their direction and start to growl, so we knew where they were all the time.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

My Teddy Bear would be in the water in two seconds flat! Definitely would need a life jacket in this case. Thanks for the pics!

Tara, Olie and Teddy's Mom

[bradl]

Cruising Cairns.

[Kramersmom]

Kramer loves the water. I do keep a life jacket on him at all times by the water.

whether it be at home in the pool, by the beach/lake etc...

My first Cairn Missy hated the water. She would run from the garden hose.

Kramer loves it.

[mrskti]

Yep, Ellie likes water!!!!

[bubba]

I've not taken ours on a big boat, but I do take them out on our lake in the paddle boat and the big rowboat. Cooper likes the rowboat better...more stable and lots more room to run around in. Our first cairn, Pluto, when we would take him out in a boat would jump right over the edge into the water, be it the sound or a lake, he didn't care! That was long before they had life jackets for dogs.

But yes, they both enjoy the rowboat....especially when a duck swims by! I haven't gotten the nerve to take them out when fishing for trout....they would pounce on the poor fish as soon as I pulled it in, I think!

pat.

[Tracy A.]

Okay, i'm going to go a little of topic here-

Seeing all these pictures of Cairn's in the water, a'frolic- begs me to ask-

How did you go about introducing them to the pool? Last summer I would put Mett & Bratt on the first step in the pool (about 3" of water), or hold them in the water so they'd dog paddle a bit- but that's as far as I would go- I'll end up opening our pool early this year, as my cover fell in more than once this spring during storms (Icky water now that's not clear).

Thanks Tracy

[kjwarnold]

Packy loves to go boating, especially if he gets to go swimming while we're anchored in a nice cove. He does get hot and looks for shade sometimes, but he knows he can go sit under the cockpit and cool off. We always keep fresh water on board for him, too.

Last summer was his first with us and he was about 9 mos. old when we started getting him into the lake in May. I always use a life jacket on him when we're in deep water, but let him wade and play off the beach without one. He likes to play fetch with a floating canvas turtle that floated into shore one day. And here's a funny story. I go down our swim ladder from the dock and grab him from behind to put him in the water with me. He got so used to it that he started backing over to the ladder as soon as I went down the ladder. One day, he decided he wanted to go in by himself, so he just backed up to the ladder and **whoops!** down he went backward into the lake! Guess I'll teach him how to go frontwards this summer... It's been really warm here in the Ozarks lately (94 today!), so when we're on the dock lately, he's been looking for the ladder. We haven't put it in yet, since who would go in (besides Packy) in 60 degree water!

[mrskti]

Tracy, we'd just take the dogs in and hold them, let them paddle a little bit. Ellie just took to it, leaped in left and right. We couldnt keep her out. SHe even walked out ontop of the solar cover once....scared the crap out of us. We hook their leashes over the fence post now when we put the cover on. Anyway, Dori isnt fond of the water, although she's finally walked off the side onto a raft, that's as exciting it gets for her. Ellie is a bomb in the pool. Ellie is a great graceful swimmer, Dori flails all over the place. I feel her pain!!! LOL

[newmswife]

Thanks so much for all your replies. Sounds like things would be fine. I particularly enjoyed the story on Packy. Dogs can be so funny! Our boat is a 40ft Tiara, has air and all that so no worry about doggy getting hot. We are on Lake Erie during boating season. Have another question but need to put that in behavior.

Thanks again everyone

[Reab]

Kudzu, my cairn loves to go boating. The only problem we have is that if he sees a dog on another boat or a bird, he will "go for it". Someone will have to catch him as he jumps. He is a great swimmer, but wears a lifjacket on the boat. He also likes to ride around at the lake on the golf cart.

[Lisad]

Harry likes the water too. This is a shot of him when he first started kayaking. He would slip off the bow every now and then and into the water. At that time, he was so little, I had to be watchful for snapping turtles. What a perfect little morsel he would have been then.