Dog Aboard

[Curtsal]

Greetings All. New to the site so apologies if posting in the wrong spot. Just curious in your experience best dog for cruising. We're in Florida, will be cruising BVI. Wife needs some company besides me so we're looking.

[Chenega]

King Charles Cavalier makes a great boat dog…

[Curtsal]

Thanks Charles...one of the breeds we're looking at! Great picture by the way ��

[chris in SG]

We recommend BEAGLES. Aside from being good-natured, they are perhaps the smallest breed that has a proper 'woof' (rather than a 'yap, yap') which can be useful for security. A few points to consider if you do choose a beagle:

- I've heard there are plenty of ex-pharma beagles now in shelters in the US (not sure if OP is US based) and although these deserve a good home, it's important that you start with a puppy onboard which can be trained for cruising - not an adult dog that refuses to 'squat' unless onshore.

- Beagles vary in size significantly. Try to find a puppy with small parents (so-called 13" breed) because they are easier to man-handle and more compatible with restricted living space.

- Make sure you have a quality vacuum cleaner, like a Dyson, because beagles shed alot.

[CarlF]

Havanese!

Incredibly friendly and cute. Everyone in the marina loves ours. Loves all children.
Playful - even makes up its own games.
Very chill - rarely barks - never yaps.
Doesn’t shed
Hypoallergenic
Can be trained to a pee pad - no night trips ashore
Small enough to go on a plane in a soft carrier under the seat (full grown size range from 10lbs to 18lbs) - ours is 18lbs and we like that size.
If you keep the hair cut short in a puppy cut no brushing needed after a beach trip. Just a brisk towel dry.
A “sturdy dog” with very few health problems. Long lived.
Absolutely loves kayak and dinghy rides

[Curtsal]

Thanks to all for your suggestions. Sounds like you have some good crew aboard! We're gonna do something and we appreciate your assistance Fair Winds!

[Reeve21]

Something that doesn't shed.

I've had shedders and non shedders aboard, you don't want that hair in places a vacuum won't reach.

We have a 14 year old goldendoodle who has been our best boat dog ever.

[mvweebles]

Think long and hard about getting a dog while cruising. Besides the obvious needs of the dog to relieve themself, having a dog really, really changes the cadence of cruising internationally. Some countries require very recent vet certifications from previous port. If you travel inland, many hotels will not allow pets. Many restaurants will not allow them either. Some that do allow pets only allow them in certain parts of the restaurant so you feel like you're an outcast. Getting pet food isn't always easy and is never reasonably priced. Some animals are prone to seasickness; and many go berzerk each time you fire-up the engine.

I'm not saying don't get a dog, but there's a lot to think about to make sure it's the right fit for you. They are really good companions (as are cats). Friends have a pair of miniature goldendoodles (about 10-lbs each) that are adorable and wonderful company. But it comes at a cost. They would have it no other way, but it's something to think about.

[rslifkin]

We boat with our Standard Poodle. He's a little bit more vocal than we'd like at times and takes up as much space as an extra person, but he doesn't shed, he's happy to just lounge around the boat most of the time, likes dinghy rides, and generally loves being on the boat. We haven't tried to get him trained to use artificial turf or anything, but he can easily go 12 hours without a trip ashore when required.

No seasickness concerns with our dog, he thinks rough weather is fun and will tolerate far worse conditions than we'll ever subject ourselves to. And on our boat and others, he finds engine noise and vibration soothing.

[grantmc]

Originally Posted by Reeve21

Something that doesn't shed.

I've had shedders and non shedders aboard, you don't want that hair in places a vacuum won't reach.

We have a 14 year old goldendoodle who has been our best boat dog ever.

Soft Coated Wheaten Terriers are amazing dogs in the non-shedding arena. Awesome with children, wonderful temperaments and as smarter than most dogs.

And I really miss my dog when I travel. But dogs are just so difficult and sometimes expensive to get across borders. The need for vet certificates, perhaps quarantine can amount to thousands of dollars, and then getting them back home is just as difficult.

Pictured is my dog Apsley.

