First off - I'm sorry. No photos were taken - you can exit this post now ...

Oh you're still here? Well then, my wife and I have been kayaking around the lake in our neighborhood this summer but Appa always has to stay home. No dogs allowed. This weekend, however, we met up with a coworker and went down the Provo River. It's about a 1.5-2 hour ride with some mild mild rapids. When we got there and met up we realized we had a problem. All the kayaks were 1 person kayaks (you know, the kind that are enclosed everywhere but where you sit basically), and I had an 85lb dog I needed to get down the river with us.

We tested it out on land first to see if he would even fit in there with me, which he did, if he sat on my legs. Perfect. The problem was getting him to STAY in there with me. I assumed since Appa doesn't like water much, that if we got out away from the bank his dislike of water would be enough to deter him from jumping out. So I sat down pulled him in (he wasn't very excited about this) and bear hugged him and my paddle while everyone else pushed us off the bank and down the river. Once we were going he settled right in and just rested his head on his front paws onto the bow of the boat.

He did awesome the whole time. We did pass some fishermen that caused some excitement - but because of how we were sitting I could just squeeze my thighs together and keep him fairly pinned down. We passed many more fishermen and even had a family of ducks pass in front of us without a problem.

I don't think we went by a single person without them fawning over the "most adorable thing [they've] ever seen." It was borderline ridiculous how much attention he was getting, but I think it had to do with him being crammed into a little boat with me.

We hit some minor rapids that had water coming up over the bow of the boat - Appa didn't even react to the splashing. Kinda like when I throw him a piece of cheese and it just hits his face (which we've taught him to catch now - if we say "catch" first). I'm guessing he thought it felt good anyway - it was the middle of the day and the cold water felt good on me so I can only imagine he enjoyed it too.

About 3/4s of the way down he started to complain and talk a lot. It was hilarious. Our group was in tears with laughter as he just chewbacca'ed it down the river. It was during his potty time and he had to go. That carried on for about 5 minutes before I finally got him to be quiet.

All in all it was a great trip and worth the extra effort to lug around his weight in a little boat.

Love this story! I am just imagining the two of you shoved in a little kayak...

That sounds like it was fun and would have been hilarious to see.

OMG - I needed that laugh, thank you! I would have loved pictures but can just imagine it myself! Love the appadog!

i almost left the post after you said no pictures, come on..... everyone in your group and NO ONE had a phone or a camera to get a pic... but i kept reading to see if anything happened and nope you disappointed me there to. im starting to think you made this all up

any ways i take it you rented the kayaks since you did not know the set up? thats one thing im not sure i would ever do in a river setting, to fearful of flipping over and drowning or something crazy like that. glad Appa settled in with you and you gave everyone a great laugh! next time i want pictures

that's such a great story! it sounds like you guys had an excellent time, i definitely want to get into more outdoor activities & get rocky involved too. but i agree, i am sad that there are no pictures lol

sounds like you all had fun! No pictures? grrr!! my mom has done it with their border collie. I always wanted to try to do it with maggie. The only problem is she loves water too much, She wouldn't stay still in the boat it might scare her. We tried to put her on a floaty raft thing once she hated that. chewbacca'd it lol, it is soo true though. lol

this just popped up on FB just insert Appadog

That is awesome! Wish you had some pictures! Sounds like you guys had a great time!

jen, that dog looks like my in laws english bulldog! haha thats what he look like doing that! Bulldogs are funny, you can do that or dress them in any outfit and they just sit there and take it. They put buddy in a baby swing and he just stay there all day. I just find it harder to do that with a malamute or husky.

When I saw the title, I was like, how the heck did he manage to get pictures!?! My dogs would tip me over for sure! Glad your adventure went well. Luka also talks when we go on the boat.