Good small boat dog

[HopCar]

The best pets, dog or cat, come from the pound. Pick any small dog or better yet cat and love it. It will be fine on a boat.

If you’re determined to spend a lot of money, a Schipperke is an intelligent and active dog. I had one as a child and loved him very much.

[Peregrine1983]

I think the breed has less to do with things than size and the age at which you get the dog accustomed to life afloat. I believe dogs are very adaptable and if you start them young they’ll take to the boat quickly.

We adopted our 30-ish pound hound mix when he was about 6 months and immediately started taking him on the boat. He adjusted quickly and now loves it. He plays water fetch, he waits for me to lift him down the companionway, he hops in the dinghy no problem, and he doesn’t get seasick (anymore).

The biggest problem is he’s stolen one of my good chairs.

[bradfordharley]

We have a 45lb Australian labradoodle and she is great. I would consider two things:

The ‘doodles’ which are poodle mixes. Great dogs in generally, generally healthy, intelligent and should like the water. Be careful in the hypoallergenic statements. They a 50/50 mix has a 50% chance of shedding. Read up on the Australian labradoodle breeding program to educate on what it takes to make a non shedding hybrid. If you don’t care about shedding, no big deal.

While we have a dog, it severely limits us. We had to bail on South Pacific plans and stick to dog friendly areas. That’s basically not th pacific islands. America’s and Caribbean is ok. We also have limited travel options. For example, we are cruising Mexico and needed a visa reset. We either have one fly at a time and the other watch the dog/boat (sucks), or travel dog friendly. For us, that was renting a car and driving. Busses and airplanes become an issue with a dog.
PM me if you want to chat.

Brad
Www.svperspective.com

[SailFastTri]

Good on you for recognizing your lab wouldn’t be a good boat dog, but I think you should really reconsider whether getting any dog is a good decision given you are choosing a lifestyle involving travel.
1) Dog ownership is like having a toddler, so you will travel “heavy” and need to limit your excursions away from the boat to allow for the dog to eat and relieve itself.
2) Your options for restaurants and shopping will be extremely limited when the dog is with you.
3) Personally I’m appalled at the way airport baggage handlers and airlines mistreat dogs, and the cargo hold is not suitable for an emotionally sensitive animal (not to mention questionable temperatures and noise/vibration conditions). I would not want to place a dog in the cargo hold, and that would further limit travel options (for me). Airlines can claim to be humane but we’ve all heard stories about dogs that were lost or died in their “care”.
4) As I write this I’m at anchor in a downpour, and it’s really nice to know I can stay dry until the rain stops. No 6AM or 11PM shore trip needed.

We recently lost our dog and as much as we want another, we want to be free to travel.

[conchaway]

I have found that the best boat dog is an Armour Hot, but that's just me.

[Greg Mason]

Our Yellow Labloved the boat. But wet? we didn't love him. Shed, only daily. What we found as a boat dog, intelligent, swimmer, trainable, hypo allergenic, non shedding is a Lagotto Romagnolo.A what? A pure bred Italian poodle, originally bred in the 1600's to sniff truffles. Known as the Grandfather of all poodles, standard poodles and Portugese water dogs were bred from this line. Not as common in North America, but very common in Europe, comes in a couple of colour variations, and once you have one, you will be noticed and envied by all dog lovers.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by HopCar

The best pets, dog or cat, come from the pound. Pick any small dog or better yet cat and love it. It will be fine on a boat.

If you’re determined to spend a lot of money, a Schipperke is an intelligent and active dog. I had one as a child and loved him very much.

Almost all of our pets have just shown up, we lived on a Farm at the edge of town and people would drop off their unwanted dogs, and often they would show up at the house.
Only thing that would stop this was if and or when you got a dog that wouldn’t allow strays to just show up.
The Chocolate lab was purchased for our Daughter but it wasn’t until we had a Pit Bull show up and took up with us that the other stray dogs stopped showing up.
Years ago we even had a St. Bernard show up, we called him horse, he was huge. We had a five acre pond in the back that always had about a five Ft alligator in it, horse would go down to the pond and walk around in it in Summer to cool off, the alligator would get out of the water and wait for horse to leave. I don’t know, maybe they got into it once, but it was hilarious that the Gator was afraid of the dog.
The dog I grew up with was some form of long haired dachshund mix, the only dogs you bought when I was a kid were hunting dogs, and even back then you could spend thousands on a good bird dog, now tens of thousands.

