Boat Dog Breeds

[captain58sailin]

I have always admired the Queensland heelers, I have friends that have had them and for me the perfect temperament, they are friendly enough, but not too friendly. I don't want a mean dog, but I want my dog to mean business when I do. I only got 4 days with him before, I had to come back to work, and he had already stole my heart by the time I left. By all accounts he is off the charts smart, brave and loyal. I left a bunch of my dirty clothes so he wouldn't forget my smell. I guess he got into a pair of my old crocks so he won't forget my scent. He told me his name as soon as he came out of his kennel at the airport. We have a lot of large birds of prey where we live, hawks, Bald Eagles, Owls, etc... and my Wife has taught him how to fight them. She says he can jump 4' in the air from a sitting position, and has, jumped that high going after an eagle. At least he should survive to a size where they no longer consider him food. I cannot wait to get home and reconnect with him, when I left he was small enough to ride on my chest when I was driving to town. I will post some photos when I get home.

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by captain58sailin

I have always admired the Queensland heelers, I have friends that have had them and for me the perfect temperament, they are friendly enough, but not too friendly.......
.At least he should survive to a size where they no longer consider him food. I cannot wait to get home and reconnect with him, when I left he was small enough to ride on my chest when I was driving to town. I will post some photos when I get home.

They are fabulous dogs. Friends are on their second one now and I have never connected as well with any other breed I have come across.

Does your pup look like this?

[captain58sailin]

Pretty much, ours had more of the white guard hairs, I haven't seen him for 3 months, we got him at 7 weeks and he looked like that, maybe a little skinnyier, but my Wife said since she has been working with him and feeding him he has filled out a lot. I can't wait to see him again. One thing that did show up is he has kind of green shade blindness, he can't see objects that are hidden by tall grass. We are not sure if it is genetic or disease, he is going into the vets for a thorough evaluation.

[monte]

Balrog loves the sailing life. He doesn;t get seasick often, sits at the bow and stares into the the distant as we approach land. Sits and watches the moon and stars every night, loves to swim as soon as the anchor is dropped and sits on the back step till he is dry so he doesn't splash any water on the decks or hatches.
He also loves to pick up rubbish while he's swimming and leave it on the back step for us to dispose of

[scoobert]

no dogs.
we have two, and a cat.
when they die they will be missed, and not replaced.
lots of extra steps we need to do now to get cruising.
i am betting in the future we will be making lots of forged documents.
some countrys say you must have had rabies at least 2 weeks ago, and not more then 30 days, all kinds of odd things.

[DaBod]

Originally Posted by captain58sailin

...when I left he was small enough to ride on my chest when I was driving to town. I will post some photos when I get home.

Sounds familiar. I adopted my Blue Heeler when she was 7 weeks old and she would ride in my lap in the car until it was no longer safe to do so. In fact I probably pushed it a little beyond safe, but it was where she wanted to be and I didn't mind. I am fortunate enough to work in a dog friendly office, so she truly goes everywhere with me...except she is 2 now and has to ride in the back seat.

The Red Heeler I have was older when I found her (actually she found me) and was a true country dog. She's s little more set in her ways and harder to work with, but still an amazing dog.

Since Ellie (the blue) was so young when I got her I have been working with her since the start, and she is incredible. She'll learn to do anything (and I mean anything) moderately well in about 10 minutes, and once she sleeps on it she'll have it down perfectly.

Working with these two dogs is perhaps the most rewarding thing I have ever experienced. It sounds cheesy, but the bond one forms with a Heeler seems to be unlike anything else in the world...a deeper trust (both ways) than anything I have ever known.

Here's a shot of the girls with one of my wife's (my step-dogter) Weimaramers as well. We have two of the gray dogs and they would not make good boat dogs. In fact, those two beasts are one of the big reasons we are on a 5 year plan before moving aboard. Not that we are looking forward to their demise or anything, but you get what I mean.

[DaBod]

Originally Posted by captain58sailin

Pretty much, ours had more of the white guard hairs, I haven't seen him for 3 months, we got him at 7 weeks and he looked like that, maybe a little skinnyier, but my Wife said since she has been working with him and feeding him he has filled out a lot. I can't wait to see him again. One thing that did show up is he has kind of green shade blindness, he can't see objects that are hidden by tall grass. We are not sure if it is genetic or disease, he is going into the vets for a thorough evaluation.

