What dog breed if any???

[Shrew]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

I've seen more than 1 lab swimming around a marina with no way out...last thing I would want is a dog that loves the water and will jump in at the drop of a hat. Imagine offshore at night and he goes after your hat when it blows off...

This happened this summer in the anchorage at Block Island RI. A dog jumped overboard in the anchorage at night during a fireworks display. He had no way to get back aboard and no way to easily identify the direction for shore. He swam around in the dark.....until he couldn't. They found the dog washed up on shore the next morning.

[TabbyCat]

Originally Posted by hezi973

Is that a good idea or too much troubles than it worth? That means we have another family member we need to care for and check him/her into new countries etc.

Is it a good idea for full time sailors?
If yes, which dog?

I'd love to hear your opinion and thank you in advance!

We've been cruising 15 years, with no pets during that time, even though we had them before cruising. It was one of the hardest things to bear, especially when little puppies and kittens greeted us in foreign ports, just begging to be adopted but we made that decision based of the issues with checking into foreign countries, quarantine, and the hassle of taking your dog ashore. It's not just enough to go ashore for elimination, a dog needs exercise. Perhaps a cat would do better. We used to lay our boat up ashore for a few months every year and fly back to visit family and friends, and doing so would have been difficult with a pet. That being said, now that we own a few acres of land, we went right out and got a Jungle Hound and more recently, a Belgian Malinois.

[TabbyCat]

Here's a photo of my 9 week old puppy
[IMG][/IMG]

[ausnp84]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

Imagine offshore at night and he goes after your hat when it blows off...

And the dog wouldn’t be tethered and harnessed (like any person with common sense) because.....?

Treat a dog aboard like a kid aboard, and it simplifies things. Would you leave a kid unattended on a boat to roam around and fall in?

Cracks me up all the nay-sayers when it comes to pets, who’ll then drag all their kids (and associated needs and cr*p) from anchorage to anchorage. Unless you’re sailing as a young couple, there’s going to be compromises for every dog, child, non-sailing relative or additional year on this earth (and associated pills, aches and pains, etc).

N

[Leighpilot]

A ceramic dog would be ideal. Or a plush dog would work as well. If you have an existing dog , well that’s one thing but to get a dog for cruising sounds like buying trouble. And it’s not fair on the dog.

Dogs need to be able to run and play which won’t be available on board. You’re going to have to do a poop run every morning and evening to let him do his business.

He’s not going to be effective security. If he’s big enough to add security, he’s too big to be on board. A cat sized dog is no security at all.

Quarantine rules will make your life a misery if you go cruising.

Just get a nice cuddly plush dog and enjoy.

[blubaju]

Sailing Schipperkes - Zenne & Zwetke the sailors
They say, they do not smell when wet ;-)

Met them in the Philippines, all happy, they even breed them onbord

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cpnv...calSailingLife

Luc, Jackie, Zotke, Zonne on https://www.youtube.com/Sloepmouche

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...371734268F153D

[conchaway]

The best kind of dog to have on a boat is a hot dog.

[Cheechako]

I love dogs, but on boats it can be a lot to deal with. If you have Grama and kids, even worse ........I'm giving a resounding NO!
Not really fair to the dog either.

Take it easy, travel planned and slowly. Spend a bunch of time in the Caribe if you are US based. You can spend years having a great , mostly safe, time and not have to cross oceans. Then if you want to go further in a few years , plan that.

[merrydolphin]

Yes, get a nice friendly kitty. They are wonderful on boats. They will be a nice companion and so easy to care for. We cruised with one for 7 yrs on our sailboat and 4 yrs on our motorhome.

[JordanH]

Hey,
I can offer only my opinion and personal experience. My situation is far different than yours but my experience may be applicable.


Firstly, I sail a tiny boat. I don't live aboard. And I had the dog before I had the boat and love dogs to pieces (have been a dog breeder at one point).


If I were cruising, I would NOT take a dog with me unless it was a pre-existing pet/family member.


I took a 6-week cruiser around the great lakes. My girl, a Lagotto Romagnolo (Italian water dog), joined us for the cruise. She had an absolute blast and loved (almost) every minute of it. I got to take her hiking, swimming, and she lived for her dinghy rides... but we were stopping every night. She would hold it for up to 10 hours on and and be seriously prancing to eliminate on dry land whenever we stopped. We took this trip in July, which meant we couldn't leave our dog alone on the boat while we went to dinner... she would bake inside or we'd have to leave a hatch open and she would escape. She snuck off the boat a few times, once we found her playing with kids at the beach. Another time, she left in the middle of the night, kicked at another yachties companion way until she got her 3am belly rub from a stranger before returning to our boat. Anyway, in civilization, it was really tough because we couldn't bring her to restaurants or public beaches (dogs not allowed) etc. Trying to live like that would be hard.
She fell off the dock in a marina. She was young, athletic, and could swim for hours, but got tangled in all the seaweed floatsam and ended up eating her way through the seaweed (and oil/gas?) floating in the marina... nearly lost her. We were on an island without a vet and scrambled to get her back to the mainland for x-rays etc.
Although she loved traveling with us and I loved her being there, I would only recommend this for VACATION, not a liveaboard. I could not fathom going through all of that on the daily basis for 12-17 years.


