Adventure dogs
Fly fishing with a dog
Fly anglers who bring a dog tend to learn the same lesson on the first cast: a dog in the run you are fishing spooks the fish, and a dog behind you in the back cast eventually wears a hook. The dog is not being bad. Nobody taught it the river rules. Here is how to build a settle on the bank that survives a rising fish and a wading owner.
Last reviewed October 4, 2026
Bank skills
The down-stay on the bank is the skill everything else hangs on.
Pick the spot first: dry gravel or grass well back from the edge and behind your casting shoulder, never between you and the water. Lay a mat so the place is obvious, and keep a long line on the dog until the stay is proven. Hold the line or stand on it; never clip it to your wading belt, because a bolting dog can pull you over in current. Ask for the down before you string the rod, and pay calm at random.
The fly is the hazard. A dog who snaps at a dangling nymph or chases the line as you strip it in will eventually meet a hook, so leave it is taught at home and proofed on the bank with a hookless scrap of yarn on the tippet. The recall comes next: the splash of a hooked fish and a dog launching to help is a predictable sequence. Call the moment the rod bends, reward on the mat, and keep the fish out of reach.
- Mat behind your casting shoulder
- Long line held, never belted
- Leave it proofed on yarn
- Recall before the splash
River sense
Current, other anglers and what lives along the bank.
Current is the safety issue many owners underestimate. A dog who wades in to cool off can be swept off a gravel bar in water that barely reaches your knees, and cold rivers sap a swimmer fast. Keep the mat well above the waterline, leash up near fast runs and undercut banks, and skip the dog on high-water days. Other anglers deserve the courtesy you want yourself: a dog that stays on its mat, never wades through their run, and greets nobody uninvited.
Banks hold wildlife, and a dog nosing the brush can flush birds or surprise something larger. Leash up the moment you see tracks, scat or movement, and walk away; a dog is never a defence against wildlife, only a reason to leave sooner. The river asks for the pieces Advanced Off-Leash works on: a down at distance that holds while you are out in the run, an advanced recall through distraction, and an off-leash heel back along the bank.
Asked and answered
The questions people ask us.
Can you go fly fishing with a dog?
Yes, if the dog can hold a down-stay on the bank while you wade and ignore the fly, the line and the fish. Without those, the dog is in your water or your back cast, which is bad for the fishing and worse for the dog. Build the skills at home before the first river day.
How do I train my dog to stay on the river bank?
Give the dog an obvious spot, a mat on dry ground behind your casting shoulder, and keep a long line on until the stay is proven. Pay calm often early on, especially each time you wade back toward the bank. Add the rod, the casting and the splash one at a time.
What manners does a fishing dog need?
Four: a settle that lasts, a leave it for flies and line, a recall that beats the splash of a fish, and quiet around other anglers. A dog with those stays on the bank and out of the next angler's run. Everything else is a bonus.
Which program fits a dog I want on the river?
Advanced Off-Leash works on the pieces a river demands: sit, stay and down at distance, advanced recall and off-leash heel, with the remote collar included and taught in the handover. The consultation recommends the program, and if a smaller one covers what your dog is missing, that is what gets recommended.
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Want the dog on the bank?
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