I've read that the roan gene that makes them look so cool is also notorious for causing blindness/vision problems. Hopefully it's nothing serious. They're so robust I bet being totally blind would only slow them down a little bit.

[captain58sailin]

Okay, thanks for that info. I wasn't aware of the recessive gene. Kind of like dysplasia in Rotty's and other large breeds. He sees good, just has a green shade differential problem. Nothing wrong with his nose either. I suspect blind wouldn't slow him down at all. Doesn't matter we will still love him.

[Tortuga's Lie]

Kinda like an "anchor" question......oops did I just say that????

Seriously, you will find 1000 different suggestions here and only one will matter: the one your significant other tells you

I have had: an adopted golden retriever(80 lbs), a free black lab (75lbs), and the last one is an adopted black lab (50 lbs); all females. I only had one at a time and when one would pass, I swore that I would not get another.......but....."look at that cute face"........

Love the labs for their intelligence, loyalty, ability to train, disposition. You don't have to wonder why they are the most popular dog! Some can be pretty stupid, but I find that the majority are pretty smart. Their size can be an issue for getting in and out of the dinghy onto the mother ship but not too bad while they are still young and athletic. Keep the weight off of them

[DaBod]

Originally Posted by captain58sailin

Okay, thanks for that info. I wasn't aware of the recessive gene. Kind of like dysplasia in Rotty's and other large breeds. He sees good, just has a green shade differential problem. Nothing wrong with his nose either. I suspect blind wouldn't slow him down at all. Doesn't matter we will still love him.

Actually, it looks like I misspoke. The gene that causes the spotting is actually more linked to deafness than blindness. Wiki states that Heelers are prone to eye issues and blindness, but that it usually occurs later in life. Sorry about that!

[captain58sailin]

No worries, I appreciate the input. I expect my Wife will have a full report when she gets back from the vet with him. If he goes blind and I don't hear so good, maybe we can balance each other out.

[sailcruiser]

Originally Posted by Tortuga's Lie

Kinda like an "anchor" question......oops did I just say that????

Seriously, you will find 1000 different suggestions here and only one will matter: the one your significant other tells you

I have had: an adopted golden retriever(80 lbs), a free black lab (75lbs), and the last one is an adopted black lab (50 lbs); all females. I only had one at a time and when one would pass, I swore that I would not get another.......but....."look at that cute face"........

Love the labs for their intelligence, loyalty, ability to train, disposition. You don't have to wonder why they are the most popular dog! Some can be pretty stupid, but I find that the majority are pretty smart. Their size can be an issue for getting in and out of the dinghy onto the mother ship but not too bad while they are still young and athletic. Keep the weight off of them

No doubt. The major drawback to them is shedding and in some cases excessive energy. We have the shedding issue.. My lord it's hard to believe so much hair comes from one black lab. (Furminated daily too!). My girl has a strict 58-62 lb weight range set by her vet. Now if we could manage the tumbleweeds that happen it seems the minute I turn the vacuum off.

But with a face like this I can't get upset.





SC

[maytrix]

We have about 3 years until we start cruising, but we'll be taking our Dalmatian with us. Our big boat is in charter so we have a small 22' boat we use on Cape Cod and he loves to come with us. He often will sit up on the bow of the dinghy as we head out to the boat - not just his front paws, but all 4! He has no fear!

I'm not sure how he'll adapt to living on a boat, but he does fine when we're on the 22 for the day.

This is our 3rd Dal and we love them because they love to be active and have great personalities. This one (Nitro) has the most we've seen - quite the talker as well. But as much as they love their activity, they are happy just hanging with you. I can't specifically recommend one for a boat since we aren't living aboard yet, but in general I certainly can if you like an active dog with a great personality.

Here he is enjoying some reading while on the boat



Here he is riding on the bow of the dinghy!

[captain58sailin]

When I was a young lad, I had a black lab, he would sit on the other side of the deck when we were going offshore and we would take turns being seasick.

[Tortuga's Lie]

Originally Posted by sailcruiser

No doubt. The major drawback to them is shedding and in some cases excessive energy. We have the shedding issue.. My lord it's hard to believe so much hair comes from one black lab. (Furminated daily too!). My girl has a strict 58-62 lb weight range set by her vet. Now if we could manage the tumbleweeds that happen it seems the minute I turn the vacuum off.

But with a face like this I can't get upset.


Attachment 67144


SC

Yep, the shedding is my wife's biggest complaint but it is a small price to pay for the bond between dog and crew