Cruising with (or without) a dog

[chasfgr]

Done both, usually with Labradogs, but a 12hr sail is their limit without pee-time.
Terriers are best aboard but most can't stand their noise - at least other dogs suffer in silence.
Cats - in my experience are best animals aboard, though they do need a wedged litter tray, and object to peeing in a seaway.
We've sailed with 5 cats (daughters') and 2 dogs.
Daughter now 56 and has both cat and dog (a proven waterdog), but won't go sailing on anything less than 6,000 tons. Her dog terrorised the resident waterbirds on the local park - until they learnt to ignore him, at which point he lost his excuse for a swim.

One son conned his way into a charter skipper job (he now eschews the sea, being in a country with <5000 lakes) and it's his wife who drags him out - canoe, kayak, dinghy or sailboat.
Yoiungest goes green when he sees the sea - and rapidly retreats.

[wildcat35]

Could not leave my dog behind he is like one of my kids with that being said I would just deal with what ever issues that came along to have him there but to each is own. Good luck hope it works .

[Icarus]

Difficult, especially the on-shore thing. Unless you like cleaning up poo.
Taking an animal into a foreign country requires most likely a vet certificate and possible long quarantine requirments for the animal.
I rather give the dog away before I'd put it into a dog prison for a long duration.
I had a sheep dog when building one of my yachts..I gave the dog to a family who had a farm...
I am sailing by myself and would love to have an animal, even a cat, however for me its just not practucal.
I once had a cat and the cat was not allowed into NZ...so I went back to New Caledonia ..complicated.
Maybe it would work if you just coastal sailed in your home country...
Good luck

[Mickeyrouse]

I realize international travel with a pet is burdensome to the point of prohibitive. One of several reasons we probably won’t attempt it with our beagle.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Mickeyrouse

I realize international travel with a pet is burdensome to the point of prohibitive. One of several reasons we probably won’t attempt it with our beagle.

It depends a LOT on the countries you visit, do your homework ahead of time and chose accordingly.

We cruised the Carib with 3 cats and a parrot. Dogs and cats are no big deal in most Carib nations (except: Turks & Caicos and the Caymans, both of which we skipped for tthat reason). Parrots, as a protected species, are a bigger deal in many more places.

Of course, the post COVID period may bring more restrictions...the USA has now introduced more restrictions for dogs.

[resoluute]

Problem easily fixed leave wife and dog at home, and go cruising, dont you get rid of that dog , you made a committment

[captbig]

Originally Posted by sainted

You don’t say where you intend to cruise, and that can make a huge difference.

I recently returned form sailing for three months in the Bahamas with my mini labradoodle, Jack, who was 6 months old when I set out and is 10 months old now.

Jack is generally well behaved, but he does need to be walked twice a day. Since I was mostly moored or anchored out, that involved loading him into the dinghy, landing on the beach and playing ball for an hour or so. He loved it. Was it a fair bit of work for me? It was, but I enjoyed our walks a lot.

Many restaurants in the Bahamas have outside seating and he was always welcome. I couldn’t take him into grocery stores, so I had to leave him aboard on occasion, but that was pretty rare.

The Bahamas make importing o dog pretty easy, and since we were in the same country as we went from island to island, clearing in and out wasn’t a burden.

The biggest issue was the passage y to and from the U.S. to the Bahamas. My home port is Charleston, SC, and I sailed the 450 miles direct. Jack doesn’t much care for passages, but he simply got in the berth with anyone who was off watch. He will pee and poop on deck. I trained him from the beginning to do so, though he prefers going ashore. On a three day passage, he pees and poops maybe twice. I suspect he’d adapt on longer passages, but that’s not in my plans at the moment.

I’m looking forward to heading back to the Bahamas with Jack this fall.

PM me if you have further questions.

Scott

I love dogs...my dog was a great sailer, but after he passed away my sailing experience got better as it was a lot of work to keep my dog on board.

