Not worth a new thread but cant imagine hijacking one to ask

[Doc_holiday]

I we all know how we must secure and deal with human waste. What if the dog has to take a dump in the cockpit? Does it go overboard or put into the porta potty?

Was just thinking this morning. Man I need to get a life

 

[Knuttle]

Long discussion

I we all know how we must secure and deal with human waste. What if the dog has to take a dump in the cockpit? Does it go overboard or put into the porta potty?

Was just thinking this morning. Man I need to get a life

I don't have a dog so I don't not have this problem, but I feel this is going to be a long discussion, as I have seen many dogs on boats.

 

[capta]

When I sailed with a dog, we had a piece of AstroTurf on the aft deck. It was roped around the edges so when it was soiled, it just went over the side for a bit, even underway.
But to continue your idea, I guess we need littler boxes and holding tanks covering the whole coastal USA, so that animal excrement doesn't flow into the rivers and waterways, whenever it rains.

 

[centerline]

Re: Not worth a new thread but cant imagine hijacking one to

the politically correct answer and what should be done, is NOT what is usually done in real world practice by most boat owners that have their pets along..... and its not just boat owners, but most pet owners in general.

but its really time, place and situation that would determine when its right or wrong to dispose of the waste or let nature have it raw....

 

[dscribner]

Re: Not worth a new thread but cant imagine hijacking one to

Your average pilot whale produces 25 pounds if semi-liquid feces that tends to float, every day.

 

[hawk232]

Your average pilot whale produces 25 pounds if semi-liquid feces that tends to float, every day.

yes, and nature is limiting the number of pilot whales in existence. Dogs and cats have expanded far beyond what would exist in a natural setting due to breeding, feeding of strays etc...

I agree that the ecosystem can handle some feces, the problem is that society is creating far more than the environment was "designed" or is "capable" of processing.

that's is just another perspective, and not really my own practice. My dogs haven't been in the boat yet but I know I just let nature handle what happens in the yard!

 

[dscribner]

Re: Not worth a new thread but cant imagine hijacking one to

We aren't talking about millions of dogs dumping into the bays. We're talking about one animal turd. And few sailors take their dogs. So the whole "if everybody did it" cannot be applied.In the past 5 years I've seen two boats with dogs. One was a powerboat. I'd bet there's a bigger environmental impact on the oceans by motoring over billions of dollars of needless hightech sailing gadgets from Asia.

 

[mitiempo]

yes, and nature is limiting the number of pilot whales in existence.

Nature is limiting...? I don't think so.

 

[31seahorse]

Re: Not worth a new thread but cant imagine hijacking one to

It seems we could be edging ever closer to the "cats are smarter than dogs" argument!

Our cat, Snookims, was a frequent crew mate aboard until she began to show signs of senility. Her initial years aboard involved a steep learning curve during which time she progressed from Pooping in whichever small cubby space she chose to nearly civilized behavior. After some extensive therapy she was convinced that the head was the only acceptable location for her bodily functions. With further coaching she learned to perch on the rim of the porcelain potty and do her "business" there. She never quite mastered the flush function of the head.......I think it was an anatomical limitation predicated on the absence of thumbs!

After several years of relatively carefree cruising Snookims had begun to revert to her "poop where she pleased behavior" and had decided that my deck shoes were the best repository for her needs. Sadly, on one overnight passage she went missing along with those stinking deck shoes.

Admiral, our Newfoundland, was an entirely different challenge. The piece of indoor-outdoor carpet method never seemed to suit his needs. It appears that his aim was quite poor. Whether that was due to the motion of the boat or the size of the carpet square was never clearly determined. At anchor Admiral did learn to squat on the port side Princess seat and lean against the stearn rail to take a dump. We always felt self conscious about that method, and it became my job to enter the water with a baggy and to collect the floating brown mess.

Again, learning was the key to the solution. Admiral learned to jump overboard at the lifeline opening and swim to the dinghy for his morning exercise and dump. He then struggled into the dinghy to do his business. We had, by the way, lined the entire floor of the dinghy with carpeting so aim was no longer an issue. Towing the dink at an ever increasing painter scope kept the smell and the flies at a tolerable level. Whenever we made landfall I would row the dink ashore, dig a hole, and bury the "cargo". The obvious difficulty for me was getting myself aboard the dink and rowing it without stepping in dog doo! All attempts to train Admiral to take the dink ashore himself failed. When the old mutt finally "crossed the bar" I rowed him and the usual load to an island and buried the entire cargo within the root system of a Banyan tree.

From that time on I vowed that there would be no more pets aboard our boat. The memories of those two creatures are just too traumatic!

NOTE: Snookims and Admiral are fictional crew mates. No animals were injured or demised. If any parts of the previous tale have appeared elswhere in print I give full credit to that author whoever he/she may be.

 

[caguy]

At anchor Admiral did learn to squat on the port side Princess seat and lean against the stearn3 rail to take a dump. We always felt self conscious about that method, and it became my job to enter the water with a baggy and to collect the floating brown mess.

