I recently adopted my first dog (in my entire life) and dubbed him Oliver the Adventure Corgi. Prior to adopting him, I had a lot of concerns about being able to continue my lifestyle as a frequent paddler. Others shared similar concerns that I would have to “quit kayaking.” I desired to have my dog join me on my adventures and not have to pay someone to watch him every time I went on an adventure or leave him at home alone. So I started researching dog breeds to find a good breed for my lifestyle.

I have been really fond of herding dogs (e.g. Border Collies, Australian Shepherds, etc.) for a number of years. Being that my wife and I work full-time and herding dogs require a lot of physical activity, I had concerns about adopting one of the herding breeds. And then I found the Corgi breed, a herding dog that seemed to work well with my lifestyle. Fast forward several months, I had an opportunity to rescue a Corgi from a home that wasn’t well suited for him. It was meant to be. I have to walk/run him A LOT, but it’s totally worth it.

So the second half of the story. I wanted to test out Oliver the Adventure Corgi’s interest level with water and with kayaking. I took him on hikes to mountain lakes and he galloped around in the water (a good sign). I took him to Lake Washington and had him practice swimming (he was a natural). With all signs pointing toward Oliver becoming the next kayaking Corgi, I purchased him an Astral BirdDog PFD and off we went to Lake Washington to go on a paddling adventure…together.

Now it was time to pick the right paddling craft. I immediately chose the Jackson Kayak Karma RG, as it had a big cockpit with plenty of room for Oliver on my lap in the kayak. Once I shoved off from the shore, the true test would be how calm Oliver would be while on the water. If he got anxiety or fidgety, I may end up in the water. But once we got on the water, he was calm and quite interested in the scenery. I figured out a way to position him in such a way that I could take paddle strokes with ease.

I’m so excited to have a dog that my wife or I can take with us on the water and to own a kayak that enables us to do so. Oliver can sit with me in the cockpit or he can sit in the back hatch of the Karma RG (a clever discovery), and the kayak transforms into a tandem (duo) kayak. Be on the lookout for more adventures from Oliver the Corgi and me.