Kayaks offer a great kayaking and fishing experience with their relative stability and high performance. The experience get even better when you get the chance to kayak with your lovely dog. However, in order to enjoy your time with your dog on the waters, you have to know how to find the best kayaks for dogs from a myriad of choices.
Here, we will share our experience with different types of kayaks and list down the ones most suitable for kayaking with your dog. We will also provide you usage and safety tips with a buying guide so you can make the most of your vessel.
What Type of Kayak Is Suitable for Dogs?
It's very important to note that not all types are suitable for dogs. While some are good to go, others need to be avoided by dogs. Before we discuss which ones to avoid, let us first briefly consider the suitable ones.
Sit-On-Top or Sit-In Kayaks
The sit on top types are the most common dog kayaks. Designed in a more compact way, sit on top kayaks can be used on various water bodies from the more calm ones to the busy ones. They are a great kayaking with dogs option due to its relatively large space and excellent weight capacity among other features of it.
These types are known to be most suitable for dogs because of their relative ease of use. Also, more seats can be added, removed or adjusted to sit on top kayaks. They are not just suitable for dogs, they have established themselves to be the most used type all over the world.
Tandem Kayaks
Tandem kayaks are also a type of kayaks that are also suitable for dogs. However, unlike the sit on top kayaks, they are great for more calm water bodies. Asides that, they are more if a beginner option with features that make them easily understandable. They can be used for recreational purposes and are good for small sized dogs in terms of performance and overall experience.
The advantage of this type is that beyond being a kayak for dogs, it can also be used for fishing. So while kayaking with your dog in this kayak, you can also have some hands-on fishing rods, and get your fishing game on. This kayak comes with a strong outer shell that assures maximum protection while in it.
Fishing Kayaks
As the name implies, fishing kayaks are kayaks mainly for the purpose of fishing. However, they are still suitable for dogs especially when your pet is one you go all fishing with. Offering a lot of features that make it comfortable for you and your dogs, fishing kayaks are the season kayaks. With this kayak, you and your dog can go all out for an awesome fishing experience in the space and stability this kayak offers.
Inflatable Kayaks
Inflatable kayaks are not just suitable for dogs; they offer a number of benefits you might not find with other types. Among its features are a good storage and transport system, affordable price and excellent stability. Its ease of use makes it a great option for beginners who want to have worthwhile experience kayaking with the dog. Its downside remains a shortage of space and weight capacity, but beyond that, it is perfect for a good kayaking experience with your dog.
What Type of Kayak Should Be Avoided for Dogs?
As much as there are some kayak types suitable for dogs, there are others that should be avoided. These kayaks that should be avoided, due to one factor or the other are not good for dogs. Two major kayak types fall into this category and they are the Ocean kayaks and the white water kayaks.
Ocean Kayaks
The shape design of ocean kayaks is the major downside of this kayak that makes it one that should be avoided for dogs. Coming in a lengthy structure with pointed ends, this kayak is usually very narrow. The narrowness makes it not a comfortable option for your dog regardless of its size.
White Water Kayaks
Lacking a canine, white water kayaks are not suitable kayaks for dogs. This is because users having to steer the water making use of their makes it very inconvenient. Just like the ocean kayak, white water kayaks are tight and have no space to accommodate you and your dog. They are also a delicate kayak to use when kayaking with a dog because of how sensitive they can be to changes. White water kayaks are also not suitable for all water types placing a limitation on the fun.
How Did We Pick These Products?
The Kayak Fisherly team has tried to be as objective as possible in our analysis to present to you the top kayaks for dogs for sale.
We considered three major criteria during our reviewing process.
From customer reviews and ratings of a product, you can identify its strength and weakness. In order to pick out the top 10, we ran through a number of customer reviews and ratings. These reviews gave us more information on several features of a number of these kayaks for dogs.
Our picking was influenced by the opinions of manufacturers on their kayaks as well as that of other brands. Also, the expert opinions of learned individuals who express their thoughts without any sort of bias whatsoever were also taken note of. This was helpful in us being able to arrange these kayaks in the sequence in which they appear.
We did not just lean on our understanding of kayaks alone, we also did a thorough investigation by reading through a number of articles and research papers made available on the Internet. From these papers, we were able to see where there are related views on a particular model and where there are different opinions.
Things to Consider When Buying a Kayak for Dogs
Everyone has their different desires and expectations of a kayak for dogs. But above all, dog lovers want to ensure that their pets will be safe and sound when on the waters. Keep the following factors in mind and you will have an amazing kayaking experience with your canine.
