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Scillypete

Scillypete

Well-Known Member
Joined
11 Jun 2003
Messages
1,927
Location
Isles of Scilly
www.peteandspamgosailing.blogspot.com
Well Dogs actually, the plan is to head south next winter.

Our pooch, a small Jack Russell, is fairly well trained but has never been on an open water passage so will probably get deperate to get ashore for a walk and relief after about six hours or so. clearly that will not be possible while crossing Biscay etc so is it possible to train a dog to go in a certain place every time. The boat is a catamaran and I was thinking of having a couple of trays lined with turf so he will have a very small lawn to pee and poop on.

Can anyone out there voyaging with a pooch onboard please advise of how to go about this, I'm figuring a good six to nine months of training should give him the idea.
 
Get some of that Plastic Green Grass stuff, and once the dog has peed on it, Bob's your uncle.
Every couple of days or so, rinse it in the sea to get rid of the smell.

I roll ours up and lash it to the mast, take the dog for walkies up the deck, unroll the 'grass'...
Regards.
 
We removed some grass and soil that had been recently watered and pooed on and put it in a litter tray with some sand and pebbles. It took a while but we got there in the end with our two spaniels she was easier than he was until we fashioned a bit of drift wood for him to cock his leg on.
 
You can buy very large trays (engine drip trays) from Ebay / Amazon and its also my plan to line one with a piece of Asto turf and attach a lanyard to both tray and turf so the whole lot can be trailed behind for a few minutes after use. My collie does her number 1 and 2s on command so she should be okay - hopefully for next season.
 
Getting the (then) 1 yr old Jack Russell used to sailing, like you on a catamaran, we tried everything from astro turf to litter trays; getting down on all fours by the mast (clothed I may add!) nothing worked, he decided for himself that the loo was a certain area of the starboard trampoline and has maintained that for almost 5 years now. Some people may think that's unhygienic but, whilst not really giving two hoots, a bucket of water; detergent and a brush soon sorts it out!

Crossing Biscay the first time, it was a bit rough. Tommy slept almost the entire passage, hardly ate or drank and I was concerned. Once the weather was calmer he suddenly appeared up in the galley where I was boiling the kettle. Funny wet, warm sensation had me glancing down..dog had decided my leg was a tree trunk or similar, after holding his bladder for a good 24 hours I didn't care at all.

Happy cruising with the four legged friend, they'll work out what's best for them :)
 
Hi We have a seven year old boxer, also a Cat... tried everything that people have said before, like Samantha nothing worked including demonstrations.. I cant see how Astro turf can see the same to a dog... Anyhow we limit our selfs to mostly small hops and she is fine... got to the Med via the Midi... that trip is dog heavan... troting along the towpath all day long... she was never fitter :-) As others have said I think she seems to be able to "hold everything" for 24hrs. Anyhow best of luck with the trip

Stu
 
The real problem is some dogs can be very fastidious, we had one that would only do no 2s outside the garden, never mind on the boat. In 6 months living on the boat she peed twice, despite al;l sorts of encouragement. She would go for over 24 hours without peeing despite encouragement and her own special place. The best bet seems to be to ceate a spot where peeing seems normal and give treats etc when the dog performs so the dog really understands this is not only acceptable but desired.
 
Ours uses the astro turf, without any issue. I think the secret is not to wash of the smell off in the beginning and give great praise or a treat when she uses it.
 
Astro turf only deceives humans, it is the smell that the dogs associate with. So leave the pee on it and only clean off the poo. It helps to get the smell right, earlier, by collecting other dog's pee onto the turf, [ Greyhounds are used to peeing on demand!] Disinfectant turns my dog right off any further release. Obviously the wrong smell!!
 
Scillypete said:
Thanks for the helpful comments some useful tips to try out, looks as though I'm going to have to sail out into the Atlantic for a couple of days next summer to see what he does
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We will be crossing Biscay with our two Paterdales early next summer then if that works out across to Caribbean later in the year. Could interesting!
 
Scillypete said:
Well Dogs actually, the plan is to head south next winter.

Our pooch, a small Jack Russell, is fairly well trained but has never been on an open water passage so will probably get deperate to get ashore for a walk and relief after about six hours or so. clearly that will not be possible while crossing Biscay etc so is it possible to train a dog to go in a certain place every time. The boat is a catamaran and I was thinking of having a couple of trays lined with turf so he will have a very small lawn to pee and poop on.

Can anyone out there voyaging with a pooch onboard please advise of how to go about this, I'm figuring a good six to nine months of training should give him the idea.
Click to expand...

The problem with my dog (AKA the ginger destroyer) is not how to get him to pee on deck its how to STOP him peeing on deck , often after hours of walking on a beach and draining his bladder at every honking lap post he still insists on p1ssing over the windlass five minutes after getting back on board !
 
ribrage said:
The problem with my dog (AKA the ginger destroyer) is not how to get him to pee on deck its how to STOP him peeing on deck , often after hours of walking on a beach and draining his bladder at every honking lap post he still insists on p1ssing over the windlass five minutes after getting back on board !
Click to expand...

Oh . . . . . territory marking by the sounds of it . . . . perhaps you should pee on the winch after him to show him its your territory ;)
 
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