Animals on board Or Where Does Your Dog Dooooo?

[Zen]

Cute dog. Looks like a mix though  ??? The face is different, perhaps because still a pup. No matter, cool dog, you may need a bigger boat if he start "going" aboard  ;D

Having had a 85lb Akita I gave some thought to on & off  the boat stuff.

off the top,
Folding motorcycle ramp folds flat easy to store.
A host used to lift outboards into the lazerette.
Man overboard hosting strap rigged to the boom.
Lift him/her everyday, as he gets heavier , you get stronger... ;D

[CapnK]

Nice lookin CrewDawg there, Andy! Welcome aboard to both of you. :)

As far as getting him down and up - hoowee! I don't know - Zens hoist idea sounds like a start! 100#'s of dawg - Man! ;D

[saildawg]

So far, the best that I can come up with is using the boom as a crane; a fixed length of line attached to the end of the boom and run the topping lift to a winch to lift boom-- and Winston --up, over and down into the dingy.  The hard part is the amount of time that it would take me to secure the topping lift, then secure the boom and climb into the dingy before a vey active and curious dog decides to become adventurous and head for the beach on his own!

[CapnK]

Well, you do make a point there I'd forgotten - CrewDawgs *will* launch themselves, with little-to-no encouragement. :D Get in close to the beach, and you'll only have to worry about hauling him out.

Molly the Lab is like a cat - she is unafraid to leap from boat to dink or back. But Buffett, my Golden, he acts like a 100# dog trapped in a 50# dog body. He's hesitant to go up or down (not that he doesn't *want* to). A lot of the time with him, I just get him started in the right direction and give him a little boost, he handles most of the rest of the work with his own muscles.

And as far as a 3:00 AM beach potty trip? Ain't happening - we'll wait for morning... ;)

[starcrest]

my second trip across was on a replica of an old- time clippership.half way to nowhere we saw a rather emaciated duck flying around.I will have to dig out the pictures I took,but one of the other crew on board was quick to pull out a rather large caliber revolver.now trying to hit a small target like that in a rolling sea reallly requires a shot gun.not a shot was fired but at the time some fresh fowl woulda lookt good on the 'barbie.how da heck did a dog-manned farther marking duck get out there any way....probably stowed away on a ship....or was maintained as such as a possible food source and escaped.but I never saw migratory dux out there,,,,,and as such this was a solitary bird at just a few feet above sea level.

[s/v Faith]

I can't believe that Peter has not posted his picture here yet.

  Let's fix that.    ;D

[CapnK]

tEll peetEr wE sayd 'Arph"..

teh cRewDogs



;D

[AdriftAtSea]

Woof.  :D  The only kitty cats I have on my boat are the three insignias for the boat. :D

[Fortis]

Bjarky looked like this when we got the boat...



Which means he could sit in the cockpit like this:





Nearly three years later....That just isn't the case anymore:

we now have to clamber around a cockpit entirely full of contented black fluff. But he takes orders pretty well and tails a winch like a pro.

By the way, the other character in the pic is my son Miles. About two and four months ago, in his first boat, the Quacking Viking.

Yes, Bjarky tows him around the shallows.

heck, Bjarky can tow the Endeavour around.


...for some reason we have never had a problem with univited people stepping onto the boat.

And in answer to the original topic of the post...The first overnight we did, About four hours in, and after consuming the fillets of a nice flathead that we caught on our lure, bjarky went to the aft deck, manuevered his butt to between the lifelines just in front of the pushpit and went.

We were proud and amazed. He also takes a leak at about the same point.

What we noticed is that he will only do it when we are anchoured/moored or running straight downwind. He likes a level deck or he stays in the cockpit or cabin.

I guess we are fortunate that where we sail holding tanks are not required for boats our size. (though tere are very strict laws about inshore and marina waters.)


Alex.

[AdriftAtSea]

Hey Fortis-

Is that New Foundland??  If so, how big is he now? 

[s/v Faith]

And in answer to the original topic of the post...The first overnight we did, About four hours in, and after consuming the fillets of a nice flathead that we caught on our lure, bjarky went to the aft deck, manuevered his butt to between the lifelines just in front of the pushpit and went.

We were proud and amazed. He also takes a leak at about the same point.

  :o :o :o

Mind if I send you a slightly spoiled member of my family for a short time underway?  I would gladly pay Bjarky his asking price for teaching Peter such an amazing trick!

[Fortis]

Yes, he is a trad newfoundland. He is currently 82kg (around 150-160 pounds) and he is still growing and filling out. His dad is over 100kg without an ounce of wasted fat on him.

As for sending your crew for tuiton, it could work, but Australia's quarantine proceedures for dogs are pretty hideous! We actually bought a square of fake lawn/ tennis court matting and did the hole in the corner with the rope tied on thing and placed it on the foredeck...All a complete waste, but we weren't complaining.

