Dog on a Liveaboard what are the problems?

nickd

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Hi All
We are now planning our early retirement sailing.
We currently cruise the west coast of Wales in Westerly Konsort with a very happy crew Jasper the spaniel, he loves the boat in all weather conditions.

We are now forming a plan which involves purchasing a larger boat and mooring it in the med somewhere, initially taking long weekends on her, and gradually taking longer and longer vacations until we are liveaboards. Once we get to liveaboard the plan is the Canaries, Carribean, Possibly East Coast USA, Definitely West Coast USA, possibly some central america, then pacific, then whatever.

Provided we take some clippers for when its hot, Jasper is not going to be happy being left behind so what do we need to be aware of?
I presume whilst we are back and forth to the med we will have to go by car to be able to take the dog, are there any restrictions that we need to know about?
Once we become more permanent are their any problems with a dog in the med?

What happens when we go further afield? He will need to get ashore at least for some exercise

Any expereince or information would be greatly appreciated

Many Thanks
Nick
 

maxi77

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The really big question is will he pee and poo on the boat if not your passages will be limited to just how long he can go with his legs crossed. Remember long periods of not peeing can damage a dogs internal waterworks. I assume that he is no longer a puppy so will be more able to cope with long periods of inaction. Our new dog which is about 1 year travels in our motorhome fine, as long as the journey is only a few hours, any longer and he gets bored and we suffer the consequences.
 

nickd

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Thanks maxi but just to make it clear he has been sailing with us for three seasons, he loves the boat in all conditions, in fact he is a great wave spotter, if he retreats to under the canopy, I duck because an odd wave is coming over. We have the basics sorted, what concerns me is the various legal/quarantine/vaccination requirements we might bump into.
Thanks
 

LandM

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I think the main thing you have to be aware of in the Med is that not everyone is an animal lover in the way that they are here. I know of several liveaboards whose dogs ate poisoned meat whilst out for a walk in the countryside. It's not that farmers and other locals have a thing against the domestic dog........they may put poisioned meat down to kill other vermin but of course the dog doesn't know to keep away and I'm afraid it's normally curtains if they ingest it. I know these cases might be rare but it's just good to be savvy.
 
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