: I had to coax Lucky in to the canoe the first few time but after a
: short time he would hop in as soon as we put it in the water.
: After a while, anytime someone put a canoe in the water he figured
: it was his and would hop in. Surprised a few people when they
: suddenly had an extra passenger!
: Even though he is a lab, he doesn't like being in the water. The
: only time he goes swimming is when he falls out of the canoe or
: kayak. I then head for shore and he follows, shakes himself off,
: and climbs back on board.

Our lab-cross was a rescue dog; she stayed with a humane society foster parent for a while to check on health and habits. She obviously was in the habit of taking the dog out in her car, because when I first walked her down the high street and someone opened a car door the dog leaped in and didn't want to leave. Fortunately the person in the car was another dog lover. Over time she learned to associate the back of my van as the proper start of long, off-leash walks. She's getting a bit old and having problems jumping in, so I'll have to show her how the dog boarding aid works; all my dogs have to learn sooner or later ...

I think it is easiest to get dogs to get used to stuff when they are young, but old dogs can learn too.