Ice fishing with your dog
 

How many have done it? And any that have, do you have any tips or ideas on what i should bring for him??

Keep a close eye on the dog. I have seen a lot of hooks left in bait on the busy lakes and that would suck to deal with.

Good point, will keep that close in mind forsure!! thx

We take our dogs out all the time. Take a rubber backed rug, so they can get off the ice if they want. Our tent is big,so the dogs can come in and warm up. My dog is a hard core fisherdog, she doesn't let me leave the house with out her.

How big is your dog? Lots of dogs can fit down a 10" hole... Be carefull out there!

Had 2 incidents with my dog years ago. He was a pup and did fall in the hole, lucky he had a tail. Another time as I was setting up the rods, turned around and there he was with 3 hooks down his throat, they were baited with cheese. He knew something was up and just sat there motionless. I opened his mouth and slowly pulled all three hooks out, none of them actually set, so I was very fortunate there. Lesson learned on both counts.

as long as your dog has a place to go to warm up now and then i don't see a problem. can't wait to take mine out with me. you have to be carefull it can't get into your bait or hooks.
biggest concern would be that since my dog is so friendly it might get shot by a nervous C.O. like a few did last year.

We have found with our Golden Retreivers that the most important thing is their feet. We bought a set of Muttluks for each of them and this seems to keep them warm and happy on the ice.

Keep an eye on your fish ;) My dog seems to think a flopping perch is a play toy! lol he even likes to try and steal a frozen one when he an, but nothin beats him tryin to get a hold of one just pulled out the hole! lol... sometimes he also likes to run towards skidoos / quads in the distance (when they look like small critters moving quickly)... I never said hes the smartest dog but hes definately good for a laugh on the ice, and a good solo fishing partner :D.....


Another thing to keep in mind - depending where your going.. is other people with / without dogs... Lots of people dont necessarily want your dog running around them / their kids / dogs or tents, no matter how nice of a dog it is.... some people are just that way..

Thats just a simple fact... (i purchased a 30' and also a 60' training leash for occassions on busy lakes) this also helps keep people 30-60ft away from me!!! (hes a big loud german sheppard) lol

Or some people may have had semi bad experiences with other peoples dogs on the ice... I for one have had 'un pleasant' encounters with other peoples dogs on the ice... And heres my novel ... I know it was a ***** move, at the end.. but some people are just ignorant *****s themselves...


Went out one day, me and the dog.. got to the lake a little late, around 10am.. so headed for a spot where there was noone around, for a good 500' so i put the dog onto his 60' leash and screwwed a ice screw into the ground and attached leash to it about 50 ft from shore, so he an play in the reeds / trees and snow... after his roaming the tree edges while i was drilling some holes put his leash close to wher ei was trying to find some fish, once we found some fish set up the tent and jumped in with the dog.. about 3 hr later i can hear someone drive by, and hear some people setting up (presumably close by).. 20mins later i went outside the tent for a smoke and to see how close my neighbours decided to move in.. (yes I'm even considerate towards my dog that way lol) to my suprise there was 2 small dogs, ****zus or lhasa apso's.. something like that... peeing on my tent, and the other my tackle bag... Needless to say.. This didnt exatly make me happy.. so i yelled over to the other people, who wer probably 80 ft away, asked them to come and get their dogs, or call them back over... the dog wer nice enough but my dog doesnt like small dogs, and they wer marking all over the snow, tires, anything and everything... I can hear my dog in the tent whining and sniffing the air, probly considering goign under the tent edges due to the smell of the other dogs on the tent and in the area now... The peoples response was 'oh theyre nice dont worry'.. So i asked again, stated my reasons... could hear one in the group start laughing (understandably lol) when i said one of the dogs ****ed on my tent.. still they refused to call or come get their dogs I waited a bit, tried to shoe the dogs off... to no success... so i asked again and told them i had a dog with me that was not at all small dog friendly... Im not sure if they thought i was just trying to be an arse towards them or their dogs or something, but they called their dogs once, to no avail... i waited a short bit again and stated my concerns again.... still nothing... Now im getting a lil angry at their lack of courtesy.... I begin telling them to come get the dogs, with a few curse words involved, and also tell them im goign to let my dog out of the tent soon.. again nothing but some laughter... soooo waited a bit, got more perturbed and i went into my tent, put my dog on his short leash (6') makesure his collar is on tight and properly Also put his muzzel on for a just in case.... and open the tent door up... (the dog was already all huffing and puffin and growling at the noises of the other dogs, and the smell of pee marking our tent lol) so i open the door, my dog starts barking and growling as loudly as he could with his muzzle instantly, trying to get the small dogs (ofcourse i was not letting him and had absolutely no intent of that happeneing.. hence the muzzle) Now that my dog is barking and growling (we are still inside the tent) i can hear the other people yelling and screaming for their dogs.. i wait in the tent until i can see the dogs running towards their owners, and then come out of the tent with the dog.. ofcourse the other people are understandably a bit upset at my actions.... and probably scared for their dogs.. I put my dog onto his 30' leash (fastened to the hitch of my truck and removed his muzzle) and listen to the other people $%^&* and scream for about 5-10 minutes from their camp..

