Agree
Dog needs to go in front. That way if he decides to stand up or shift weight you can see it coming ahead of time. It also lets you use the paddle to correct his behavior. Won’t sit on command? Slap him on the ass and they get the message.
All last year I paddled with my 50 pound Springer in the bow of a Bell Magic with 2 1/2 gallons of water in a jug at the stern to counter balance him, worked great.
At first he was restless because of the footing and because the sides were high enough that he couldn’t see out when laying down. I put a couple of those interlocking workout/play area mats on the floor. They’re 3/4" thick and I stacked them 2 deep. That way he could lay down and rest his chin on the gunwale to look out. That made him happy, which made me happy because it was much more stable with him sitting rather than standing.
Would be doing the same thing this year if he hadn’t died over the winter. 
Alan
Dogs & canoes…
I love dogs & I love canoes.
I especially love somebody else’s dog; in somebody else’s canoe.
All the fun, no hassles…for me.
BOB
dog is the best
he do’n’t drink my or bogart my stash.
Border Collie
I had a border collie who loved to sit in the canoe. She would look around at me if she wanted to jump in. I’d say ok, and in she’d go. When done swimming, she’d paddle alongside and I’d grab a couple hands full of skin and hair and haul her in. She was the smartest dog I’ve owned. I think it depends on the dog, the breed, the temperment. Some dogs just know.
best thing you can do
buy a high volume kayak, with large hatches. Don’t feed the dog for two days, then when you get to the water, toss a treat into the hatch. When the hungry dog goes in to eat it, close the hatch. Dog can go paddling with you, can’t escape, or move to tip the boat!
Or just work on training it to sit still, but really what is fun for you might not be for dog. You might like paddling, but for the dog, it is just sitting there for a couple hours while its master plays.
Take short trips, bring lots of love, and treat the dog well so they learn to love the canoe like you do.
training
As others have pointed out, basic obedience is key. You must be able to control your dog if you put him in a canoe. Start getting him used to it with the canoe in the yard, put a closed cell pad in the bottom for him to lie or sit on. Definitely keep him in front of you, that will keep you trimmed better than having that much weight behind you, and give you better control of him. When you start on the water, take him on short training runs to start with, just a few minutes, eventually getting longer and going further from shore. I have found that one of the most important things is to make sure the dog is well exercised, just to take the edge off his energy level. A worn out dog is much easier to control in a boat than one that has a lot of pent up energy. Also, depending on what you paddle, you might consider making some minor modifications. I paddle a Wenonah Vagabond, and regularly take my 70 pound Chessie on overnight camping trips. I moved the front thwart forward about 10 inches, which gave him a lot more room without compromising the integrity of the hull.
Last six dogs
have been little or no problem in a canoe, but I use wider canoes with dogs; A Grumman 17std, Bell Mystic, or NovaCraft Prospector. I feel better using the narrower solo canoes without dogs, though I could probably get by as long as conditions were good. Never had a vest for any of them and only tied them to the boat if I was leaving them to guard it while I was shuttling.
In order:
First one: Didn’t obey worth a darn. Took everything as a challenge. I think it was part coyote. But wasn’t a problem in the boat after the first time she climbed over the side to chase a duck and discovered water could be deeper than she was. Dragged her in, scolded her, and she never did it again. She could be a problem in camp though. She once got herself caught on a rock ledge by where we were camping. Kept following the ledge till it was too narrow to turn around on and kept going anyhow. She had to be rescued from that one.
Next two: German Shepards. Big ones. The male got sea sick as a pup but got over it. He was mellow in the boat, and elsewhere. Snoozed with his head on the gunwale with his eyes half open most of the time. Liked to lay in the water in camp and let minnows swim in his fur. The female was more excitable but, like the first dog, never was a problem after one swim. Both obeyed well. Great dogs.
The two after that: Mixed breeds of toy poodle, Lhasa, and Havanese. After the shepards these two seemed only slightly more trainable than chipmunks. They came on command, sat and did the rest when they felt like it. If you threw a ball for them they’d bring it half-way back, set it on the ground, and roll it with their nose so you’d have to retrieve it for them. I guess they figured turn about was fair play and they wanted no part of any unfair game. They were so small they really couldn’t cause much of an imbalance in the canoe. Stayed inside the boat very well. Liked to dig holes in the sand when camping on sandbars. They’d dig till they got to cool moist sand then sleep in it with their noses sticking out of their nest hole. I didn’t like the way eagles and owls looked at them sometimes. Very bad vibes.
Last one: Australian Shepard. I just was dog-sitting this one, but he got in almost 150 canoe miles in the time I had him. (Just returned him to his owner yesterday, in fact) He was old, obedient once he caught on to what you wanted of him, liked to curl up and snooze in the sun on the canoe bottom. He’d look up over the side when you hit waves big enough to slap the boat. He’d get up sometimes too, but had a good sense of balance. Never really heeled the boat much or anything. Sometimes wanted to get out if you hung out too long in a shoreline eddy, but quit trying if I said “no”. Lazy in camp but would give perfunctory barks whenever a person approached. Had trouble climbing steep river banks and needed help with that sometimes. He was a nice old canoe dog. I’ll miss him.
Sorry
to hear of your loss. The dog of which I spoke earlier has also passed on. He was playful his entire life and loved canoeing as much as I. He would race around on sandbars until he got too hot then take a plunge. Boy that little guy had fun.
Keep the Open Side Up,
Pagayeur