My Book!!

One opportunity that the blog has brought me is the co-authoring of a guidebook, Paddling Southern Maine! It is something in which I take a lot of pride! My writing partner, Sandy Moore, and I have created a book with 54 amazing trips that are within about an hour of Portland! Our motto as we wrote the book was wanting to 'get people to spend the day on the water and not in their cars!'

If you want more information on our book please click on the image of the book below.

Sandy and I are available to attend/present various functions/events. Please email me at mainekayakgirl@gmail.com for more information!

Monday, April 17, 2023

Gladys and Kayaking...


 Gladys and Kayaking


This post is about kayaking with my best girl, Miss Gladys. She shows up here a lot and in our other social media.  While it is more and more common for people to take their dogs paddling, like Blizzard and Lulu , it is something that people seem to find unique and entertaining.  

Yes, that is a Saint Bernard in a kayak!


I want to share a little more about Gladys's story.  (I know this is not my usual blog content with locations etc., but Gladys is a big part of my life and joins me often in the kayak.  And, as we should tell everyone on social media... if you don't like a post.. scroll on by! 


One of my favorite memories of paddling with Gladys was on Megunticook Lake near Lincolnville.  It was a fairly warm day and Gladys was pretty relaxed.  She was laying down in the kayak and though I had not realized it, was not visible to people as we paddled by.  We were going past someone’s house/camp and when they said hello, Gladys sat up.  (She can’t refuse an opportunity to socialize!). The people chuckled and said they were so surprised to see her and had not seen a dog in a kayak before.  They insisted we paddle over so she could say hello.  We did.  (This is a picture of that day)


 Gladys was happy and they were happy.  The woman, an older lady told someone else to go get the dog treats they usually reserve for a few dogs they know who are often in boats that go by.  I told them she was ok without the treats, but again, they insisted.  The older lady gave Gladys the treats and giggled at how gently Gladys took them from her.  I didn’t know, or maybe fully understand, how much people love dogs, how much joy they bring to people.  Gladys surely does.  (I say she makes people GLAD!).


In some of the paddling groups I follow on Facebook, like Church of the Double Bladed Paddle, I have had people ask me how I got her to kayak.  When asked that recently I realized that I couldn’t remember if I had shared it here, with you.  So I figured why not share it, even if it is something I have shared before. 

I never thought I would be a dog person.  I have always had cats.  Growing up and as an adult I have always had at least one cat.  (I once had four cats and that was too many!). But once I bought my house I had this feeling that I needed a dog… that a house should have a dog.  I dismissed that feeling for a while, especially since technically I am allergic to dogs, according to allergy testing!  Then as I kayaked more and more I wanted to travel further and further from my house to kayak and explore… so decided I would look into getting a camper… and as I thought about camping, probably mostly alone, I thought that having a dog with me, was probably a good security measure if nothing else.  But if I got a dog, she would have to also be able to kayak with me….


Before adopting Gladys I wanted to see if I really wanted a dog or if I lied the idea of having a dog.  So I fostered for a local shelter.  I told them I wanted to foster, but had very little experience with dogs so to please be gentle.  The first dog they gave me to foster was a chihuahua from someplace warm… this was in December.  The dog was tiny… I am … not!  So I am sure I looked ridiculous…Me, 6’6” tall, in my snowy yard with a chihuahua wearing a sweater, refusing to go to the bathroom on any ground that had any snow on it… but that dog was very sweet.  It came with me to my family’s Christmas gathering and was adorable.  Yes, I dressed it up in Santa clothes!


The next dog was a beagle by the name of Sammy - oh my gosh was he sweet!  

 I would have been a foster fail on him for sure but I wanted a female dog.  After being with me for a bit, Samy got to stay at the Inn by the Sea from where he was adopted quickly.  (Inn by the Sea did, maybe still does, a program where they would foster dogs and guests could get to know the dogs and would be eligible to apply for adoption. Click here for an old blog post they did about it.)   At that point I was pretty convinced I wanted a dog.  

Then they gave me my third foster assignment.  I was supposed to be taking care of a mother daughter duo, yorkies.  I got to the shelter to pick them up and as they were getting ready to give them to me, they had a fight, in their crate, drawing blood.  Wow! When that happens they had to separate and quarantine the dogs.  I ended up bringing the daughter home to foster.  She was feisty.  She was so tiny…they were not sure how she would do with cats so recommended I keep her leashed until I found out.  Turned out she was NOT good with cats.  She tried to attack mine multiple times, she was ferocious with them.  I ended up having to take her back to the shelter and told them she needed to be fostered in a cat free home.  


