Liveaboard Dogs

[sneuman]

TALBOT: I've heard so much about Labs being good boat dogs, and I don't doubt it. I had the most wonderful border collie/lab mix, who sadly died last year after traveling the world with the family. This dog had such a wonderful disposition (and incredibly smart!) that I just don't think she could ever be replaced.

BUT my one (minor) disappointment with her is that she absolutely loathed the water. Don't know if it was the "mix" that did it, or she was just a fluke as a Lab.

[Talbot]

ours was not greatly fond of the water, but could swim better than I can when he needed to.

It was the watershedding coat that made him such a good boat-dog, as a quick shake and a final pad down with a towel and he was dry - no wet dog smell!

However, even six years after his death we are still finding dog hairs!

[Ed Steele]

In defense of the Standard Poodle as a boat dog:In 2004 DoodleBug sailed for around 9,000 miles with our 65 pound black standard poodle aboard. She was a great sailor (didn’t suffer from sea-sickness like my wife!). She had no problem getting up and down the companionway stairs. No shedding of hair. She did need to be groomed about every three weeks and we purchased a set of 50 Hertz, 220 Volt dog grooming shears. We searched all over the Internet for these and finished up buying them from a manufacturer in Dallas, Texas – believe it or not.You notice I have been using the past tense for the dog. She is still as frisky as ever but we shipped her to relatives in Houston, Texas from Papeete in French Polynesia. (First Class with caviar and champagne because she is after all…a French Poodle). We shipped her home because of the quarantine restrictions in New Zealand and Australia and we were headed that direction at the time.She stayed on board DoodleBug for the entire trip. When under passage she was always on a tether but at anchor etc. she had the run of the boat. She seemed to thoroughly enjoy her sailing experience and pulled the dogwatch every night. I have pictures of her on our web-site at www.sv-doodlebug.com (check out our 2004 trip logs – particularly “Cruising Galapagos”). She would bark ferociously at anyone who approached within about a mile but never bit anyone (at least as far as we know). We were stopped by the Mexican Navy, who declined to board us, once they realized we had a dog and we had a similar experience with the Customs officers in Grand Cayman. We always felt that the boat was secure as long as she was aboard.Poodles are water dogs and although she could swim well, unlike other poodles we have owned, she did not like the experience. We got her as a “rescue” animal, with a genetic bone defect on her foreleg. Although this was corrected by surgery, the vet had determined she was to be a “limited mobility” animal. With the run of the whole deck and the fact that the deck was often in continuous motion, her sailing experience seemed to be perfect therapy. We miss her and wish she were still sailing with us.If we can help anyone with hints about potty training and the like, please drop us an e-mail.

[gonesail]

i have a 10 year old lhasa apso and would like the dog to sail with me. but he is afraid of water and i can't convince him otherwise. anybody know of a good way to convert a land dog into a sea dog?

[hellosailor]

The "kind" way would be to bring him to the dock (dock or dingy?) as far as he will go and stop. Place a treat two feet closer to being aboard, until you've conned him into boarding via his appetite. Let him see his people are "over there" and his food and water are "over there" and eventually, he will approach and board. Maybe.

Little "temple dogs" and such can be headstrong.

The "I'm the pack leader get used to it" approach is just to pick him up, carry him aboard, and let him deal with it. If he isn't used to the concept of "I'm the pack leader get used to it" life may be more dificult in general.

I've found the "I'm the pack leader" approach works better, in the belief that especially with big dogs (livestock<G>) it is far simpler and kinder to take the gray areas out of the doggie logic, and just get them back on the level of "the pack leader said to do it, period." Of course, with a ten pounder you have a much easier time hoisting him aboard!<G>

[gonesail]

i have hoisted him onboard several times and he gets pretty tense but does not really panic. guess i could repeat this more often to see if it would get any better. maybe could make it a daily routine and it soon would become normal? yeh the temple dog lhasa apso is headstrong for sure. i like the pack leader idea.

[mohave_steve]

I am a little confused...
As leaving my "kids" at home when I cut the dock lines is not an option.
(my kids are 70-90lb Golden Retrievers and are not "pets" they are my family)
I have been searching for good information on the regulations regarding travel to the Caribean, Mexico & S Pacific. I do understaqnd that some countries simply will not allow dogs ashore. I had planned to designate a potty spot on the boat for such places but now I have heard that some countries will not allow dogs on the boat????
Is there someplace I can find an accurate summary of pet travel regulations??

Thanks

Steve

[hellosailor]

Steve, there are some patchy web sites with *some* of the information online, but your best bet (and the only really safe bet) is to contact the government of each nation and find out the regulations for the entry of boaters--including pets aboard.

AFAIK most of the places that will not allow dogs to come in, or to come in without extensive quarantine, will also not allow you to have the dog aboard. If you are lucky they will say "Turn around and leave now" but if you have already entered...they have the right to confiscate and quarantine the dogs, fine you, and charge you for the quarantine boarding fees.

