Cruising with 2 kids AND 2 dogs...

[stormalong]

We have a 65lb boarder collie and cruise Canada each summer. Fortunately he will do his business on the deck. A deckwash pump certainly helps.

The other part of cruising with pets is regulations. Some countries are very strict on bringing pets in. Australia and New Zealand are good examples. You may find the hassles are too much and you may want to bypass certain countries. At the very least you need to have vaccination documents from your vet. Do your homework before selecting your cruising grounds.

[Integra]

Just do it!
We have just started our adventure a month ago on our Lagoon 450 catamaran called "Aventure", with our two children age 19 and 21, and our two dogs, a Pekingese and a Shorkie. The kids are getting on so well together they don't miss their friends at home, and for my Wife and I it is amazing to spend such quality time with them both.

The longest passage we have done so far is about 24 hours, and both dogs refused to use their pee mats, so that's a challenge, but they will learn in time. I've been told the best way to encourage them is for my Wife to pee on the mat first, but as we are currently moored in Cartagena right opposite "The World" cruise ship, she's not so keen on the idea!

In time I hope to chronicle our adventures on our website, twodogsonacat.com

Personally, I would save for a bit longer and get a catamaran - it makes such a difference when living on board (think washing machine, aircon, built in generator, dishwasher, ice maker and room for all the toys, both adult and kids). I also think it will be a much more memorable and beneficial experience for your children when they are a bit older.

Best of luck!

[Kacey]

Originally Posted by Integra

Just do it!
We have just started our adventure a month ago on our Lagoon 450 catamaran called "Aventure", with our two children age 19 and 21, and our two dogs, a Pekingese and a Shorkie. The kids are getting on so well together they don't miss their friends at home, and for my Wife and I it is amazing to spend such quality time with them both.

The longest passage we have done so far is about 24 hours, and both dogs refused to use their pee mats, so that's a challenge, but they will learn in time. I've been told the best way to encourage them is for my Wife to pee on the mat first, but as we are currently moored in Cartagena right opposite "The World" cruise ship, she's not so keen on the idea!

In time I hope to chronicle our adventures on our website, twodogsonacat.com

Personally, I would save for a bit longer and get a catamaran - it makes such a difference when living on board (think washing machine, aircon, built in generator, dishwasher, ice maker and room for all the toys, both adult and kids). I also think it will be a much more memorable and beneficial experience for your children when they are a bit older.

Best of luck!

I’ll definitely keep up with your adventures! Our plan for now is to save until next summer then head back down to Florida. Where we can still save some more. But we will at least be able to start looking and making real preparations.

And I’m with your wife, not sure I would want to pee on the mat either! Lol I think once my female dog goes my male dog will follow right behind. And she’s the easy one so I may just luck out!
Thanks for sharing! The more we hear about other families love for cats just pushes us closer to being OK with the price tag!

[Davy J]

Can't be of any help with the children, however, we have trained the dogs to do the doo on a 2'x3' fake piece of grass. Under the "fake" grass we put down a "puppy training pad". It absorbs #1 so it doesn't spread all over the deck.

We keep a 2 gallon sprayer in the anchor locker to spray off any "overage".

You will need to be patient, they were reluctant to cooperate. Now they just go to the head.............

[Nickodemus]

Just a heads up on the Bahamas - you will need to get a Certificate permitting the dogs to enter the country. Also, our friend had a pit bull mix, and she told me that she had to disclose the dog as a “mixed breed” because they won’t let pit bulls in. I am not 100% sure of that, but just letting you know that that is what I heard so you can investigate in plenty of time. Hopefully, your dogs are okay in the dinghy, because staying in marinas in the Bahamas adds up fast.

If you have any more questions regarding the Bahamas, I’d be happy to answer them - we just sailed back from there today (now in FL). You can send me an email at cc29firsttoday@aol.com.

[hamburking]

You can see in the attached pic, below, that I cruised with my dog and young daughter while the wife was expecting another.

I bought the most luxurious, singlehanding boat I could find...a Hunter Legend 35.5 ... autohelm, single line reefing, walk through transom, real shower, king size bunks, etc, etc.

And still it was difficult.

I sailed the boat and the wife looked after the crew. The dog would sleep in the aft cabin most of the time while sailing, and the baby was either below or harnessed in. Sailing was pretty exhausting for me. And once we were at anchor, not much better. I had to row the dog ashore 3 or 4 times a day to do her business and stretch her legs. She liked to swim, then would go below for a good shake and stink up the place.

And you are talking about 2 kids and 2 dogs. Wow. Thats going to be tough.

To be blunt, most dogs don't enjoy sailing very much. Dogs like to run. Their feet are no good on slippy decks. Sorry, but speaking from experience, dogs and sailing isn't a good mix. Of course there are exceptions, but if you are just starting out, and starting with likely the most difficult situation...well...you are really tempting disaster. Maybe not what you wanted to hear.