While the fostering experience was short lived, it helped me make the decision to get a dog.  So I started looking - on a lot of sites.  I had found a dog that looked to be a bit of a Rottweiler mix… As I said I didn’t have much experience with dogs… my grandparents had a dog I adored, Mandy, who was a mutt - a very good dog, and she seemed to have some shepherd in her, maybe some rottweiler. And when I was camping once as a kid, we went to a campground that had two massive Rottweilers and they were the friendliest dogs!!!  I remember thinking they were big dogs with appearances that made people a little fearful but I remember them as gentle giants… So when I saw a female young Rottweiler I inquired.. the rescue group happened to be in NH.  They are no longer operating or I would share their info…They responded quickly and told me that dog had been adopted but asked what I was looking for.  I told them a dog, medium sized or a smaller large breed… a dog who would go on adventures with me and hopefully would like to kayak.  


They took all that info and in a couple of days let me know they had a girl who had not yet been listed but they thought she would be perfect.  They sent me her picture:

 and I thought she was adorable! I set up a time to meet her, her name was Leia at the time… the meeting went well and we agreed after they checked my references I could come back and bring her home!


The day came for me to bring her home… I was driving and doing voice to text… and well... voice to text can get us into some trouble.. it's just a good thing this foster mom had a good sense of humor!!! 

Here is that text exchange:

The next day, January 20, 2017  was the day I brought Gladys home… and changed her name!  Truthfully I had already chosen her new name... I have always named my cats using people names... and the female cats had been named 'old lady names.'  I thought about naming this dog Daisy, because my mom's favorite flowers were daisies, but then I thought about all the other dogs named Daisy... so I thought about my favorite flowers... tulips and gladiolas... and loved the idea of something fun like gladiola... but that didn't quite fit... so I then combined the flower name with an old lady name and viola!  Gladys!!  I remember telling people I was going ot name her Gladys and the reactions were pretty funny.  When people now ask her name everyone smiles - she makes people happy! 

Not long after I got Gladys home I knew I needed to get a bigger kayak.  I am not small and Gladys was about 40 lbs.  (now about 50, about 5 pounds heavier than her typical weight) so I decided I was going to get a tandem kayak and work with the guys at Shaker Hill (Insert link here) to adapt it a little… remove the front seat and move the back seat a bit forward.  

I learned to kayak in an Old Town Loon 138 and was happy when I found a tandem Old Town Loon 160.  We drove a ways to get it…Southport I think… I remember Gladys barking in the truck as I was loading the kayak in February winter conditions!  I got it home and put it in the garage.  I was very excited.  

I don’t remember the timeline of when I got the old seats out and the new seat in, but I do remember practicing with Gladys in Mom's red kayak… in the garage!  I tried to get her to get in the kayak on her own, but she wouldn’t…  


 As you can see, her body language was a little cautious... A friend suggested that I get in the kayak first and she would follow.  That worked.  



So phase 1 was me getting into the kayak and getting her to get in with me.  There were lots of treats involved.  I would have her sit and lay down while giving her lots of treats. Then after a while I extended the time in between treats while in the kayak and would give her treats when I saw her body relax.  Then I would rock the kayak and she did get a little nervous at first, but treats seemed to take away any angst.  


AS you can see there was still snow on the ground as we practiced!!

Then I worked on having her get in and out of the kayak without me in it.  She did great.  We also practiced wearing her life jacket so she was used to it.  

So then I needed to give the real thing a try… me and Gladys, in the kayak, on the water.  I went to the Presumpscot River, Gorham/Windham.  And got her life jacket on, got my life jacket on… got the kayak on the water and had Gladys get in.  She did, no problem!  I had her leashed to me and I got in after her.  I gave lots of treats and simply floated near the launch for several minutes, giving treats, rocking the kayak a bit and giving treats.  I gave her more treats when she relaxed.  We paddled away from the launch, not far, but far enough to get an idea of how she would do… and after about 20-25 minutes we were back off the water.  I didn’t want to push things too far too fast.  


From there, I slowly increased the length of the time we were in the kayak.  I always have treats for her.  I do keep her leashed to the kayak - I know that is controversial, but I know my dog and if she jumps out and get so land, she will bolt.  She is not a dog that comes back when off leash.  I have worked to keep her in the kayak when we are out.  


When she gets antsy, it is always because she has to go to the bathroom.  This can be tricky.  Not all trips have easily accessible places to pull off and have her go to the bathroom.  The only time I get frustrated with Gladys in the kayak is when she is antsy and won’t go to the bathroom when given multiple chances.  I am learning to be patient with her before we get into the kayak - making sure she goes to the bathroom first, even if that means departing a little later than I had hoped or if it means possibly holding up others.  I will tell folks to go without us if they want, and I mean that.  