[mohave_steve]

Thanks for the reply.
Reading about the places that require quarentine or do not allow dogs it is still unclear to me which of theese places I may visit if I leave the dogs on the boat?

Not the ideal circumstance as I prefer having my girls with me wherever I go. If necesary to leave them aboard while I make a trip ashore it may be better than skipping a location completely.

Originally Posted by mohave_steve

Is there someplace I can find an accurate summary of pet travel regulations??

Steve,

You'll find good summaries on www.noonsite.com. However, like anything on eht internet the thing to remember the advice is potentially worth exactly what you pay for it.

In this case some of the information is certainly dated, but it will give you a good feel for the range of options.

Certainly we aren't leaving our best buddy (Jibe- the portugese water dog) when we leave. After all the only home he remembers is the boat!

[little boat]

i have sailed for the last ten years with my only crew being a 10 pound chihuahua mutt. she is faraway the best crew i have ever had aboard! for many years i had two. i have met many cruising dogs and my conclusions are completely opposite most reccomendations for breed, but here goes:
1. i really believe that a dog that does not like water, (mine can swim but is not keen on it) is much better than one of the water breeds. why? because those little skipperkees are jumping overboard every chance they get! i have personally pulled 3 skipperkees aboard swimming around my boat! one i heard about jumped overboard 30 miles offshore venezuela and was miraculously rescued by another passing boat a day later! a dog that dislikes water sticks with the boat!
2. sailors are way too cavalier with letting thier dogs, (and cats), roam the decks while underway. i have met so many heartbroken owners who have lost thier pets overboard. my dog is put in the cockpit only while underway and does her stuff on her astroturf rug which is relocated from the foredeck. she is never allowed on deck at sea and is never left unattended.
3. forget the whole gun thing! bad people are afraid of dogs! and it doesn't seem to matter what size they are. my little doggie has driven all kinds of bad guys away. they float alongside and grab the rail, but not for long!
4. big dogs mean big poops. ok, maybe no big deal to you. also, i had a big dog when i first started sailing and he could not climb the companionway ladder. (austrailian cattle dog/blue healer mix). i had to carry him up and down, not easy in a seaway.
5. i had a poodle as a child, (great dogs!), but it is my recollection that poodles really, really stink when they are wet. maybe i am wrong about this.
my dog is my best friend. i could not imagine living without her. she loves the boat, she loves the dinghy, she loves the anchorages with all thier activity and she loves exploring the islands. she has been to the top of every mountain in the caribbean island chain. ok, so i have to carry her abit and she wants to carried back down in her canvas boat bag when she poops out. every time we touch land, we are surrounded by gangs of children which is also very nice.
lastly, i have found that dogs are much funnier, upbeat, loyal and make better companions than humans!!

[Canibul]

My wife and I have always, independently before we met, each had big dogs. Knowing we would be leaving the USA and living in various borrowed quarters until we built, we got a Jack Russell. I gotta say I used to kinda look down on little breeds, but not anymore. This Jack Russell has never backed down from another dog in his life, and I dont care how big the other dog is. He's the smartest and best watchdog I have ever had. He loves boats and he loves to swim, wading right through shorebreak. He rides on my back when I am snorkelling if I will let him. A can of dogfood is good for two meals. He fits in a canvas bag, backpack, kayak, whatever. And he's not big enough to swamp anything.
If someone tried to come aboard HIS boat, he would not only bark his head off, he would bite. theres no doubt about it.

[hellosailor]

Just don't take those little dogs too far into the Pacificor Far East, there ARE places in the world where "little dog" translates into "tasty SNACK" and not "deterrent force".

I've been told that dogs have no concept of depth perception, they will blithely step off a ledge, out into space, off a boat, etc. with no real grasp on the problems that's gonna cause. Dunno...I've seen proof to the contrary but when all is said and done, doggie brains are doggie brains. Remember, it took a whole dogpack to portray Lassie.<G>

Teaching a dog not to cross the lifelines *ought* to be possible. Probably worth a special edition of "The Dog Whisperer".<G>

[Canibul]

I've eaten dog. But I dont think I would order it in a restaurant again. Just one of those "need to try it" things. Kinda like monkey and witchety grubs.

My dog can be on his best behaviour, but if something enters his self-defined ADIZ, he forgets his training and prioritizes security measures to some internally established standard that has nothing to do with his training.

He figures its better to act swiftly and apologize later than to ask and wait for permission now.

[coyotewrw]

My last dog was a German Shepherd. In most respects a wonderful animal: sociable, courageous, VERY smart. However, she was a total wimp around water, even small streams.

Anyone have experience with German Shepherds that were good water/boat dogs?

To the cat haters out there: never say "never". I recently involuntarily "inherited" an old, fat male tabby. I must say he has one of the most entertaining personalilties I've ever known in an animal. He's completely changed my attitude about cats.