Dogs onboard
- Thread starter kandk
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We sail with three pomeranian rescue dogs. Our eldest has probably logged at least 5,000 miles on Lake Michigan. We all stay on the boat from Friday afternoon until Sunday evening. When they see us loading the car for the weekend they park themselves near the door so they won't be left behind. We assume they like it. That said, dogs are like people: some like to sail and some do not. But starting with a puppy should help.
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Hi - We have a 27 ft Catalina and a Golden Retriever (now 12 years old but thinks that she is 2 years old) who loves to sail with us. We got her a life vest that we use to assist her into the boat from our inflatable dinghy. Due to her elder years we try to stay close to docks but she is quite happy to be hoisted aboard if we are careful. We currently have a permanent slip in a marina but we also defer to our Buoy in a nearby bay. Sophie the wonder dog is OK either way. I have some wonderful pictures of "herself" in her throne on the aft deck. Cheers, JohnG
We have two Boxers and live on our boat practically every weekend. They absolutley love boating, swimming in the water and running around on shore. Our big boy dives head first and is a horizontal swimmer. Our baby girl jumps in and is a vertical swimmer. Both wear life vests for safety as well as for ease of pulling them out of the water - though they can swim without the vests. Don't worry about their high energy because the water and excitement on the boat always wears them out. I wouldn't worry about needing a puppy either. Both of ours were over the age of 3 before we bought our first boat. You may want to check your area for a Boxer rescues. We foster every now and then for Atlanta Boxer Rescue. Foster families get to know the Boxer or may even let you try the water out with a potential adoptee. Being a couple with no children we really love boating with our 'family' of Boxers.
I am sure lots of dogs get sea sick. Our dog used to get motion sickness in the car. Our vet told us to give her half a Dramamine. It didn't work that great but it did stop the drouling.
We wanted to take her with us too much to rely on drugs so we tried something different. We distracted her with a kong toy with liver paste/peanut butter in it. That worked great.
We have a Hunter 27 and a little yorkie. He gets so excited when we mention the boat. He loves it. He has his own lifejacket and safety harness. We put a pee pad down in the cabin for him. The only problem we have is he has to be up in the cockpit as when we are sailing he gets seasick. One think to consider is a pup ties you for a long time if it doesn't work out. Once Winston is gone; he is eight I don't think we will get another. Good Luck
Doggie pictures
First photo is of the two of them relaxing on the way to Half Moon Bay; second is of dogs watching my wife swim in the Sacramento Delta; third is my favorite. I call it "Find the dogs", and it's what you will probably have to look forward to if you have the dogs on the boat overnight.
Overall, if you like dogs and like their company, including having to take care of them, you're going to like taking them sailing. If you don't, then not.
First photo is of the two of them relaxing on the way to Half Moon Bay; second is of dogs watching my wife swim in the Sacramento Delta; third is my favorite. I call it "Find the dogs", and it's what you will probably have to look forward to if you have the dogs on the boat overnight.
Overall, if you like dogs and like their company, including having to take care of them, you're going to like taking them sailing. If you don't, then not.
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Forget the dog... just go sailing. MUCH CHEAPER! We now have a dog that has gone blind. One eye has been removed... blind in the other. Tell me where the plus side is here.
Depends
Different strokes for different folks.
It entirely depends on the person. I really enjoy my dogs' company enough to find the hassles worth it. Others don't...
Different strokes for different folks.
sorry to hear that about your dog...... i just hate that........but it does sorta put the reverse meaning to seeing eye dog.... as in you are now the dogs eyes....if it is not suffering just be glad you have had the good fortune to have enjoyed the dog in better times and keep on careing for it.....
regards
woody
I'd have to agree with the energy level of Boxers on boats being a bit too high, maybe even if trained as a pup. Mixed breeds are the best, in my opinion. It still depends most on the dog. Our shepherd mix was full grown when we got him, can swim but hates it, but wants to be where we are as a separation-anxiety dog. Still can't get him to translate "ready, about!" to "lay down!", though 
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Pix show him in his prime(our favorite) as always with his own PFD and last summer (a decade later) too old to jump on the foredeck now.
.Pix show him in his prime(our favorite) as always with his own PFD and last summer (a decade later) too old to jump on the foredeck now.
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I've got a Border Collie / Norweigen Lundehound mix dog. He likes to hang out near my feet while steering or in the cabin. Put him in a dinghy and the poor little guy is "Sick as a Dog" pardon the pun, in no time! I wouldnt say he enjoys sailing all that much, but as dogs and humans go he loves to hang out with his people regardless. But he wont get in the dinghy anymore unless its a get to shore emergency "for him". Not that I could blame him. Who wants to get seasick? Like the other posters, I would say, Good Luck, because unless you are sailing a big cruising catamaran, Dogs just dont appreciate the floor becoming the wall when you're healed over.
Fair Winds & Warm Seas.
Fair Winds & Warm Seas.
I had my sister's Blue Heeler 'Luna' onboard last summer in the Erie Canal. Sweet dog (a rescue, as are all of my sister's dogs over the years), but kinda fat. She does like the water, though, but she wore a life vest when on the boat.