[Alexmass]

My Labrador behaves like this on the boat

Done both, usually with Labradogs, but a 12hr sail is their limit without pee-time.
Terriers are best aboard but most can't stand their noise - at least other dogs suffer in silence.
Cats - in my experience are best animals aboard, though they do need a wedged litter tray, and object to peeing in a seaway.
We've sailed with 5 cats (daughters') and 2 dogs.
Daughter now 56 and has both cat and dog (a proven waterdog), but won't go sailing on anything less than 6,000 tons. Her dog terrorised the resident waterbirds on the local park - until they learnt to ignore him, at which point he lost his excuse for a swim.

One son conned his way into a charter skipper job (he now eschews the sea, being in a country with <5000 lakes) and it's his wife who drags him out - canoe, kayak, dinghy or sailboat.
Yoiungest goes green when he sees the sea - and rapidly retreats

[ausnp84]

Originally Posted by sepharad

You need to talk to people who actually travel with pets in the same place and manner as you. People who have never cruised with a pet feel free to comment but generally have no clue.

Well said. We recently moved aboard our latest boat with two dogs - a 35kg lab and a 15kg rescue. This is the lab’s second boat and he settled right in, and the rescue’s first experience. He too settled in quick and loves lazing in the sun / running down the pontoon. Still need to deal with toilet training but we’ll keep it to short hops across the Med in the interim.

Paperwork-wise, we got our ducks in a row in the UK first and got the pet passports / health certs sorted in advance. Arrived in Spain and found we needed a rabies test, so walking 4 miles to the local vet today. An inconvenience? Yep, but it’d be no different than if I needed something from town, a spare part, or a Covid test.

Cleaning wise, the dogs shed and the boat needed a good vaccum this week. Mind you, the other half has incredibly thick hair and I was forever cleaning the shower drain trap back at the house of her hair, so a bit of extra dog hair doesn’t hurt. The dinner time dribble stains on my new floor (labrador) are a bit of a pain but nothing kitchen roll can’t clean.

In exchange for these two minor inconveniences I get a good alarm system, a waste disposal system for leftovers (except for lettuce.. the lab HATES lettuce), an ice breaker for new people, and a free laugh every time the lab falls in the water at the dock. The dogs have never limited my travel - I’ve visited 14 countries since owning dogs, climbed Kili, visited family every year in Aus, gone on countless nights out, and lived a very “normal” life. Anyone who says their life is limited generally would find an excuse not to go out / travel anyway. If you love your dog(s), you’ll make it work.

N

[Messing About]

Just want to say, I thoroughly enjoyed this 5 page thread. I have two Australian Shepherds, siblings, 2 and 4 years old. They came into my life well after my 9 years of boating/fishing SWFL but now I’m planning retirement with them aboard.

I’ve prepped them with 5th wheel RV life, thousands of miles of travel in the back seat of my truck. They are great travel dogs and both love lakes, rivers and of course my backyard pool.

Their GI systems are pretty predictable; once in the morning, once in the even. My plan is near coastal SWFL cruising, anchored in bays/harbors, with beach runs each morning & evening, fishing and sometimes longing our days away.

Leaning towards a retractable keel mono hill like the Seaward 32RK so I can get within 2’ of water near the beach but also looking at sone Cat hulls for the added space and off shore stability. Thing is, the 32RK can be trailered and towed by my Ram 2500 when my 6 ‘month season ends. A big wide Cat would be more of a dry dock challenge. Still time to research but wanted to thank those who replied to this OP’s thread. The responses were informative and sometime hilarious.

[Russ]

Just fyi at least in SE Florida mixture beaches not dog friendly. We’ve got a stretch here in Melbourne that is but it would be hard for you to identify from the sea side. Best go early to avoid problems. Some non doggie types can be a real PIA. I have. A yellow lab who goes everywhere. So far her farthest is the Bahamas on my 44 steel cutter. Good luck.