If it’s going to be nasty or hot weather then I don’t bother bringing my dog but he’s great to bring on the boat. Better than my kids for sure.

Funny story, I was working down a bank throwing a jerk bait and one of those egrets (big whit birds) took off from the bank and met my jerk bait mid cast and got hooked in the leg. Well as you can imagine this thing was going crazy as it’s flipping around in the water. I’m trolling over to it thinking how the heck I’m going to get this thing unhooked while holding back my 80lb lab/Shepard mix. By the time I unhooked it by grabbing its leg and holding over the side of the boat, holding my dog back as he’s coming unglued, not getting myself hooked, and freeing it we were all gassed!

All three of us just kind of sat there staring at each other wondering what the hell just happened... lol

I think it depends on the dog. I have a bull terrrier that will not let the boat leave without him. But he hates the water but loves the boat.

I have enough trouble trying to keep the hooks out of me or the boat, cannot imagine what would happen if i had a dog in the boat with me, it would be a nightmare if my dog got a treble hook buried in its paw or mouth.

Hooks are the biggest but I can't use top water if my lab is with me cause she wants it

Had my dog with me one time and I had the boat in the back of a log jammed cove. Well he saw something and decided to leap onto the logs (pretty sure he thought it was dry land) ... the water was deep and those logs may as well have been a sheet of ice, he couldn’t swim and kept going under and the logs would come back together and trap him from coming back up. I had to jump in myself while holding the shaft of the trolling motor with one hand and fishing him out with the other. I inched along the side of the boat to the back and was able to push him back in the boat. There was a moment when I let go of the trolling motor where I thought we were both doomed.

Start them young

Wow, that’s scary!

this was just off my dock in the back of the creek - but if we're going out on the lake - my dogs wear life jackets. This was a few years ago and these two have passed onto a bigger deck in the sky... we now have a rescue lab mix that is also very fond of the boat... and is intrigued by just about anything floating by...and always knows when I set a hook...

Always have fresh water for your dog onboard... tags and a leash as well.

This ^^ I finally gave up on my Lab. She spent more time swimming circles around the boat than in it.

I love taking my yellow lab with me on certain days. Sometime he gets in the way a little too much, but he doesn't bother anything. He doesn't try to jump out, bark, or chase any fish...

Please though... Be cautious taking them out IN HOT WEATHER! If it's hot as hell for you, it's hot as hell times 1000000 for the pup! Don't bring them when it's really hot.. Can't stress that enough, ESPECIALLY labs.

For water, I just fill my rear livewell up full from the lake (if it's cold water.) He loves it! I just leave the hatch open for him while fishing and he goes and drinks whenever he needs to.

They are great company, just take care of them according to conditions!

Totally Awesome picture.

Oh yeah, make sure to bring a boat paddle. My lab took a big shat right on the front deck. The boat paddle was all I had to clean it up

I haven’t been in my boat without my goldendoodle since the day I got her.
Start them young and expect to spend more time teaching them boat manners than fishing for a while.

My girls wouldn’t go out without the dog, even though I wasn’t a fan. Now when they’re in school or don’t want to go I still take the dog along.