1. Enough Space
Kayaks for dogs differ in terms of their dimensions. While some have large dimensions, others have average dimensions and some others are smaller in dimensions. Its dimensions determine the space it offers. Knowing the purpose for which you need the vessel will determine what space you should look outside for in one.
2. Stability
Another factor to remember is the stability of the boat. It is quite risky for you and your dog to go kayaking in a kayak that is not so stable. A kayak for me and my dog should offer more stability than a kayak that is meant for just me alone. A kayak for me and my dog should also offer more stability than one meant for the dog alone.
3. Safety
Safety is of utmost importance when paddling with your puppies. You also need to train your dog a bit so it does not act crazy while onboard. The high-end boats usually feature adequate and flexible safety measures.
4. Durability & Material
When you read through the specifications of every item available, look for the material type. Make sure the outer parts and inner surfaces of the boat are made of highly qualitative materials, thereby making durabile.
5. Weight Capacity
The weight capacity of the vessel is also a factor to be considered when buying one. How much can the boat carry? Remember that in considering this, you also have to consider the weight of your dog and what you want of a kayak. Larger dogs require a kayak with a higher weight capacity than smaller dogs in kayaks.
6. Cost-Effectiveness
A top-quality boqat does not always have to be expensive. It is possible for you to get cheaper options that are as effective as the expensive ones. Make sure you go for ones with a good price to quality ratio.
Our Top 10 Product List
Go through our this list to see which one might ensure an enjoyable and rewarding experience for both of you.
Tips on Kayaking with Your Dog Safely!
Kayaking with dog can be such a fun-filled experience as much as it can be a very risky one. This is why you have to know how to keep yourself and your dog safe while making use of any of the kayaks for dogs of your choice. Here are some helpful tips you can adhere to when making use of kayaks for dogs.
- Don’t forget to have a life vest on. This is not only applicable to you, but also to your dog. Make sure to have your dog put on a life vest as much you have one on too. With a life vest on, you and your dog will not need to panic so much about falling overboard while kayaking.
- Have a good understanding of the terrain. A good understanding of your surrounding is vital to a worthwhile experience. Make sure to seek prior knowledge of the terrain. In doing this, you have to understand the strength of the wind, the current flow and the people around. This helps you to know what help to sought when kayaking goes wrong for you and your dog.
- Don’t rush things, there is no fun in rushing things. Take it one step after the other and enjoy every moment. When you don’t rush, you are able to understand the movement of the kayak. You are also able to understand and take note of how your dog feels about it. start.
Necessary Kayaking Gear for Your Dog
A dog just like a human in a kayak needs to be equipped with all the protective wears, ranging from a life vest to a long line. It doesn't matter as to whether the dog is a swimmer or not. While some dog breeds can swim, others cannot. So, designing a general system is better that protects all kinds of dogs. With the life vest, even if the dog was to be a swimmer or not, drowning has been avoided. The long line, on the other hand, helps to keep the dog from panicking while kayaking. You should also choose a kayak that has dog seats while kayaking with dogs.
It is also very important that the dog's leash is kept in place and in check and that an extra one is stored somewhere that can be reached. This is helpful should the leash kept gets lost or can be found in the case of an emergency. A harness would also not be a bad idea should you need to pull your dog out of the water. This is more useful when an unexpected fall happens to your dog.
Make sure that regardless of the situation, you do not tie the dog to the kayak while onboard. Instead, fasten a detachable long line to them. This long line attached to them will give them all of the freedom to swim while onboard. This will also give the dog and edge of protecting themselves should an unexpected event happens.
Last but not least is the place of toys and rewards. Remember that your dog is as good as your friend when kayaking. Also, remember that your dogs make the whole experience more fun that it should be if you were all out alone. So, it would be very interesting if after you both are done rewarding, you are all ready to gift your dog a toy or a reward.
Final Words
We hope our review has given you enough guideline on how to identify the best kayaks for dogs from so many choices. Starting out with the types of kayaks suitable for dogs and those to avoid, you now know which one to go for. Also, with helpful tips provided on how to keep your dog safe when paddling with your dog, you know how to maintain safety.
Remember that knowing the purpose for which you are getting this watercraft has to be established first. This will help you know whether you should go for the Coleman Colorado fishing kayak, or you should settle for the two-person tandem fishing kayak for dogs.
