Our dog jumped off the boat when we were diving

[natraps116]

Next time she stays tethered and in her life jacket. A warning to others. I sure learned our lesson

S/V Sea Wolf Episode-5 Learning to Dive, and our …: http://youtu.be/PxKZo-6vcMQ


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[Brob2]

Very wise. Give Bear a good neck scratch from us!

[brazenarticle]

Be careful with the length and placement of the tether. I used one for quite a while without issue, one afternoon when I removed a side panel on the dodger for repair my dog went over the side, hung by her leash. Fortunately I got to her just in time; she is fine, I still get shaken when I think about it.
Also be sure to clip the tether to the life jacket or harness, not the collar. After our close call that seems obvious, prior to our scare it was not.

[gonesail]

hard to tell what a dog might do .. they are enough work when you are watching them. i can easily see a line getting around a dog's neck. definitely put a life jacket on them. ours did not like the water so he was never a risk of jumping overboard.

[natraps116]

Yeah we have a ruff wear life jacket that has a nice sturdy handle. Also I think I'll make it not long enough to jump over

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[Capt Phil]

Met a couple aboard a Nordhaven 44 in Fort Bragg who were returning from Alaska and had their full size golden lab leap overboard to play with some Dolphins who were squealing at her on their trip down. They stopped the vessel to watch the dog playing around with the mammals until it was clear she was getting tired. They were concerned about trying to back down so the dog could get onto the swim grid and finally the guy jumped in after her to help her aboard but got clawed up pretty bad in the process as they had not thought through the difficulty of getting the dog back aboard. They finally put a throw rug down over the swim grid so the dog could get a purchase and all ended well.
Best you plan in advance for these events! Phil

[natraps116]

Yeah I thought our dog would know to stay.... I guess I was wrong

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[Suijin]

Water dogs are almost impossible to keep out of the water when you go in unless you've trained the snot out of them. They just can't help themselves.

[valhalla360]

It's counterintuitive but I'm of the opinion boat dogs shouldn't like to swim. Capable, yes but like to no.

We've come across 3 different labs paddling around marinas with no way for the dog to get out on thier own.

[JPA Cate]

Dogs want to be with their pack, which is you plus maybe your family. Unless they've learned to fear the water at some point, they'll always follow you, water or not. Don't know if you have a boom tent for shade, but a line from gooseneck to boom end, with a line just long enough to allow Bear to lie down to a small swivel on his harness/life jacket should allow both movement and rest.

[natraps116]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

Dogs want to be with their pack, which is you plus maybe your family. Unless they've learned to fear the water at some point, they'll always follow you, water or not. Don't know if you have a boom tent for shade, but a line from gooseneck to boom end, with a line just long enough to allow Bear to lie down to a small swivel on his harness/life jacket should allow both movement and rest.

Yeah I have a nice bimini she can rest and move around under. She will learn, she just needs to be trained. It was the same when I would leave her in my truck. She panicked a few times and chewed until I trained her that I was always coming back. She will learn

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[a64pilot]

As a kid I had a Doberman that went with me everywhere, one day we were diving off a bridge into a creek about 50' below, and you guessed it. Now Dobies are all bone and muscle and swim almost not at all, I got clawed pretty bad because as soon as he discovered he didn't swim, he came at me to save him and was clawing me pretty good.
I knew he would be dumb enough to follow me into the water, but figured not off of a 50' bridge


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[natraps116]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

As a kid I had a Doberman that went with me everywhere, one day we were diving off a bridge into a creek about 50' below, and you guessed it. Now Dobies are all bone and muscle and swim almost not at all, I got clawed pretty bad because as soon as he discovered he didn't swim, he came at me to save him and was clawing me pretty good.
I knew he would be dumb enough to follow me into the water, but figured not off of a 50' bridge


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Yeah swimming with dogs in my pool growing up in learned to never let dog swim at you. Only besides you because there doggy paddle they grasp with there claws. Only approach a swimming dog from side.

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[Hudson Force]

We discovered our dog, Zorro, was missing from the deck while sailing in the North Carolina Sounds on a casual day. We turned back, tracing our former path and scaned with our binoculars. Evidently we noticed his absence after some time had passed from slipping from the deck. We sent out a call on our VHF and found that another sailboat had picked him.

After that event we kept him on a teather attached to his harness!