Gladys is an interesting dog - so loving, so good with people.  Other dogs can be tricky.  She is reactive to other dogs so I make sure to keep a good distance between her and dogs on land and dogs on boats.  She can get fixated and it can be tough at times, but has yet to cause us to tip over!  When going with a group of people, Gladys likes to be able to see everyone.  She prefers leading the pack or bringing up the rear, being in the center is hard as she struggles to keep track of her herd.  


 

I swear to you when Gladys watches me load the kayaks... she knows she is coming when I load the yellow kayak.  

 

Even as predictable as I think Gladys has become when paddling ,there are things that come up that I had not anticipated.  I am not joking when I say that I traumatized her with taking her to the Great Falls Balloon Festival.  She does so well, that I figured she would do great.  But I was wrong.  The balloons themselves did not seem to bother her, but the sound the balloons make when they light the fire to go higher- freaked her out, big time.  

This was when the balloons were pretty far away, she watched them... 

I stopped taking pics at this point because I could tell she was nervous.  

Typically when we kayak, we do the Dirty Dancing rule, this is my dance space, this is your dance space… although at times she creeps into my space when she needs some love or is begging for a treat.  We were on the river watching the balloons and one got close to us and pulled the cord and it made that sound… whooshing air… and I am not kidding when I say, Gladys jumped from her side of the kayak to my lap, my chest… and she was trembling looking up at the balloons. 

I felt terrible.  She was so scared.  

And since then, to this day - she is wary of anything on the ceiling, ceiling fans, lights etc.  Once she gets used to them she is ok, but she keeps an eye on them.  I thought she was mostly over that trauma until this winter… Gladys was downstairs and I replaced the globe on a ceiling light in my bedroom.  The new one was not that different than the old one.  I truly did not think she would notice.  That night when going to bed, she stopped at the bedroom door and would don’t go in.  This was weird as she usually heads right in.  I looked at her, her head was lowered and her eyes were locked in on the light.  She froze.  I told her it was ok.  She growled at it a little and I gave her some love and she came into the room, but eyes still locked on the light.  I lifted her onto the bed because she refused to get up… and as she stared at the light I gave her love and told her it was ok. She appeased me for a bit but soon jumped down and went under the bed.  I went and got some treats and worked on desensitizing her… and it has helped.  She now jumps up on the bed, but she always looks at that light for a bit before settling down and when she repositions, she watches the light every time.  

So… while Gladys comes with me often, I do not take her every time.. you will not see her at the Balloon Festival and if there are not good places to get out for potty breaks, she may stay home…. 

(Unless it is a new to me place that I go while we are camping because I don’t leave her in the camper or truck alone while I am paddling or if it is a place that is too far away from home that would leave her solo for too long!)

Gladys has come a long way in her kayaking experience and this season she has started out strong.  I didn't have her sit in the kayak before we got on the water, we just went and she did great. 



 

Here are some other pics of her for you to enjoy!  If you are trying to get your dog to paddle with you, I am no expert, but encourage you to go slowly - be patient and have lots of treats. 


This was Gladys impersonating a hood ornament. 




Trying out the Loon 126 when I brought it home...not quite big enough for both of us to be comfy.

But that doesn't mean we haven't tried!

This is a pic I love because she was so content.
 
Oh! Man, this pic brought back some memories!  We were on a nearly dried up Trues Pond in Liberty and this BIG old snapping turtle was walking on the grass, which not long before I assume was well under water.  Gladys was fascinated and fixated on this thing.  And before I knew it she had jumped out and was in the blackest of mud she had ever been in.  Thankfully she was leashed and didn't get far, but she was DIRTY and stunk!  She got back in the kayak and got me all dirty and stinky! 
 

 
This brings me so much peace and joy! When she and I are in sync on the water... it just makes me happy.
 
This was a Wilderness Pamlico we tested at one of Shaker Hill Outdoor Center's demo days.  
(I hope they bring that back this year!)
 
It is funny I don't usually see Gladys as having aged, but look at her puppy face in this pic where she was just about a year old.
 
This was last year...sleeping beauty...
 
And lastly, Gladys reminds you that her mom's book, Paddling Southern Maine is a great book to help you find places to paddle with your pup... she gives it  Four Paws !!! 

1 comment:

  1. What a great story, and one that I hadn’t heard before. Gladys is a very special dog as you are a very special friend. I love your book and refer to it often. Can’t wait for my next paddle. πŸΎπŸΎπŸ’ž

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