Prepping puppy for summer sailing

[Donnybrook]

Will be introducing our now 6 month mini-Goldendoodle to sailing on our 34' boat this summer. Is there anything we can do now to prepare her for the boat? She travels well in the car and is happy anywhere her people are. I've read getting her used to going on outdoor carpet or line at home first sometimes works.

We will start with hanging out at dock before taking her on day sails. Most nights will be at dock but may try sleeping at anchor with her. Not planning long passages and certainly no international sailing as we're in Chicago.

[rslifkin]

To some extent it's going to be a matter of "try it and see how she likes the boat". Whether you need to train her to go on a piece of turf or anything depends on how long you expect to be on the boat without the ability to get her ashore.

Our standard poodle loves the boat and has no problem with dinghy rides to shore if we're anchored overnight. I think he'd have to be pretty desperate to even consider using a piece of turf, but he has no trouble going 12 hours without getting off the boat when needed, so getting him ashore frequently enough has never been an issue even when we're not at a dock or it's a long travel day.

[CarlF]

I wouldn’t wait for summer. Walk her around marina docks now. Ride on a water taxi or small ferry. Get in and out of a dinghy tied to a dock. Get her used to the smells and sounds of outboards and diesel engines. Stand on the dock while boats come and go. Ask permission to get on a few explaining what you are doing. If your boat is still hauled out, get her on it anyways and sit for an hour in the cabin and cockpit. . Bring a dog bed and choose a place for her. Put a few of her toys on the boat. Feed her lots of treats. Going to the boat should be fun! The more times you visit the boat the better.As soon as the boat’s in the water go sit at the dock. Get in the dinghy and go for a ride to a beach.

[OldManMirage]

I agree with those advising to start potty training now.

Here is a good product for use on the boat. Start with it now at home.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ICVHY5I...lig_dp_it&th=1

[Reeve21]

We have never done the Astroturf thing. We don’t do overnight passages. Our current dog is also a golden doodle, and the dingy is his favorite part of boating. So that does mean going ashore several times a day in all kinds of weather, as we almost always anchor out. But it gets us both moving :-)

He is now almost 14 and has only had one accident in all those years. It was after a long trip on a hot day so he’d been drinking a lot. I should’ve gotten him ashore faster after arrival. But he knew enough to get himself up on the side deck before relieving the pressure!

He is not a big fan of the engine noise and even less so when it is rough. Sometimes he really doesn’t want to be in the cockpit when we’re underway, so he will find a spot in one of the aft cabins and curl up in a corner, kind of like in a den.

It’s really just a matter of a trial and error and trying to keep them as comfortable as possible until they get acclimated. Have fun with it!

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by Reeve21

He is not a big fan of the engine noise and even less so when it is rough. Sometimes he really doesn’t want to be in the cockpit when we’re underway, so he will find a spot in one of the aft cabins and curl up in a corner, kind of like in a den.

It’s really just a matter of a trial and error and trying to keep them as comfortable as possible until they get acclimated. Have fun with it!

At the other end of the spectrum, ours is completely unbothered by engine noise, etc. And he thinks rough weather is a fun ride. I've watched him laying on the deck sliding back and forth with every wave thinking it's the best day of his life (until he eventually slid too far from us and got up to move closer and restart the sliding process).

[JPA Cate]

@ Donnybrook,

If you have a traveling "dog house" for the dog ashore, she might like to use it in the quarterberth when the weather is uncomfortable, or she needs space alone. You want to place it so her access is easy, and it's her "safe place".

If you have already trained her to void her bladder on command, teaching her to use the astroturf should easily build on her previous training.

Ann

[soon2sail]

We brought our Yorkie-poo onboard our 41' MaineCat at less than a year old, now going on his 4th season in Pac NW. I think most young dogs have no issues adjusting to boat life, but going ashore to explore and "take care of business" is always favored over staying onboard..at least 2 times daily if not making passage somewhere. We haven't had much luck getting "Hercules" to do his biz on the boat..he'll wait as long as he can, hoping for that dinghy ride ashore. One trick however is get about 8 feet of Manila rope, the old school stuff. Tie a not in one end and add a clevis or d-ring. Before you ever get to the boat, try to get the dog (or any dog!) to pee on it..take it to the dog park or leave it by your local fire hydrant. Rinse it off before it gets too ripe. Bag it, take to the boat, then place it out on deck at your designated "dog park". Hopefully Fido recognizes the rope as his go-to spot. And the nice part is that you can tie a line to that d-ring or clevis to drag the rope while underway, rinsing it off (don't foul your prop!). This trick works great for the guy (his dog!) that told me about it..not so much for Hercules however..he wants his dinghy or paddleboard ride

[fxykty]

We used to foster pairs of young (8-12 weeks old) puppies and prepare them for adoption. On weekends and holidays we would take whatever puppies we had to our boat and go sailing with them. All of them loved it. Their travel crate was their safe space (we crate trained them as part of their toilet training), which we placed under the salon table. If conditions got rough or noisy, they would often retreat to their crate. We tried using puppy pads and grass carpet (same as what we used in our home for toilet training) with mixed success (indoor/ooutdoor is more confused on a cat, so we had accidents), but they all quickly figured out that the front trampolines were the perfect place to go pee and poo. Easy clean up for us and easy for the dogs. This won’t work for monos though.

[Montanan]

Provide the pup with opportunities to swim so as to be confident on / in the water.

If the pup needs some coaching bring a kitten along to show the pup how to swim.

[SailwithJeffrey]

I feel dogs should give that lovely experience as well, but every dog should know how to swim before being taken along to avoid drowning, cause they’re really playful and love exploring new things

[Reeve21]

All of my dogs have been born knowing how to swim. I'm not sure how that can be taught. But I agree they have to be kept safe aboard, and even good swimmers can tire and drown. When our boat is underway and the dog is above decks he wears a life jacket.

[Windpilot]

Ot the dock one day talking with a neighbor my bull terrier comes up on deck, proceeded to lift his leg and pee on a stanchion. To my neighbors amazement he pees directly overboard through the netting and asks how I taught him that.
I didn't, just taught him not to do anything below deck.
If underway and it's rough, he can use the cockpit, either way it's easy cleanup.
A life jacket with a handle is what I recommend, he can swim fine but lifting onto a dinghy or for whatever reason is so much easier.