LMAO Seahorse.
It reminds me of a cartoon I saw in the New Yorker years ago. A man is sitting on a park bench when a dog walks up and lifts his leg and pees on the bench. The man admonishes the dog, he then gets up, walks over to a tree and pees on the tree. In he last frame the dog stands on his hind legs and pees on the bench.

 

[centerline]

Nature is limiting...? I don't think so.

in the big picture, nature is the limiting factor in all things....

 

[puddlejockey]

Re: Not worth a new thread but cant imagine hijacking one to

I am a dog person, and my dog is a boat person.

Why? Because if you have a cat in the house, you also have a box of poo!

If your dog needs to make the stinky ( medical term); the first and best option is to be on somebody else's boat. . If that isn't practical, we use the astro turf technique as well. Dog excrement doesn't have the pharmaceuticals nor most of the aggressive bacteria and potentially other nasty bugs that people poop does.

Let's face it, if we're on the boat with our dog; the really nasty, disgusting, dangerous and potentially polluting critter ain't the dog....

 

[Daydreamer]

Re: Not worth a new thread but cant imagine hijacking one to

We're daysailors at our lake and occasionally bring our 20 pound terrier for a cruise.

He is NOT a water dog and is generally a nervous wreck the entire time.

We keep a supply of bags for cleaning up after him. He hasn't gone on the boat yet and hopefully if he does it will be someplace easily rinsed. Usually he waits for a shore excursion. In any case we use a bag like a glove to pick it up, tie it shut and put it all in the trash. Sometimes it needs to be double bagged! PEW!

 

[sesmith]

It's pretty obvious to me that you need to install a separate head for the dog. But should it have a holding tank, or should you put in a composter. If you do put in a composter, do you take the milk jug of pee and dump it in the marina bathroom, or just dump it on the ground at the dog park? Or overboard? Or in the closest powerboat who cut you off? Or next to the first tree you find?

Yes, this could be a very long thread.

 

[justsomeguy]

Re: Not worth a new thread but cant imagine hijacking one to

The big, unsaid truth out there in the world, and outside of 3 miles off US shores, everybody does it.

 

[Skipper]

Re: Not worth a new thread but cant imagine hijacking one to

Same as with human stuff. Definately overboard. Unless you're in an anchorage etc, then into the head it goes.

Anyone who dumps poo of any sort into a harbor, anchorage, or protected area should be arrested, fined heavily, picture posted, and have their overboard valve welded shut.

However, the open ocean is perfectly capable of handling poo, in the most obvious sense of it's incomprehensible vastness, and biological design. there aren't enough boats in the sea to cause any harm from poo. It's the dumping of raw sewage from onshore facilities that are of drastically greater concern, regarding coastal preservation and safety. Even then, the ocean would everntually take care of it. Just ask the Navy, who accidentally dumped 14 million gallons of sewage into San Diego bay, with no residual affects. Still, I don't want it there while the ocean is taking care of it. And some areas are not as capable of handling poo polution, so into the head with it unless you're offshore....3 miles to be legal.

 

[Doc_holiday]

Uhh ok. So I'll either out it in the head or doody bag it and hang it overboard till I get to a trash can.

Really this is a full size Dalamatian and he doesn't like the boat much. He just parks himself. We haven't had him out long enough but I may make a run down and out to the outer banks come spring time and if I stop at a dock to let him do his business, I may never get him back on the boat. He hates water so swimming ain't an option.

 

[rpwillia]

Someone should tell the whales

Your average pilot whale produces 25 pounds if semi-liquid feces that tends to float, every day.

This woman at least had to common sense to alert people about the deer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CI8UPHMzZm8

 

[Joe]

Re: Not worth a new thread but cant imagine hijacking one to

Well, I totally agree with dscribner and Skipper et. al. If some yeehaw complained to me about dumping a dog turd the size of my little finger overboard, in open water, say a mile or two off Ocean Beach, I'd point my first finger to a area 5 miles off Sunset Cliffs where the city of San Diego spews its raw sewage directly into the ocean. Then I'd point my other first finger in the direction of the many pods of porpoise that frequent our area, who, along with the resident harbor seals and transient grey whales... will consistently deposit feces the size of my Yorkie and in infinitely greater quantities. Then, and finally then, I will extend both my middle fingers toward this bozo for my final comment.

However...... dumping any kind of crap overboard in confined waters is NOT cool....

 

[Piotr]

Re: Not worth a new thread but cant imagine hijacking one to

Environmentally speaking, the dog waste is food for both flora and fauna. So, if you are environmentally friendly, you will help all those bottom feeders not to mention plankton and dump it overboard. Unless you hate the environment and ecology, in which case you will put it in the portapotty with the nasty chemicals and then dump it into the marina toilet, which will send it to the local waste treatment plant. The complete environmental monsters will put it into a plastic bag and put it into a trash, after which it will travel to the landfill where it will remain forever inside that plastic bag.
Would you like to hear my point of view on the recycling issue? ;-)