I'm not sure I'd want to travel long distances with a dog onboard, though. My kids are mostly on their own now, and what little freedom I have is precious. :dance:
Oh, and my Lab likes neither the water, nor the boat.
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We keep or Jack Russell in his harness. He is light enough if he falls over we can snatch him up with a boat hook.
He loves sailing as long as he gets a cushion.
He loves sailing as long as he gets a cushion.
Back when my wife and I took a couple of years to go cruising we would take our two Wheaten Terriers which are a medium size dog sailing. As people have mentioned we got them adjusted to being on board while the boat was at the dock. Eventually they adjusted and we cruised coastal Florida before we went to the Caribbean.
We usually anchored and took the tender to shore, it did take practice getting two 50lb dogs into a tender and motor to shore. I recall one time we were anchored off of Clearwater Beach FL and I took our male Wheaten to the dingy dock at the Clearwater Beach marina. The tide was low so I had to hoist him up on the dock while I held his leash and prepared myself to get off the tender. He needed to "go" so next thing you know he lifts his leg on a piling I am trying to tie up to and lets go spraying right into my face. We got a lot of attention on the docks that day!!
We usually anchored and took the tender to shore, it did take practice getting two 50lb dogs into a tender and motor to shore. I recall one time we were anchored off of Clearwater Beach FL and I took our male Wheaten to the dingy dock at the Clearwater Beach marina. The tide was low so I had to hoist him up on the dock while I held his leash and prepared myself to get off the tender. He needed to "go" so next thing you know he lifts his leg on a piling I am trying to tie up to and lets go spraying right into my face. We got a lot of attention on the docks that day!!
We had two Maltese (mother and daughter) on board when the weather got rough on our shake-down cruise. We thought it best to keep them belowdecks, but they quickly got seasick. Turns out they were fine if we kept them in the cockpit, bundled up in their dog bed, no matter how rough it got. Now we have a great little Shi Tzu, and she also does fine as long as she stays in the cockpit.
Growing up we had a black lab. She went with us on Dad's Bristol 24 and really traveled well. I'm still not sure how Dad managed to lift her into/out of the dinghy without going swimming or dropping her in.
Unlike the poster with the walk-through transom, we had high free board. When we went swimming she'd get right up to the edge, then whine and back up, never quite making the leap. The funny thing is, she fell overboard twice, exactly a year apart, both times in Oyster Bay, NY. Dad really had fun getting her back aboard those times.
My daughter has a Boston Terrier that she likes to bring out on the boat from time to time. He's ok but he tends to run around a bit; those claws on the non-skid make my skin crawl. He's also not a fan of the water, even in his life jacket. She generally takes him for a swim anyway at some point. Once he's back on board he curls up at the companionway and goes to sleep.
Unlike the poster with the walk-through transom, we had high free board. When we went swimming she'd get right up to the edge, then whine and back up, never quite making the leap. The funny thing is, she fell overboard twice, exactly a year apart, both times in Oyster Bay, NY. Dad really had fun getting her back aboard those times.
My daughter has a Boston Terrier that she likes to bring out on the boat from time to time. He's ok but he tends to run around a bit; those claws on the non-skid make my skin crawl.
He's also not a fan of the water, even in his life jacket. She generally takes him for a swim anyway at some point. Once he's back on board he curls up at the companionway and goes to sleep.
We have a dog that just loves to be on the boat. She is a Sheltie mix. I just have to pick up the boat bag, and she is ready to go.
We put netting on the lifelines, and now she will go up on deck. Has her own lifejacket.
The down side is she will not use the head, so you have a bout a 12 hour max window to sail unless you can box train a dog.
We put netting on the lifelines, and now she will go up on deck. Has her own lifejacket.
The down side is she will not use the head, so you have a bout a 12 hour max window to sail unless you can box train a dog.
I've had one black Lab and two pit bull/mix breeds for boat dogs and I raised them from puppies. With that said, I've found that a medium size dog of 40 lbs is the right size dog for my boat only because I ferry her back and forth to shore in a small kayak and my boat's low freeboard enables her to jump into the kayak from the boat and vise versa with ease.
I think that any breed dog of reasonable size can make a good boat dog if you start them off as a puppy. If the puppy appears to be active and playful, I think it can adapt to almost any type of boat.
I always thought that Labs made the best boat dogs until I got Ziggy, a pit bull/ shepherd mix. That dog could swim as well as any Lab and she could also swim underwater. She could also fetch and catch Frisbees in the air with the best of them. The first pic is of Ziggathia Pit Bull and the other four are of Penelope Pit Bull. Penny was born around the same time in October of 2003 when I lost Ziggy.
Penny loves to sail and ride in my kayak.
I think that any breed dog of reasonable size can make a good boat dog if you start them off as a puppy. If the puppy appears to be active and playful, I think it can adapt to almost any type of boat.
I always thought that Labs made the best boat dogs until I got Ziggy, a pit bull/ shepherd mix. That dog could swim as well as any Lab and she could also swim underwater. She could also fetch and catch Frisbees in the air with the best of them. The first pic is of Ziggathia Pit Bull and the other four are of Penelope Pit Bull. Penny was born around the same time in October of 2003 when I lost Ziggy.
Penny loves to sail and ride in my kayak.
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