Dogs on Board

[Jetexas]

So my dog is going to be a regular visitor aboard our boat. However, she can't make the jump from the deck to the step on the galley cabinet and then down to the steps to get into the cabin. She's not a big dog, but she definitely does not care to be picked up. She wasn't enjoying having to be lifted on and off the boat or in and out of the cabin.

Has anyone out there made their boat a little more dog friendly by designing better steps? Any tips for what I should do and where I should train her to go to the bathroom on the boat?

Any advice is appreciated.

[Lil'un]

Our dog, Roxy, lives on board with us. She is a medium size dog and four and a half years old. When we moved on board, we got a harness for helping her with difficult jumps. The life jacket with a handle was just too hot in the summer of south Florida. We have had to pull her from the drink a couple of times when she miss judged her jump from the dinghy to the big boat. She thinks her job is to protect the boat from wave runners and boats that come too close to ours. Here she is on watch.

[Jetexas]

Does Roxy jump through the railing around the edges when she gets on the boat or do you have a way to open yours for her?

[barnakiel]

One solution is to get a cat along. Cats tend to chase the flying fish and thus become the flying cats, for a moment, before they disappear in the wake. Now a standard dog, not the smart one though, will chase the cat ... Thus, by getting a cat you will: a)learn how smart your dog really is, or b)solve the dog onboard problem altogether.

[Find Wind Rose]

My dad and my dog were inseparable. My dad used a stair with a platform the was hinged and he just lifted it up like a folding table and my dog would just walk across on her own. she also was to scared to make the jump, and my dad could not lift her onto the boat because it was too awkward.
When my boat it put back in the water I am gonna have to do the same. I have two dogs who go with me everywhere, A whippet and a Great Dane.

[redcobra]

I have two German Shepherd Dogs. When I took them down to the boat, they looked at me, the water, and boat and said "Are you crazy." One wouldn't even walk out on the finger pier.
So, when I go sailing for more than 2 days they go to a kennel.
Maybe next dog will be a Portugese Water Dog.

[jackiepitts]

We have two dogs that have lived aboard with us for almost 3 years now. One is a minature poodle (approx 14 pounds) the other a pug (approx 25 pounds). They get around the boat including up and down the companionway just fine.
One thing I never allow is either one of them to jump off or on the boat onto a dinghy or dock from the deck. They have both tried this and were scolded for it. I do not want my dogs getting into the habit of getting on and off the boat as I feel it is far too dangerous.
Probably the best way to teach a dog to go up and down steps on a boat is to have another dog teach them how. Whenever we have friends over that have dogs (even non-boat dogs) they quickly start trying to go up the companionway steps after watching my dogs go up and down them a few times.
Jackie

[sarafina]

I would wait a week or two before doing anything. It took Cara a while to get comfy with maneuvering around the boat. She goes up and down the cabin steps with aplomb now. At first she was freaked out and had to be lifted. We worked with treats to help her step down from the cockpit to the first step and the left her to figure it out on her own.

She is totally happy now that she has figured out that while she is not allowed on furniture at home, she can go anywhere on the boat... including the vberth at night! I tell her to sit on the banquette seats to get her out of the way when we are below. She thinks that's the cat pajamas!

[highseas]

Best place for dogs is ashore,for real boating they just add to the anxiety for all on board.Unless you get them on the boat as a puppy,they HATE it.

[nico105]

Originally Posted by highseas

Best place for dogs is ashore,for real boating they just add to the anxiety for all on board.Unless you get them on the boat as a puppy,they HATE it.

i completely agree w/ this. though, some like it better than others. my dearly departed cookie, a rednose pit, could care less about being on the boat and it didn't stress her out. spot, my dalmatian, doesn't care much for the boating life...he prefers a yard and a house.

[sarafina]

I find dogs are like people... and they all have different likes and dislikes... I have had dogs that hated boats, tolerated boats and loved boats. It's not hard to tell the difference. They let us know!

And just as some people take longer to find their happy place sailing, so do some dogs.

just depends on the dog...

[yardpro]

you just need to get Labrador retrievers. if it involved the water they love it...
growing up i had several labs and I was not allowed to go out in my boat without my dog until i was over 16. (we lived on a canal network and i had my own boa since i was about 10).

the labs would try and rescue anyone that jumped over the boat...

[wannabesailing]

We are planning on bringing our Boston Terrier aboard and we are planning on laying a plank down from the deck to the boat for him to walk across. We also have plastic storage bins to set near the companion way that he can jump on to get down into the cabin. Our boat is only a 24footer though. As far as the "poop deck" goes...haven't figured that one out yet.

[stevensc]

Fastening carpet or other non skid covering on the steps will give their feet and nails something to grab on to and make it easier for a dog to negotiate stairs.
Our recently deceased daschund was not a big fan of being on the boat but he definitely preferred being on the boat with us than being in a kennel.
I doubt we will have another dog as long as we are boating.
Steve

[Pblais]

Does Roxy jump through the railing around the edges when she gets on the boat or do you have a way to open yours for her?

We travel with 3 Corgi's. We have one that is a jumper. We use harnesses that are made for car seat belts. It means I have a loop that I can grab with a boat hook. Only one of our dogs can do the companion way steps, but she can do them faster than I can. It's 5 steep steps.

We tether them to the cockpit table so they can't jump out at a dock. When under sail it's never been a problem. At the dock they think they can make it. With a fixed dock they can jump over - miss, and not know where to go when in the water. I think that is the more serious problem.