Dogs on board

dLj · Thursday at 5:44 PM

Poodles tend to be highly adaptable. I had a labradoodle that loved to sail and I didn't start her sailing until she was about 2 I think. The first big one for me was can I get her to go up and down the companionway ladder by herself. It took me a couple times helping her, then she loved climbing up and down. The only thing I could never get her to do was listen to me when docking to stay on the boat. She just loved jumping off onto the dock, then back on the boat when she had explored enough of wherever we had docked.

dj

Stu Jackson · Thursday at 6:16 PM

You may be aware, nor not, that there is probably a book or two written titled "Dogs on Boats."

Amazon.com

I know you have the dog already, but it's not like there aren't other books about dogs on boats and how to train them.

I've always loved dogs and felt that unless they liked it, being there was cruel and unusual punishment.

shemandr · Thursday at 8:24 PM

Saw the movie “The Art of Racing in the Rain” recently. A real tear jerker. Upon a friend’s advice I borrowed the book on Libby. Worse tear jerker.
What astounded me was while searching on Amazon, is how many dog books there are.
I like OPD’s but don’t want to pick up poop of my own dog. They are like Grandchildren. Nice to have visit but also nice to go home.

dlochner · Friday at 10:11 AM

Over the years I've had 5 dogs, 2 of which were decent boat dogs. Some dogs just don't like the instability of being on a boat or a floating dock. They get panicky just try to get off the dock.

Both of the boat dogs started pretty young and they were gradually introduced to the boat. Our current year old pup was brought on board for a few minutes at first and then gradually increased the amount of time on board including spending the night. He is more comfortable now, but is always eager to get off the boat.

Going down the companionway steps was a challenge at first, after a few times down he got the hang of it and it isn't a problem. This from a dog that leaps fearlessly off the deck at home to chase squirrels. At home he has never slept with us, on the boat he jumps up into the v-berth with us. I think the V-berth looks like a den to him and he wants to be with his pack. At some point in the night he gets tired of being poked by humans and finds other sleeping accommodations. We haven't had him out sailing yet. I expect we will have to put him below while leaving and entering the dock.

My first dog was also a handful when leaving and returning. Once we were away from land he would settle down until we got close to land again. He was fond of standing up in the V-berth looking out the open foredeck hatch. We called him the navigator.

A slow and gradual introduction to the boat and sailing is probably the best. Dogs are also sensitive to their humans, if you are relaxed and having fun, the dog will be more relaxed. We are also quite liberal with dog treats. Cooper associates lots of treats with being good, so he is good a lot. We use a store brand biscuit that sells for a $3 a pound and they are small biscuits. When shaping behavior frequency of reinforcement is more important than the size. Cooper will work for half of a small biscuit. (Hope he doesn't join a union.

)

Good luck.

shemandr · Friday at 11:46 AM

I bought a boat from a friend who had a dog. When the friend would raft up with us the dog would board our boat and immediately go to his favorite spot at the bottom of the companionway steps. It was shady there and air there was a breeze. Smart dog!

Mike8193 · Friday at 6:51 PM

We sail with a 12 year old springer spaniel. He is no problem. The most important thing is to keep him from falling off the dock or boat. I keep a harness on him at all times. That makes it much easier to lift him back onto the dock (only fell off the dock once). On the boat he stays in the cockpit with a leash attached to the harness and clipped in. I don’t let him roam the deck. Down below he has learned to make himself comfortable and has an uncanny ability to stay out of the way. Only problem is we tend to kick his water bowl when moving about. Surprised how long he can go without needing a trip to shore to relieve himself. He has learned to go where I point, so he is out of the way when docking. It all just occurred naturally. I’m sure with time your dogs will adapt and do well. Dogs just want to be with you.

Project_Mayhem · Saturday at 7:11 AM

We had a 17lbs pomeranian (throw back pom) that we would often go sailing with. At first, he wasn't too fond of it. We learned to give him a really good walk before hand. He was calm after that. The slip we had at the time was a mile or two down a river. He would always try to climb to the combing. We were afraid that he might jump off but he just really enjoyed watching the scenery. We tied the leash to the base of the centrally located, main halyard block of our O'Day 25 and didn't use the traveler. There was one day that the water looked like mercury. It was very surreal. He just couldn't stop staring at it and neither could we!

We went out on a friend's Chrysler 22 when we moved the boat down to the Chicago Harbors. It was a fairly smooth but spirited sail. Some mild to moderate heeling. We were all having fun while our pom was quietly laying down next to us on the cockpit bench. We noticed that he didn't look quite right and two minutes later he threw up. It turns out he got seasick. We cleaned up, turned around and held him up so he could see. Moving forward we made sure that he could see the horizon and/or land. Never a known issue after that. He seemed much happier on board.

We took our power boat out on a lake with him. It was pretty hot. Unfortunately, our bimini had broken on our way to the ramp. He was starting to pant. We did our best to shade him, give him plenty of water, put a bit of water on him, hold him up a bit so he could get some breeze, etc. We started to head towards a restaurant on land and luckily for his sake, the weather changed. Our trip back was a slow, wavy ride but at least our pom was comfortable and safe.

When we look back at the pictures of him on board, we almost always saw him absolutely fascinated with the scenery, enjoying the wind on his face or in absolute bliss basking in the sun. He truly was a sailing dog.

Mike8193 · Saturday at 1:47 PM

john6206 said:
@Mike8193
what do you clip the harnesses to?
I considered the lifelines, but that seems unwise.

I also kicked over the water bowl in the cabin, but I do that in the kitchen at home too.

I clip him to an eyelet in the cockpit on a long leash. He can’t get out of the cockpit but can roam around in it pretty freely. He is comfortable and moves around. The harness seems to be cooler for him than his life jacket. So he doesn’t wear the life jacket on the boat. On the dock I use a hands free leash (wraps around my waist). My main emphasis is to keep him on the boat and dock and keep him out of Lake Michigan.