sailing with a dog

[Birdseye]

Advice needed. the mutt seems to have an enormous bladder that lasts unemptied for 24 hours but he hasnt a lot of grip on grp surfaces and the one time I put him down below for safety whilst underway in a rolly sea, he honked all over my bunk. Luckily the colour matched the upholstery.

He is also energetic and inquisitive rather than sleepy and quiet. Springer.

So how do you do it, those of you who sail with a dog.

 

[Stemar]

Go sleepy and quiet

Someone with a sensible answer will be along in a minute.

 

[NormanS]

The one time that I was obliged to undertake a multi-day passage with a friend's dog aboard, convinced me that the only kind suitable for being onboard is a stuffed one. ?

 

[Concerto]

I used to sail with my labrador Zara, but I would never sail for longer than 8 hours as I felt it was cruel. She stayed in the cockpit, sometimes sleeping, sometimes just wanting a rub on the head. She loved watching boats and buoys passing close by. I kept a bowl of water in the cockpit so she was never dehydratedd. Never was she sick. She loved being on the boat and sleeping overnight down below.

Whilst onboard she wore a lifejacket, except when below, as it had a large handle on the back. I also have a 3m line reeving boat hook in case she fell in. Then I could use a halyard to lift her back onboard.

The only problem I once had was once walking along the main walkway, without her lifejacket on, in the marina, I stopped to chat with another owner. Zara looked at this large area of weed alongside the walkway and jumped on it, probably thinking it was grass. It took 2 of us to lift her out of the water and stood clear as she shook. Then I walked her to to the end of a pontoon and gave her a hose down - she loved it. Then back onboard for a rub down.

There is no simple answer for having a dog onboard, it depends so much on the dog breed and temperate.

 

[chrishscorp]

Ours is a 40Kg Lab crossed with a Mastiff introduced to sailing when he was 7 he is 11 now and loves it, Lyme bay crossing at 10 hours is the longest we will do with him he has a life jacket but to be fair he normally wears a car restraint harness which a lanyard clips onto, In the summer he doesnt wear a foam lifejacket as he will get too hot. He will spend most of the time in the cockpit though he is put below when we leave or arrive so he is not under our feet at the wrong moment.

He has never been sick but he did look very unimpressed and wasnt going to nibble a chew stick having just gone round Portland Bill when it was rather swelly.

I also always have a bucket ready in case he uses the pontoon for a leak, I really cannot stand dog owners who wont clear up after their 4 legged crew.

 

[ashtead]

Should you have a yacht such as an Amel that stern deck is very suitable for plastic grass once he/she has been trained and spaniels if neurotic are very trainable. We have a working cocker spaniel but would not cruise much more than 8 ish hours -say Lymington to Portland . He generally sleeps in his stern cabin in his berth on passage as he is easily distracted by waves breaking,seagulls,dolphins etc but if in cockpit he will wear a yellow lifeline connected to what might be termed body collar clip at top or if it’s cold life jacket (as noted on too hot in heatwaves) . This attaches to d ring by main hatch so he can stand/lie on cockpit seats . We will bring his dad up into cockpit if calm. He has a drinking bowl in cockpit and if hot a cooling blanket but rarely used. Totally agree he should be below on arrival though.
Our only muddy problem was our last dog (a Lab) who mistook muddy land for solid land as he chased a seagull. We are mindful of tidal streams when our current spaniel swims -ideally inwards tides.

in terms of grip I once saw a boxer I believe sailing on a Bowman with leather boots to give traction. I guess he was trained from berth to wear doggy padders.

 

[Tomaret]

Advice needed. the mutt seems to have an enormous bladder that lasts unemptied for 24 hours but he hasnt a lot of grip on grp surfaces and the one time I put him down below for safety whilst underway in a rolly sea, he honked all over my bunk. Luckily the colour matched the upholstery.

He is also energetic and inquisitive rather than sleepy and quiet. Springer.

So how do you do it, those of you who sail with a dog.

