Anyone sail with a large dog

All this lifting of dogs. They have legs, make *them* do the work! If they don't get the message, sail off without them. It works with the car anyway.
 
When their legs are only about 6 inches long, they have to be lifted - even the car is a bit of a challenge! However, lifting a dog that only weighs about 5 kg isn't a big deal :D
Jack spent a couple of weeks with a family with a much larger dog (a Labradoodle), while we were visiting relatives in Hong Kong. On return, we were surprised to discover that his ability to jump had greatly improved! Further, last week I was on Capricious and left him in the cabin, thinking he couldn't get up the companionway. Mistake! He now can, as I discovered when I realised he was in the cockpit while I was sorting out lines for a move to a new berth! Now, it takes a wash-board in place to keep him safely confined.
 
Does your Moody have the transom scoop? which does make life a little easier. However, lifting 40kgs of Labradoodle from the wobbly dinghy into the boat is an interesting operation, one day it will end in tears and a big splash.


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So that's what a Labradoodle looks like .... do they not molt? Used to be a labrador man years ago and the only thing that puts me off these days is memories of hair/fur everywhere ... if these mongrels don't molt they sound like the perfect dog!
 
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So that's what a Labradoodle looks like .... do they not molt? Used to be a labrador man years ago and the only thing that puts me off these days is memories of hair/fur everywhere ... if these mongrels don't molt they sound like the perfect dog!

Some doodles look like that!

They come in all sizes from half that to even bigger, colours from pitch black to off white, and coats from short and straight via wavy to a tight curly fleece.

Ours, a bitch, weighs 34 kg, has a short straight black coat and moults for England. Tumbleweeds at home and on the boat. On the plus side she is great with the grandchildren and loves sailing and the dinghy (taxi to the pub!). A sugar scoop s good...
 
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Some doodles look like that!

They come in all sizes from half that to even bigger, colours from pitch black to off white, and coats from short and straight via wavy to a tight curly fleece.

Ours, a bitch, weighs 34 kg, has a short straight black coat and moults for England. Tumbleweeds at home and on the boat. On the plus side she is great with the grandchildren and loves sailing and the dinghy (taxi to the pub!). A sugar scoop s good...
Our friend's has white fur with tight curls. Jack also has poodle in the mix. Poodle genes are supposed to mean that they are less likely to trigger allergic reactions in people susceptibel to dog hair. Jack certainly does shed some hair, but it is very fine, soft stuff.
 
The curlier a labradoodle's coat, the less it sheds - as a general rule. Ours is an F2 cross: both her parents are labradoodles. She and her six litter siblings span the full range of colours and coat types. Weird, but lovable......
 
It's a no win. If the dog doesn't like water/ the boat then neither you nor it will be happy. If like our last dog he does like the water then you have other problems. That mutt, in a previous life, has been used for wildfowling so as soon as he saw water he kept into it. Didn't matter if it was clean swimming water or liquid mud. In he went. Getting him out required deviousness. Getting him clean without a hosepipe was impossible. So there you are on a mooring on a rainy night, dog has to go for a per. Just what do you do with the mud encrusted result?
 
Lot of good advice above, especially about slow, encouraging training and have a place or places, perhaps with familiar bedding, that your dog can feel safe in.
We sail with a dog and tend to do short trips so she is still ashore a few times everyday. She loves the dinghy and going ashore. Set off last year and when conditions got rough she was utterly miserable so we turned back. It was awful for her and almost as bad for us seeing her panting, retching, eyes rolling etc so won't do that again.
Another possibility, not a substitute for the advice so far given but as an extra thing to try, might be a mild tranquilliser? Maybe not a permanent solution but if it gets him over a difficult patch then maybe something to consider? Your vet or a training expert should be able to advise.
 
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