I sold the boat.

Once the dog passed :-( I bought a smaller boat (a C&C25). That was actually excellent with 2 small kids. By then the wife had had enough, and preferred to stay at home. My kids and I had many great sailing adventures. Yes, it was difficult sailing with just me and two small kids, but incredibly rewarding. We worked out strong rules to keep us safe...when to reduce sail, when to take in all sail, when to stay home, when to run for cover. When it was really rough, the kids had to stay below while I sailed the boat. Even at 4 and 6 years old, I taught them how to make a mayday call on the VHF (including our position, read of the gps), and we practiced the phonetic alphabet all the time.

Jump ahead 12 years. The daughter loves sailing, was a watch officer on a tall ship, had her own Laser. The son can't stand sailing. The wife is now ex-wife.

Still though, those sailing adventures we had on that little boat were the best times of my life. And they formed my kids personalities in very positive ways.

[Kacey]

Originally Posted by Nickodemus

Just a heads up on the Bahamas - you will need to get a Certificate permitting the dogs to enter the country. Also, our friend had a pit bull mix, and she told me that she had to disclose the dog as a “mixed breed” because they won’t let pit bulls in. I am not 100% sure of that, but just letting you know that that is what I heard so you can investigate in plenty of time. Hopefully, your dogs are okay in the dinghy, because staying in marinas in the Bahamas adds up fast.

If you have any more questions regarding the Bahamas, I’d be happy to answer them - we just sailed back from there today (now in FL). You can send me an email at cc29firsttoday@aol.com.

Thanks for the info! Our pit is not the typical looking pit. She was the runt of the liter and I’m pretty sure she’s mixed with something else. I’m sure we could get away with saying lab mix.

[Kacey]

Originally Posted by hamburking

I sailed the boat and the wife looked after the crew. The dog would sleep in the aft cabin most of the time while sailing, and the baby was either below or harnessed in. Sailing was pretty exhausting for me. And once we were at anchor, not much better. I had to row the dog ashore 3 or 4 times a day to do her business and stretch her legs. She liked to swim, then would go below for a good shake and stink up the place.

And you are talking about 2 kids and 2 dogs. Wow. Thats going to be tough.

To be blunt, most dogs don't enjoy sailing very much. Dogs like to run. Their feet are no good on slippy decks. Sorry, but speaking from experience, dogs and sailing isn't a good mix. Of course there are exceptions, but if you are just starting out, and starting with likely the most difficult situation...well...you are really tempting disaster. Maybe not what you wanted to hear.

I’m sorry you had a rough experience with a pup! We are definitely not trying to tempt disaster, we just know the dogs are a part of the family and they are the happiest with us. (Vs staying with someone else) We are willing to put in the extra work to make it work.
We are planning to dock at a family members house for awhile before sailing anywhere to get the dogs and kids used to the boat. We’re also going to train them to use a piece of turf on the boat for potty breaks. We will still take them to shore for walks and exercise but at least that will help if they need relief at a time we’re not able to go ashore. Our larger pup is more of an oversized cat, sleeping 90% of the day. So I’m willing to bet he will be happy just lounging. Our Other one is more active so she will definitely require more exercise and trips ashore.
I’m hoping with lots of practice and patience we will all come to love cruising, dogs and all.
Thank you for sharing! I love hearing both sides. It always helps to hear what went wrong for some so we can hopefully avoid the same.

[captmikem]

I sailed around the world with a jack Russel terrier, he loved the water and sailing. the only place I had trouble was in Australia, he had to stay aboard in his cabin, since I was planning on staying there a few months I flew back to the USA with him where he stayed while we were in 0z. I did skip Malta because I had visited there before and also heard the are not friensly to boats with dogs.

I had zero problems with South Pacific islands, most med countries, and carribean islands. he visited over 50 countries.

People who say leave your dogs do not understand it is like saying " leave your kids with someone for a year or two". Quality of life is enhanced with a dogs friendship.

M

[Kacey]

Originally Posted by captmikem

People who say leave your dogs do not understand it is like saying " leave your kids with someone for a year or two". Quality of life is enhanced with a dogs friendship.

M

Exactly! Our daughter has night terrors sometimes, once we started letting one of the dogs sleep with her they have almost gone away. They do just as much for us as we do for them. I always say they are like my other children.

Thanks for sharing your story! We definitely don’t plan on any major ocean crossings for awhile so Australia is out of the question for now. Maybe one day (without pups)

[sailnautilus]

See sailingtotem.com......also Behan’s book on sailing with children and families. Excellent perspectives and factual help...we have buddy boated with these people and they are the happiest family afloat!!!