Last summer we had a very bouncy trip from Fawey to Falmouth which made our cocker sick. A call to our vet resulted in a recommendation to use pet travel sickness tablets when conditions were a bit rough. We used it on a trip from Fowey to Salcombe to good effect, but it did make her drowsy. Wouldn’t use it as a matter of course.

 

[sailingmartin]

I have been very lucky with my dog - collie type farm dog and aged nine next month. He has sailed more than 15,000 miles (true sea dog) and has never been sick (unlike me) and has never refused his dinner. On long crossings (>24 hours) I have two bits of astroturf for the foredeck and cockpit which he has been trained to use - no cocking his leg on the mast. The longest trip was 21 days across the Atlantic with no obvious distress and completely normal behaviour when back on dry land. Kept occupied with games, but quite happy to sleep. Most dogs naturally find the best spots on the boat (sunny when cold, shady when hot) and I think they learn how to handle the grp deck over time. He wears a lifejacket at sea, tethered at night or in rough weather like all the crew. I always try to get to land twice a day if anchored or moored on a buoy, which I think is fair enough.

 

[LittleSister]

Could I make my first million marketing grippy deck shoes for dogs?

 

[jimi]

Could I make my first million marketing grippy deck shoes for dogs?

Too late wee lass?. Socks for Dogs - Orvis UK

 

[jimi]

Here’s one of our two.

 

[Concerto]

Most dogs naturally find the best spots on the boat (sunny when cold, shady when hot)

They always seem to find the most comfortable place????? Just had to push the water bowl out the way.



Alas I lost Zara in August 2020.

 

[PaulR]

sailed for 7 years with our springer - she like rest of us not keen on it being very bumpy but otherwise fine - never sick on board - preferred to always be in cockpit wearing life jacket when underway - took to it at age 9 when we adopted her - miss her!

ps she did round england trip with us plus solent to friesan islands

 

[CAPTAIN FANTASTIC]

There are no major issues if the dog likes sailing, many dogs just about tolerate it. The smaller the dog the easier it gets for going on and off the boat. In our case, our 10 stone Rottweiler was a bit of a problem only because of the size, but she loved sailing around everywhere with the family and treated the boat as her home.

 

[sailingmartin]

Simple equation: bigger dog, bigger boat!

 

[ashtead]

Too late wee lass?. Socks for Dogs - Orvis UK

Yes but will a spaniel keep them on? I just thought they came with Bowman though and didn’t realise that they were for fishing.

 

[geem]

Our Patterdale has just done her third Atlantic crossing. She didn't go to the loo at all for the first three days on the last crossing. Then got into habit of only going once a day. She likes to go forward in front of the mast. A bucket and spray bottle of bleach sorts the deck.
Don't worry about the dog not going to the loo. They will go when they have to. We have spoken to several vets about it and bean told not to worry. They aren't built like us?

 

[Scillypete]

Our little Jack Russell (ideal boating size) first went to sea 4 days after we got him as a pup. Boats and boating were normal behaviour for him, they were only short trips around the islands and he just got used to going for his walk by boat. When it came to doing a long trip across Biscay to eventually spend winter in the Canaries he didn’t go for the first 24 hours, I had a fairly large area of turf in a tub on the aft deck with grass which he ignored, but by then he was looking fairly agitated probably worried that he could not hold for much longer and didn’t know where to go, I kept picking him up and putting him on the grass but he would do nothing until he could hold no more and peed and peed. Pooing on the other hand he hung out for four days and then went and went and went again, he didn’t stop eating and was also drinking normally. It never seemed to do him any harm. He was never seasick which was a blessing I guess he just liked a good run ashore to do his business.

 

[Birdseye]

The only problem I once had was once walking along the main walkway, without her lifejacket on, in the marina, I stopped to chat with another owner. Zara looked at this large area of weed alongside the walkway and jumped on it, probably thinking it was grass. It took 2 of us to lift her out of the water and stood clear as she shook. Then I walked her to to the end of a pontoon and gave her a hose down - she loved it. Then back onboard for a rub down.

Snap! Thats exactly how our dog learned to swim as a pup