Sailing with Dogs -Tips Please

brianhumber

brianhumber

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We are now proud owners of two very active 3 month old Rough Collies.
We want to go sailing with them, starting with small trips to solent etc.
Apart from fitting netting to guard rails and buying dog life jackets, any tips on dealing with the new crew??

thanks

Brian
 
Make sure they are comfortable.........


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if its only day sailing they look pretty happy to me,we have a bit of astroturf we use for wee's and jobbies or even wee jobbies as billy connelly would say, one of our dogs used it the other would go in the most awkward place on the deck.
however the record for them "holding on" went to daisy 4 days.
we keep them on a lead at all times in the cockpit, and down below ,hatch shut when coming in to a marina.
they have an old sleeping bag on the floor to lie on ,but the option of the settee or 1/4 berth ,so a sleep is possible wherever they have felt safest.water in a bowl with lip round the edge held in place by a stainless ring,
seasickness has not been a problem but is always a possibility,if they get really stressed you can get travel type pills from the vet,it might be worth keeping some onboard,also sulphur blocks in there water,it helps cool them down.
 
Our boxer is pretty relaxed about the whole thing and generally snoozes while we're sailing. She has a lifejacket, but we keep her on a lifeline clipped to the rails to keep her from wandering off.

We've got netting round the side of the boat so that she has the run of it while we're tied up.

If it's a bit cold and bouncy she prefers to be asleep down below

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We normally keep trips to a maximum of six hours, after which she starts to get a bit twitchy about going to find somewhere to have a wee.
 
Our dog definitely had problems with fitting herself in the cockpit of our monohull with all the ropes and other impedimenta that was spread about everywhere - she was usually standing/lying on a vital piece of equipment and didn't appreciate that we might be short with her when in a stressy situation.

Changing our Bav 34 for a 34 foot catamaran seems to have helped a great deal - she's good oodles more room to sprawl over several seats and the lack of heeling is great for her. She didn't used to like sailing in anything more than a F3 because of the heeling.

As everyone else has said, clipping the dog on is very important. Despite their apparent agility, GRP decks aren't good for paw grippiness. She's never fallen in but still wears the lifejacket at all times on board just in case.

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Yep as everybody has said

Life jacket and in the cabin, normally ours go to sleep.....for hours, we call the jackets sleeping coats.

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Last weekend was the first time any of our dogs have been sea sick, proper put out she was as well. It was a little bouncy though.

Tom
 
My little springer spaniel isn't too happy outside the house, unless there is a cat or a squirrel in site. But she prefers to be with us to being left at home.

her main problem is grip. She is designed to have excellent ground-holding in woods, fields...etc.

But teak decks, or GRP surfaces are for her very slippy. Provided you understand the dog's particular fears and problems, and take effective steps to deal with these fears, they will learn to cope.

One thing, I always feed my spaniel on the boat. it makes her realise that it could be home if necessary /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
We have a young (10 month) Airedale Terrier and this was her first season. The only tips I could give would be to:
a. Get the dogs onboard ASAP even if its just sitting on the mooring - I've met many folk who've said they left it a year and found the dog wouldnt even walk on the pontoons. Also pop on a lifejacket from day 1 - again best to get them used to it ASAP.
b. Feed him / her onboard and have a familiar blanket / vet bed or such like to remind of home
c. Try not to get their fur tangled up in the mainsheet / other running bits and pieces - we've found ours tends to yelp rather a lot when its wrenched out!


We havent got side netting but I think I'll get somje for next season when she's a bit more confident and more likely to take off - this season she's been 'just scared enough' not to be a danger to herself!

Overall I wouldnt say our Airedale is a huge fan but she's happy joining us for a few days and seems to enjoy sitting on deck in new surroundings just keeping an eye on things.

Cheers

Mark
 
Our two Retreivers sail with us, lifejackets and clipped on. We have discovered that the best addition for their comfort and security is fitting the floor of the cabin with non slip matting (the sort you can get from caravan and camping shops on a roll) no matter how far we heal they feel safe and don't fly about on the polished floor. They love it !
Ours joined the crew as pups and settled immediately, the sooner you get them onboard the better.
 
When you people are saying you clip the dogs on, I do hope it is not by their collars?

Finding you dog hanging by the neck down the hatch or over the side would seriously ruin a holiday cruise I would think.

Not to teach sucking eggs, I use a harness designed for car travel, I bought them when I had a convertible and was worried the dogs might jump out, messy!

Mine came from the vets but I am sure you can get them in many places locally. What is handy is they are ideal for lifting dogs up the wall or similar, dog lifejackets should not be used to lift the dog except in emergency, they put the weight in the wrong places.

This is the one, note the wide strap down the chest. Click photo for link, no association etc.


They can also be worn under the dog lifejackets.

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EDIT>> This is not my dog, yappy yap thing, /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
Anyone got a good trick for getting a lumpy mutt in and out of a dinghy. Our Dalmation weighs a fair bit and our floating caravan (Moody 30) has high topsides. a lot of shoving and grunting goes on at the mo.

Nick
 
My only advice is to keep an eye on your four-legged crew. A few years back, I heard a heart-breaking general call on VHF from CG radio - reporting a dog lost sometime during a four-hour period between one port and another and not discovered missing until they had come alongside. It was a 20-mile stretch of water and the weather was bleak - cold, raining, windy, sea-state four. Never heard if the dog was rescued or not, but the odds weren't good.
 
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