Along came our second dog (her daughter). Again, she's a water dog, swims day & night at home, so we had no fear with her on the boat. However, she gets seasick! She turns green and pukes and is quite unhappy... I have some interesting stories, but she no longer joins us on day sails and reluctantly on weekend+ cruises. (What would you do if you bought a puppy and found out she was not a seafairing dog? Give her back? Sell her on? Hmmm.)


For so many reasons, I wouldn't take a dog cruising long-term and internationally. You've got rabies vs non rabies countries, quarantine requirements, religion requirements etc etc etc. Again, just my opinion. I think there are better ways to accomplish goals for security and so-on.
(I might considerate for a live-aboard who is relatively stable in a known location and needed a companion...)


My 2 cents



- JH.

[robmo]

Originally Posted by hezi973

Hello,

my wife, daughter, and myself (possibly grandma too) are planning to take a brake from the rat race and go full time cruising. Currently I have a down payment on a Fountain Pajot Elba 45. My daughter will be 10 when getting the boat and the plan is to go cruise without a plan. I hope this will be a 4 years ocean crossing traveling lifestyle. I never own a dog but have plenty friends that do. I am considering getting a dog to join us on our trip mainly for reasons of security and of course friendship. I am mostly concerned for my daughters and think a dog, potentially can be a guardian angle for her, a friend, and a security/deterrent system (I hope I am not offending anybody here).

Is that a good idea or too much troubles than it worth? That means we have another family member we need to care for and check him/her into new countries etc.

Is it a good idea for full time sailors?
If yes, which dog?

I'd love to hear your opinion and thank you in advance!

Great Danes and St. Bernards are great cruising pets. Newfies are good too and they like the watah.

[Sailboatuser]

If you have your family on board you will not need a dog. It will be entertaining enough, trust me (we cruised with kids for 4 years). Children will meet many friends as there are many boats with kids out there.



Dog regulations vary a lot from country to country, it can easily become a nightmare and serious reason to avoid many otherwise great places to visit.


If security is your concern, it is much easier and cheaper to install a proper security system.



I would not want a dog on a cruising boat.

[Kropdad]

Originally Posted by Bill Seal

The one on the left



I'll take the one on the right.

I have two Reds onboard. The bloody things are a fur factory! I wouldn't have dogs on a boat again though, they came before the boat, too much hassle. National parks, bad weather keeping them onboard. It goes on. On the other hand, great companions, good security when we get off. Keep you fit.

[swdreams88]

Hmmmm. Lots of gumpy comments. We picked up a rescue puppy from PAWs in Hawaii and then transitioned to the S Pacific. That dog was my daughters and it was great for her and the family. Two years down wind and we traveled through the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. The dog was a great deterrent saving us from 4 nighttime boardings...great sense of smell. People are very weary of our dogs because they know we train them.

Our railings were netted. We taught the dog (Bella) to climb the boarding ladder. She loved the paddle board. Many evenings we'd take her for a dinghy cruise. She became a master at chasing crabs on the beach. Bella learned quickly to 'go' on her turf grass mat in a fiberglass tray. The local kids would love to play/swim with her, as the local 'wild' dogs are no fun. The companionship was amazing for our whole family, but a true benefit for my daughter to have a consistent companion to care for. As cruising friends come and go this pet was a true benefit to her stability and at times isolation from companions here own age.

Local officials were generally accommodating. Yes there are rules and additional check in procedures, but very do able. WE EVEN CLEARED INTO AUSTRALIA THURSDAY ISLAND and spent 3 months. Authorities coordinated with us to quarantine the dog on the boat and the boat was required stayed at anchor. No problem as there are no marinas anyway. BTW...Great Mountain biking there on Horn Is.

With some preplanning with study of various country requirements it is very doable.

4 PHotos are attached for your review. Please let me know if you would like to chat. We circumnavigated the S Pacific 2012-1019 26Knm

Bella is a Pitbull mix, with Doberman, terrier etc.. Short hair, 1 layer, easy maintenance and cleanup. Very loyal and friendly. Other cruisers loved her as well.

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by swdreams88

We taught the dog (Bella) to climb the boarding ladder.

I'd love to know more about this. Ours has figured out how ladders work to get out of the water from watching us do it, but he can't actually climb without me lifting him. He'll happily put himself on the ladder and wait for help though.