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Nose of the board When Percy is in a good position towards the nose of the board , I jump on the board and start paddling on my knees . I like Percy to be ahead of me towards the nose of the board so I can constantly watch over him . Remember , I have my leash attached , and Percy is not attached to the board . It would be extremely dangerous to attach your dog to the board if they fall off and becomes entangled with the leash or lead .
Buoyancy aid Percy has a buoyancy aid with a grab handle on his back . I find this extremely useful if he does slip off ; I can grab the handle and safely lift him back onto the board . Percy is not a typical springer spaniel for water and never experienced water until starting living his best life with me . Percy enjoys the occasional swim , but he hates getting his paws wet when paddleboarding .
When I feel it safe to do , and Percy and myself are conformable , I stand up and paddle . As Percy lies still , it is an enjoyable paddle ; he isn ’ t one to jump off and back on again . Many dogs have been known to not stay on the board . If your dog wishes to swim , the best thing to do is allow it to happen and take care . A couple I am friends with have just started SUP ; they have a
Labrador Hugo who jumps from one board to another , causing everyone to get wet .
Watch his confidence grow When I first took Percy out , he laid still on the board , probably too nervous about moving . ( It ’ s selfishly my favourite position of his ). The more we went out , the more comfortable he became . He started sitting and eventually started standing up ( it is called stand up paddleboarding after all ), now he walks around the board . It is wonderful to watch his confidence grow . We stick to paddling on rivers and estuaries rather than the ocean during our two years of paddling together .
A common question I get asked is whether we have fallen in ? The answer is yes ! Percy has fallen in maybe five times and is more prone to fall off my touring board as it is narrower at the front . Occasionally and especially during his first SUP experiences when we got close to land , he would make a jump for it ! Another tip is not to get too close to land as your little pooch might be thinking I will make a swim for it .
There have been a few instances where I can ’ t explain what happened where Percy fell off the board . It was the first time it caused me to fall flat face down on my board . I was ok ! The second time I fell