[Turtle Blues]

Currently the default grandparents of a 65lb pit that needs to go ashore 3x a day. Have friends that went through 3 dingy / tender setups before finding a comfortable setup for loading and transport of a smaller dog. Proper gear will be a consideration.
Also temperament is critical. Traveled with a Yorkie that barked at the wake. All day, every day. DOB was a thought.
Echo Weeble's advice think it through.

[JPA Cate]

There is another possible downside. I don't really like talking about it, but we had a friend who brought their dog cruising with them. They caught a bad night, dog fell overboard, and they couldn't get back to save the dog. The lady was devastated. This is probably very rare, but I wouldn't buy the dog for your wife's companionship if she would be devastated by it's loss and blame you. Please ask her about it. If she's okay with the idea she could lose her new companion that way, that's one thing; but if it were to become "your fault", it would be another. And your decisions have to be based on the welfare of the boat and the crew.



Ann

[chris in SG]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

There is another possible downside. I don't really like talking about it, but we had a friend who brought their dog cruising with them. They caught a bad night, dog fell overboard, and they couldn't get back to save the dog. The lady was devastated. This is probably very rare, but I wouldn't buy the dog for your wife's companionship if she would be devastated by it's loss and blame you. Please ask her about it. If she's okay with the idea she could lose her new companion that way, that's one thing; but if it were to become "your fault", it would be another. And your decisions have to be based on the welfare of the boat and the crew.



Ann

I hesitated to respond because I also don't like talking about it. We lost our first beagle overboard and the grief and guilt lasted years.

We had emphasized training for the dog to be a strong swimmer and not scared of water. The result was that he spent alot of time in the water fishing for interesting flotsam and then climbing out on the platform I had designed.

One time, we were about 30 mins out of an anchorage in Indonesia and found he was not onboard. He must have spotted something like a coconut floating past and jumped in to retrieve it. We tracked back and could not find him.

If we HAD found him, I'm sure I would have said to him something like " Duh, surely you could see the boat was moving..?" I suspect this is a common mistake - we attribute greater intelligence to dogs than is realistic, and that is dangerous. It's true that dogs will assess the safety of the side deck in heavy weather, when planning to head for the trampoline for a pee, but this is somehow instinctive. You can't expect a dog to judge the forward motion of the boat or the similar effect of a strong current.

In the tropics, it seems cruel to insist on pet lifejackets (if you do, then it would need to be 24/7 to make any sense) and long leashes are a nightmare, tangling and creating their own dangers. We have tried Raymarine lifetags (now discontinued) and other bluetooth tags and found them ineffective, not least because they are insufficiently waterproof, so if dogs are in and out of the water all the time, the transponders fail. They are generally designed for a one-off dousing.

It was 5 years before we, rightly or wrongly, tried again. But that's another story..

[rslifkin]

We don't make our dog wear a life jacket all the time, but he does wear it for swimming and dinghy rides. The rest of the time, we're pretty restrictive about where he's allowed to be on deck such that he's not anywhere he can fall or jump from. And we're not afraid to send him inside when needed either. He also wears sneakers for extra grip on the decks. They make a big difference in him being surefooted moving around the boat and getting on/off from a dock.

On deck we usually let him drag a short leash around so he's easier to grab if needed, or one of us can sit or stand on the leash while doing something to keep him next to us. However, we're a powerboat, so our layout gives us a bit more flexibility to keep him off the side decks, etc. When I've taken him sailing on other people's boats (only for a few hours at a time) he's generally been quite content to either hang out inside or lay on the floor of the cockpit forward of the pedestal rather than wanting to be up on the side decks looking around, etc.

[DragonflyBob]

We have a Toy Poodle, non-shedding, and only 12 lbs and he comes with us for our coastal cruising trips.

We have a Dragonfly 32 tri with 27’ of beam so there is lots of room for him to roam around. Unless it is relatively calm seas, we use a tether on him when he is out of the cockpit. It is connected to the same jacklines that we use with our tethers when offshore.

Our biggest fear is that he could go overboard so we try to be proactive in being sure he is connected to the boat when we are underway.