Dogs on Boats

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mikejbuk

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Sorry if this has been done before. SWMBO wants a dog (not just for Christmas); we have both been dog owners in the past, but not boat owners at the same time. I'm worried the chewing, toilet habits etc may hinder sailing, (dog, not swmbo). Is it fair on the dog? We sail most weekends including winter and would like to know if said pup (likely to be a Lab) can be safely, fairly, and enjoyably integrated.

Your views are appreciated.

Mike
 
Oh dear!
I suspect your question will elicit a raft of advice, all contradictory.
There is a school of opinion that dogs have no place on boats at all. Mutts that arn't terrified are too eager to leap into the briny without invitation... and wet dogs in a small cabin are not good news.
My own experience is slightly different... our dog has been a regular on board and generally gets himself comfortable in a blow, has no problem crossing his legs and has only had a dunking once; and that was off the dinghy.
One or two points to ponder; some labs can be farly hefty brutes. Could you lift one from a dinghy to the deck with or without a lifejacket? Could you carry him across a raft of boats to reach the pontoon?
I ask because I don't think I could manage anything bigger than my dog. It may be easier if you are marina based.
 
We sail with 2 dogs with no problem at all, although being terrier size does make life a bit easier. Dogs naturally want to be with you and will quickly adapt to a boat in the same was as a car or house. In fact I would say it is kinder/fairer to take them with you than not.

Toileting needs a bit of planning but no different than at home - out early and late. He/she will probably very quickly associate the boat with walks on the beach and perhaps sometimes unfortunately (particularly with a Lab if true to breed) increased opportunity to get wet. A harness/lifejacket is worth considering as it gives something to grab hold of to pull soogy dog aboard.

Over recent years there has certainly been an increase in the number of boats with dogs aboard in our sailing area.
 
had a spaniel on board for the last two years

plus side - gets you off the boat in the morning for a walk.

down side - gets you off the boat in the morning for a walk

She's a great boat dog, loves the dinghy falls off a lot, jumps onto the wrong boats on ocasion (oops sorry) smells in the cabin.

Years ago we had a retreiver and lifting 5 stone from the dinghy to the boat made it hard work added to that you'll never get the fur balls off.

Ian
 
Having had a selection of dogs on various boats, The lab always had to be tied up, as he had a habit of going for a swim whenever he felt like it. even if the tide was out and it involved a 100 yard dash across the mud flats. Good practise for MOB when the tide was in though.
 
We have 1 year old Patterdale. Excellent boat dog. I believe it is important to have a dog `shot puttable`. Makes it a hell of a lot easier to get them out of a dingy and on to the deck of a boat. Rough weather doesnt bother her her.
 
I faced the same problem when I planned to take my Border Collie sailing. A godsend was a harness that I had made similar to doggie lifejackets but without flotation (thought she'd be too hot) & with wider straps. This had a handle on the top & white reflective strips which handily convinced anti-dog establishments that she was my guide dog. We were perfectly equipped for boarding & disembarking from/to the Avon. On the rare occasions she fell in it was easy to get her out using a boat hook. Her first long passage was 14hrs across Lyme Bay & she took no interest in the WC even when invited to walk on deck but boy was she glad to arrive in Dartmouth ! She didnt enjoy the open sea but she loved me & meeting people ! Sadly she's not with me now but I still have the harness.
 
Consider the other poor people that have to suffer your mobile burglar alarm/muckspreader.

Dog mess in marinas is utterly vile, and barking the same. I'm sure you'll protest vigorously that your dog doesn't ever bark or crap and spray piss everywhere - all dog owners do, yet any marina (or anchorage) with a dog in it is fouled and suffers from incessant barking...

Dog on a boat??? All I can think of is, WHY???
 
[ QUOTE ]
...Dog on a boat??? All I can think of is, WHY???

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Because they are more agreeable and better company than some humans you find on other boats?

I rafted outside of a boat once and the skipper looked over and said "Oh, you've got dogs, I don't like dogs". To which I replied "That's alright, my dogs don't like some people". It was interesting that his 2 female companions spent more time talking to me and my dogs over the next few hours. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

My dogs don't leave the boat without me and I clear up any mess that they make. I just wish some humans were as concietious clearing up after themselves and their crews. As for noise I would say my dogs have been kept awake by noisy humans more often than they have kept anyone else awake.
 
hi
we have had a succesion of dogs over the last 12-15years - a few observations.
we had one dog that we were able to train to pee on a bit of astroturf on the foredeck, bucket of water to wash off , job done.
there have been times when I have felt obliged to take the dog ashore in a tender in the pitch dark, blowing hard and felt this quite dangerous on isolated anchorages.
used to be able to carry our dogs up harbour wall ladders, yorkies, tibetian terrier etc but these small/medium dogs.
Never had any of our dogs inclined to jump off the boat except when dried out.
Used dog lifejacket always under way and at night, also useful for lifting.
I would be very wary of having a large/heavy dog on a boat as entering and getting out of tenders has a potential for accidents.
Much as I have loved our dogs there have been many times I wished they were not with us on the boat - my wife and daughter had the pleasure of them on the boat and I usually had the hard work and danger of getting them ashore twice a day, even weekend sailing is a lot of work with a dog.