[oleman]

Most intelligent animal I have been around was a miniature Schnauzer. It was super easy to train, and was totally tuned in to the family. Very alert but not aggressive toward people. When it was in it's prime I could communicate with it by just a look! It did not tolerate other animals in its space but on a leash was fine around others. The major downside to that breed is they get old early (very senile at 10 YO) and have some skin conditions. I never had it on a boat but I easily trained it to stay inside a small low sided open pen when company visited and it liked traveling in an auto.
Totally opposite of a LAB so dumb that it had to be trained not to eat rocks! Or a Pomeranian cross that bite anybody that got too close (including every friendly vet and occasionally ME) and was impossible to totally house break. It was healthy for 13 years and then just died. I had to warn zillions (NAN) of strangers that the cute little dog would bite without warning. It was also a roamer that loved freedom and space.
BUT animals can be a serious issue when traveling to a foreign country.

Big story could be picking up a cat in Subic Bay PI and returning to Hawaii US with it.

[morpheus]

We have cruised extensively, (currently in New Zealand) and have met many owners with dogs of various sizes and breeds along the way but you have to consider your chosen sailing ground, for example islands in the eastern Caribbean that were once under British rule will not allow you to take your pet ashore unless they are held in quarantine for a number of months and who wants to do that. Some owners took their dogs ashore under the cover of darkness but if you are caught it may resort in a fine or your pet being put down......harsh. If I were to get a boat dog I would probably go for a Jack Russel as we had two before we went cruising. They do shed hair but not excessively, they are easily transported between boat and shore, they love the water, they are intelligent, loyal, fearless and very protective and I guarantee that if anyone comes near your boat you will know about it and you will not be boarded at night. They do need to be socialised with other dogs at puppy stage but that is one negative against so many positives. Another consideration is the cost flying your pet between your home and the boat if you go home for the hurricane season, some airlines insist that the dog goes in the hold........I personally wouldn’t like that.

[waterman46]

Originally Posted by thomm225

Jack Russell Terriers like the water and they are very smart

Its not a good idea to keep a Jack Russell on a small boat (or boat of any size, for long). This breed in particular needs lots of running room, they are like a small Dalmation in that respect. Now I know someone will come on the forum and tell me they have a Jack Russell and he/she is very happy to be on the boat - there are always exceptions.

A better breed for small boat will be Maltese or miniature poodle if you want a little companion but not a big watch dog and don't want hair shed. We had a Papillon-Pomeranian-Chihuahua mix - did great on the boat but sheds lots. Whatever dog you get, be prepared to give up much of your life to taking the dog ashore as often as possible. It is a very complete change of life-style for you, having a dog on a boat.

It is not important to have a dog that "loves water". A dog that loves water will go swimming when you go ashore, then run around the beach getting covered in sand. Lots of fun for both dog and owner BUT now you have a salty, dirty wet dog to wash off when you get back to the boat, and the dinghy to clean up. Our little Pap-Pom-Chi mix knew how to swim but hated to go swimming, which was just fine in our opinion. Hating water immersion does not mean she was a bad boat dog - it doesn't make any difference unless you just want to play retriever in the water when you go ashore.

I think its good to have a dog that can fly with you under your seat or in lap, whatever airlines allow. That means small, <10lb or so, and that dog will never be able to climb the companionway stairs or even jump up into a berth in most boats. So, a little more trouble in that respect.

For safety of dog, you may want to put on a netting completely around your boat, at least to the lower lifeline. Then it's harder to do all sorts of little tasks, like handling docklines, running jib sheets etc. Becomes a hassle. Our dog died of old age a couple years ago and though I missed her a lot, I was delighted to remove the net from the lifelines. Wife insisted on another dog, now I think I will have the dog clipped into a harness whenever she is in the cockpit, while underway.

[KP44]

Dogs are happy when their owners are happy. If a dog is too big and sheds too much, then is is excellent for both you and the dog to find her/him a good home on land.
We do dogs a disservice when we attribute human emotions to them. Dogs are loyal, loving, and they bond with the people (or person) who give them direction and boundaries so they know what is expected.

That said, almost any breed of dog that is suited to your cruising weather will be a good friend and companion. In southern climates, you will want a shorter-haired and smaller dog.

Where we cruise in Mexico (Sea of Cortez) there are hundreds of rescue dogs that need homes. People breed dogs for the pet market and many puppies that are not readily salable are abandoned on the streets. A great deal of time and money is spent rescuing these great dogs and finding homes for them.

If you want a great dog that is accustomed to warm weather, you might contact the rescue efforts in San Carlos, Sonora.

[KP44]

San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico.
A half-day drive on a "hassle-free corridor" south on hw 15 from Nogalas, AZ.

San Carlos Pet Adoption - Home

[jpstevens]

Rescue dogs are best!!!!

[Beavereater]

Schipperke, brave and compact. Boating pedigree through and through.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by thomm225

Jack Russell Terriers like the water and they are very smart

My dog as a child was a Jack or short haired Fox Terrier, a mutt. You could not hope for a better boat dog. She did shed some however.

The pic of diving was about the same, she would dive and swim to be with us.

Small enough to be a boat dog and fierce enough to be a protector.