once they quieted down a bit i told them I was asking them to get their dogs for over 30minutes probably close to an hr they should learn some courtesy towards other people.. and if they wanna be D's i can be a D too.... I shouldnt have to leave my dog stuck in the tent basically foaming at the mouth with excitement from the noise of the dogs and from the smell becasue their dogs are wandering far away from them and ****in on my stuff.... Realistically I was just happy he didnt hear the little dogs before i knew what was going on and crawl under the tent and hurt one of them.... he was busy trying to look for the next perch coming out of the hole! lol


I know this was a D-head move, and kind of extreme... and ALOT of people probably wont like what i did.... but weather its believed or not, i took precautions and thought about what i was doing ( the thought of having to pack up in a super hurry and vacate the area after if a large group of angry people decided to come say hi after had crossed my mind.. but also maybeee just taking the muzzle off instead of packing up :p) you can only push a fisherman soooo far :p

its like when someone you dont know comes and drills a hole 2ft beside ur vehicle on the side your not fishing... :angry3::angry3::angry3: if you wanna say hi, speak dont try and sink my truck! lol had this happen once aswell, but thats another novel for another day lol and nowhere near as bad of a story lol

^^^This.

I take mine but keep an eye on him as he likes to lift his leg on other peoples tents and properties, so I keep him on a leash .

Ice spike
 

I put in one of those screw in tent anchors and 30 ft. Of rope ...
Away from the holes , bait , garbage ,cow pies.
Firecrackers are a good deterrent ,

I took my Lab ice fishing only once, my auger packed it in so I borrowed the guys next to me, when I had finished using it I took it back and as I was thanking him my dog lifted his leg on his brand new Eskimo tent. Very red faced retreat with the dog

I've gone fishing with my lab a few times as long as there is something for him to lay down on when he gets cold. I don't appreciate it when dogs are untrained and off leash, in which case i think its the owners at fault not the dog..

I got a 100lb retriever he loves coming now but did hate it. Just ask the back zipper in my clam hut he chewed in half. Haaa he's good now mainly chills inside with me. Gets a bit squirrely so we go for runs. Kinda a pain in the arse though

Thanks for all the input its awesome!! My dog is a Rotti/Mastiff cross. So i dont think hell be fitting down any holes out there lol but besides that he hsa never been ice fishing and depending on how busy it is he could get excited, he is friendly but as some of you stated, some of you dont want the hassle of dealing with someone elses dog who has gone astray so to speak. And I agree with that too, I hate when people dont watch their dog and they run around into hooks etc. PPL arent there to babysit other peoples animals so will forsure be ekeeping him on a leash of some sort. wasnt sure if the cold got to them after a while. I know mine is a indoor dog and gets cold paws very quickly. I was thinking if i had some sort of a bed for him to lay in and some snacks would be good but all the other info i received from you all really helps me. I plan on getting out ALOt during the week this season and dont have a whole lot of friends who like to ice fish so what better company then my best friend?! my dog!!! again thank you all its greatly appreciated. Maybe seee some of you out there!!

http://i855.photobucket.com/albums/a...equilagold.jpg I take her everywhere I go. Bring something insulated and waterproof for your dog to lay on. An old blanket helps on the cold days. As for leashes and whatnot, I think it depends on the dog. Quilas been my fishing partner for five years now and I have yet to have any problems with other people. She's also handy to have in the tent because she can hear the bells on the tip-ups much better than i can.

beautiful dog!

I doubt i ever meet a friend as loyal as my black lab.

Keep a close eye in your bait and baited hooks!

Also do a walk around the area, some idiots still use antifreeze to keep their holes open.

LC

If you're on the Spray Reservoir - mind the coyotes. They're used to cleaning up around holes but will take a small dog too if given the chance.

I take my golden retriever all the time. When ever I release a fish he puts his head down the hole right up to his shoulders and watches it swim away. He also likes to put his head on the ice and run around so the snow starts coming over his back. Pretty entertaining!

My yellow Lab goes Bananas on snow. Bed.. leash... ice spike to tie too if needed. ... Food, fresh water. I think she gets more excited than I do.

so muich good info here!! and after reading all the posts im now super excited, will keep all those things in mind. thx for the input, he does love the snow like crazy too so i imagine hell have a blast and probably be passed out on the way home lol... but none the less if u see the orange fish inn with a rottweiler close by its probably me so come say hello!!

Gotta pug. Love him to death, but he aint built for winter and hes not that bright. He'd love to go but its a long crappy cold day for a small one. And I cant throw on the powder blue parka my wife bought him. what if a real dog saw him in that!?? He'd never live it down. kids are older now, bigger ice ready dog next time around.

tell us how you sunk your truck.

Might not have sunk MY truck... but might have sunk their auger.... lol

My yellow lab white pyrenees cross loves the out doors :)

my 80 lb cane corso loves coming fishing but when we go out more than 100 yds she gets tired of running and climbs on board the snow mobile...

If you ever see a guy on a sled pulling a skiff with his gear, two gt snow racers with 3 kids and a dog at Pigeon come say hi

Dogs on ice
 

I take my dogs everywhere with me during the winter months but they can be intimidating to others so I always distance myself and keep 20' leashes which I simply attach to my auger after drilling down halfway threw the ice. This situation also comes in handy as a good place to hide a few beer in the snow beside the auger hole!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...8/DSC_0006.jpg

This is how we do it.. Dog attached to kids outside the tent.. And in the tent leashless.. Common courtesy goes a long ways.. We are all out there for some fun in the sun.. Err. Fish.. There for the fish..