We have never found any adverse reaction from other boat owners in raft ups or pontoons however I aways carry our dogs across other peoples boats. and carry the dog off a pontoon if it is obviously bursting for a pee!
 
Our boxer (about 60lb) is about as big a dog as I'd be comfortable with on a boat. There are occasions when you just have to pick em up and sling em somewhere. I think a lab may be a bit big.

Other than that, dogs and boats seem to get on just fine. Her maximum comfort zone without bathroom breaks is 6-7 hours, but that fits in pretty well with our pottering around the Solent.
 
Placed our Collie (Skip) on board in Devon aged 12 weeks. he did 550 miles of sailing back to the east coast and has lived aboard ever since. If he needs to go whilst sailing, he places his arse over the cockpit drains and it's easily washed away. (must have seen someone do something similar one night watch).
The biggest problem is getting him up harbour walls, especially when wet. When he was a young pup he fitted a holdall and got dragged up on the end of a line. now I think I'll have to get him a harness.
Great company though, never answers back, doesn't drink the supplies and can be made to sleep on your feet on cold nights... unlike SWMBO.
 
There are occasions when you just have to pick em up and sling em somewhere. I think a lab may be a bit big.

..........................................................................

I laughed at that, but it is ever so true...


]
 
We had a jack russell for 15 years who loved coming boating with us, although he was only introduced to it from the age 3 years old. He did hate to wear his life jacket as it seemed to cut into his privates, but he loved the walks on different beaches, and sunbathing in the cockpit with us. He did get seasick if it was really rough, but most of the time he was fine. When we were rafted up he actually learned to go around the bows of boats to get ashore. The only down side we found was the dog hairs but it was worth putting up with to have him with us. Sadly he passed away, but we have another little boat dog, a bedlington terrier, and they do not loose their hair. I think you do need a dog you can pick up easily with one hand, who does not take up too much room, and does not leave hair all over the place. Another breed to consider is a Belgian Barge Dog as they apparently have boating in their genes. I must admit, having a dog made sailing so much more enjoyable, and our old dog was well known and loved wherever we went.
 
IMHO, a Lab is a bit large, we have had dogs, liveaboards for a total of around 20 yrs , best for us Jack Russel size. Good guards and company.
 
I assume Mash has a means of disposing of his bodily waste via an earth closet or some such device then, and that he recyles all his boat garbage. Sounds like someone in need of therapy to me . I certainly think the majority of boating dog owners are probably more responsible in terms of clearing up
and I have never heard a dog barking at an anchorage except ashore haveing fun.
 
Have has a couple of dogs, both enjoyed being afloat, well at least the second follow the first one, so kinda put up with being afloat, he was a Jack Russell, the one that simply loved the water be that on it or in it. He was a Lab type cross, a big dog, must echo the thoughts of others, the bigger they the harder it can be to shift them on and off.

The Lab literally took to the water like a guess a duck does? Anyways he, in his younger years would even sit on the front of a sailboard, me sailing, if it meant he could do what I was doing. Funniest thing was though he never coped with the gaps in-between pontoon section, not the gaps between the wooden boards, but the larger gaps between pontoon a section and the next, in all his 15yrs he had to ‘hop’ over said gaps, silly bugger! Likewise if he was wondering around the yard at work, a large bricked boatyard which had a drain grating running in sections most of the length of the yard, it only measured about 4 or 5 inches width. But no way would he cross that, always he had to run the length to find a break in the drain and cross there!!!

Sorry I digress alittle, reminiscing….

Getting a dog, get one your boat can cope with, and one you can lift.
 
I have a female West Highland Terrier who understands a number of conversational words among them walk and boat. She can also spell w-a-l-k and b-o-a-t as we find out when we try to fool her. Whether we say boat or spell it she reacts exactly as she does when we say or spell walk. She gets very excited and wants to go straight away. The only time she ever jumps off is on the tender on the way out or in, so I have learned to watch her when going out or returning from the boat, which is on a mooring.
She is very useful in terms of making sure I have trimmed the sails properly. Unless they are drawing perfectly she barks at them. She also barks at them as I let fly on a tack. If there is the smallest flutter in either the main or jib she lets me know straight away.
As far as the toilet is concerned she seems to be able to hold herself for 12-15 hours and I take her to shore in the morning and evening. I have not yet attempted to take her on a sail that lasts several days although it is my intention at some stage to teach her to urinate and defecate on a piece of astroturf on the foredeck. But I keep putting that off.
I use a dog lifejacket on her mainly to help in lifting her on and off the boat from the dinghy. It is also useful when she does decide to go for a swim from the dinghy, just grab the handle and haul her aboard.
I do a lot of single handed sailing and really enjoy having her along as company. In fact when I am going any great distance and leave her behind she is the thing I miss most.
 
i agree with gets you off the boat in the morning and last thing at night!
We have a English springer spaniel and as Gordon can vouch, he regularly swims from the mooring to the shore in the morning.

On board he's kept tethered at the bow as he loves to watch the bow wave and can do so for hours at a time. Haven't yet managed to train him to do the toilet on the deck but maybe sometime I'll try peeing there myself to see if that encourages him.
Cats a re easier as my friend has one and they have a cat litter tray up front so there is no problem. The cat syas on board when they go ashore. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
 
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