Sailing with dogs...

[Paul H]

I was wondering if any of you bring your furry faithful companions along with you when you sail. My wife and I have brought our golden retriever along a couple of weekend trips...but we have a long trip planned in the next week or so. On the short trips, our dog does marvelously...but I'm unsure how she would handle a longer trip. I have read that some cruisers bring along some astro turf lashed to a line for the dogs to their business on, and then when the dog has done what it needs to do, it's tossed over the side to drag in the augie...If any of you have your own tried and true methods, I would love to hear them...Cheers,Paul.

 

[Brad]

Moriarty

I bring my chocolate Lab Moriarty with me all the time, once on a month long tour of Lake Ontario. He doesn't like it when it gets rough and I have to make a point to get him active and a to shore to do his business. But he deals with it well. A lot of times I intentionally slow the boat down and toss a ball off the stern. He swims after the boat for a while and get tired out. Note: Don't get too far ahead of the dog, Mort thought I was gonna leave him lol! The only problem I noticed is that when I have people onboard for over nights its get crowded but I sail in a 260 so I guess its cramped anyway. Plus Chocolate Lab hair shows up very well against the white hull material so its pain in the neck to keep the boat looking clean.Brad

 

[larry w]

dogs aboard

Well, now that this thread is open...some friends of ours recently got a dog, a little yappy excitable needy one. They love the little critter, but us, well, not so much. Yap-yap-yap all the time. Dog hair everywhere. Dog does his business on their cabin-top, both types. It's getting so we don't like to go to their boat for cocktails anymore and they are wondering why we never go to dinner on their boat anymore. It's because they handle the dog all the time and don't wash their hands before preparing/handling food. We can't go ashore for any length of time 'cause "the dog needs to be walked/fed/looked after/is lonely/whines all the time/barks constantly/etc. The dog has taken over their lives and, by extension, impacts ours. My wife keeps telling me that they love the dog, it's been good for her to have something to love her, etc. I guess so, but I wish they'd train the little shark-bait to curb the barking/whining/constant need for attention/etc. I know some cruisers take dogs and they work out well as guards and another pair of eyes, but...If you plan to take a dog along, be sure it's well-trained, or don't be surprised when no one will accept your invites to come aboard. As an aside, some liveaboards on my dock have dogs, so there is dog doo on the dock a lot. I think dogs should be banned from the marina, at least for liveaboards, and so do some of my non-dog owning dock neighbors.

 

[Seattle Scott]

Dog and dingy issue

So how do I get my 65 lb dog in and out of the dingy with no walk through transom?

 

[Bill Roosa]

Dogs, hair, dingys, and keeping warm

Our Corgi does fine on the boat. The hair gets EVERYWHERE and clogs EVERYTHING. The mandatory dingy trips ashore are fun for the kids and give you an opportunity to explore. Since he is basically a lap dog, he will sit there and let you pet him for hours on end. This can be nice as it does keep your hands warm on those cool spring and early winter days. It is THE MOST EFFECTIVE alarm system you can have. He has detected stuff in the water well before we do several times while sailing after dark. He tends to keep the other boats in the anchorage "at arms length" as if you get to close to our boat he will go into alarm mode and will not reset till the wind pushes us farther apart.Be prepared to fish your dog out of the water while around the dock. While I have never had him go overboard while under sail, he tends to slip off the dock-deck and into the drink fairly regularly when we are at the slip.

 

[Steve Dion]

Ours jumped out of the dink!

Scott:Ours would stand on the side of our inflatable and jump aboard the boat (h'31). She is about 45# (Stand Schnauzer).Our new boat is much easier because it has a walk thru transom.

 

[sailgirl20776]

sailing with a pooch

We have been sailing with out shih tzu since she was 8 weeks old. She learned to do her business on a wee wee pad so we don't need to worry about that. My brother did extensive long distance traveling with his lab mix. She would'nt relieve herself on the turf they placed on the boat for her. Somehow she learned to jump off the boat and relieve herself. Of course, she always wears a life jacket so they can retrieve her with the boat hook. She survived a two year trip.Fifi's favorite place is on the hatch with the wind blowing in her face (that's when we are on a mooring, of course). She's pretty small so she can get knocked around when the winds and seas are high. I bought a front pack to put her in so she is safe and my hands are free while I'm at the helm.

 

[Fred Ficarra]

We have two.

A Soft Coated Wheaton Terrier and a Miniature Schnauzer. Neither sheds. That's good.Nether have suction-cup paws. That's bad. Both are mammals. That's bad. Both are intelligent enough to be fearful when the going gets rough. That's bad.Neither will use the deck for their duty. That's bad. Well, maybe not.Last year we vacationed with them in Canada. We don't use marinas. Yep, bad.So trips to the beach average five times a day. The tide was almost always less than 'in'. That equals oysters and barnacles. Bad again.And of course they needed to go to shore at bed time. VERY They were both very glad to get home. So were we. I still need a vacation. But love 'em dearly.

 

[Ken13531]

try the astro turf thing

We have a small golden retreiver. I have only overnighted a few times and she has done fine. I have had to row her ashore, what a pain.If I had more time I would try and train her on a piece of Astro turf.Maybe lay it down at home in her favourite area and when she is used to it, I could take it aboard. (cleaned of course)Attached is a pic of her on the way to the local dumping ground.This was taken from a raft up so one of the other boaters joined us.Let us know how your dog does on the trip.Fair winds.Ken

 

[Ross]

"a small golden retriever"? there ain't no such

animal. Golden Retrievers are big dogs. Small is a Yorkshire Terrier.

 

[Fred Ficarra]

And there's no greater bond in nature.

 

[Joe]

Dogs Rule

Spencer and Sunny take us sailing every weekend. They enjoy sleeping while cruising, are great to wear their lifejackets, and everyone likes their personalites. We are glad to accompany them on the weekend outings. We think maybe they are looking for a bigger boat?

 

[Maine Sail]

Here are our sailing dogs..

We have a full photo gallery dedicated to them. http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/sailing_dogs

 

[SEADANCE]

do you remember love?

Had to post this dog link..I love it(turn up your speakers and click on: view moving picture with narration)http://doyourememberlove.com/musiconly.htmlEnjoyB/Seadance

 

[John]

allways had a dog aboard

We have always had a dog on our C 30 and the dog would be walked in the morning and at night . At night She would jump off the back of the boat in to the sea kyack and piddel ,if she could get out of the cabin.some times she would walk her self.The boat club made up a new rule for her.( all dogs must be leashed and have the owner present when out for a walk)When we stayed out on the weekends i would take her in the raft or on the kyack for a pittle some times we would swim for it .Cold rainy nights where bad news.Last year she had a hard time holding her platter all night, we had some puttles in the morning,and i had to lift her in and out of the boat.She made it to labor day and i had to put her down,she could not stand up anty more ,she was 14 years old . she was a german short hair pointer. John