We actually think Bjarky learnt it from a german shepard thatdid much the same thing on another boat at our marina...Then again, another time Bjarky was convinced that he was a black angus cow. He saw a big black shaggy quadraped bigger then he was and just assumed that it was "mum".

Newfies are funny. Way intelligent, but with an odd sort of logic. Margaret describes it as having a permanent four year old.

Alex.

[AdriftAtSea]

My late wife loved New Foundlands.... always wanted to get one....but I advised her against it...as she only weighed 105 lbs...and most Newfie puppies would be bigger than her.   

I know a lot of dog-owning sailors that would love you to teach them how to teach their dogs to imitate yours with respect to the lifelines... of course, that probably works better on a boat with a non-reverse transom and no tumblehome.  :D

[CapnK]

When Craig sends Peter down for tutoring, the CrewDogs will accompany him. ;D

What a cool trick! Good dog!!!  :D

[s/v Faith]

Capt. Peter gets his own command.

  Peter wanted to go exploring in the dink, and was not willing to wait for me.  He jumped in and took off.  His plans were ruined by the combination of the painter, and his lack of opposable thumbs.

[s/v Faith]

Peter is having a great time here in the Bahamas, but there have been a couple of issues that have come up.

  First, we did not bring him with us down the coast and only got him aboard in St. Augustine FL.  I was afraid of not finding great places to put him ashore, as it turned out it would not have been as much of an issue.  One thing that is nice about a SailFar boat, we found that when we needed to 'pull over' on the ICW we could generally just look for a public boat ramp.  The small finger docks used for boarding the boats that have just been launched usually has enough water to sneak in and at least get the bow close enough to step ashore for a few minutes.

  The other thing that is an important consideration is your animals health.  Peter had an ear infection in his right ear that we went to the vet in St. Augustine for.  His right ear has cleared up, but his left ear has developed troubles.  Fortunately we have some excellent antibiotics in our kit, as Rose and I both get ear infections.  I have him on Penicillin and we are putting Cipro drops in his ear 2x a day.  I was very glad to have the meds.  It might have been awful otherwise, there is a vet in Marsh Harbor but that would have been a painful wait for him.

  Peter has a great disposition, and has been socialized with people and other animals since he was a pup.  There are still issues with people who are afraid of dogs.  We keep him on a leash near any civilization, but a couple of times we have encountered folks who found little comfort in our saying 'it's ok, he is friendly'.

  At our yacht club in NC, we sometimes had nearly as many dogs as people and Peter always got along with everyone.  Here in the Bahamas the 'Potcake' is the local favored mut.  They can be great dogs, but we have come across some who cluster in loose 'packs'.  Peter has made friends with them individually, but it has been tense on a couple of occasions.  Not a big problem, just someting to consider.

  Peter is having a ball here, and we are enjoying it all the more for having him along.  The Bahamas require an import permit, and a health inspection (although many report not being asked for either, I was and was glad to have them). 

Bahamas info

To bring a dog into the Bahamas requires an import permit obtainable from the Department of Agriculture, phone (242) 325-7502.

To obtain a permit, send your name, address, phone number, age of dog, sex of dog, breed of dog and $10 U.S. dollars. For an extra $5 they will fax the import permit to you.

Mail the information and money to The Department of Agriculture, PO Box N3028, Nassau, Bahamas. It can take up to 2 months for the permit, so plan ahead!

Additionally, if you are coming from the US or Canada, you will need a veterinary health certificate issued 48 hours before embarking and a valid certificate of rabies vaccination for either the one year rabies vaccine (given to the animal at least one month before arrival, and not more than 10 months before arrival), or the three year rabies vaccine (given to the animal at least one month before arrival, and not more than 34 months before arrival).
Source: Department of Agriculture, Nassau, Bahama, Phone 242-325-7502.

 

[CapnK]

Craig - For Peter's ear problems, I found something called "Blue Power Ear Wash", and it works great. I don't know if you'll be able to get the ingredients there, though they are pretty common. Recipe:

1 bottle isopropyl alchohol
4 tablespoons boric acid powder
16 drops Gentian Violet extract, 1% solution

Mix it all up in the bottle, shake well before applying, the powder settles out. Use gloves - the violet will impart a purple stain.

Works *awesome*, though. Hope you can find this stuff, and/or that Peter starts feeling better soon!

[Dave]

We bought a small dog and I would like to bring him on the boat with us-  But. well,  it's about, y'know-  When he hasta go, he hasta go-  We use the bucket method, but I don't see him adapting to that :)-  How do you guys with dogs handle this deal?  Thanks for any thoughts-  The SERIOUS ones, anyway-   :)

[AdriftAtSea]

One thing a lot of sailors use is a astroturf mat on the foredeck.  It can be rinsed off pretty easily.  Put a grommet in the corner, so you can attach a line and drop it overboard to rinse it.

[Dave]

Adriftatsea-  Thanks for your response-  The grommet's a good idea-  I'm now told there's a spray for the mat that causes a dog to do his business on it?  The subject is new science to me-  Thanks again-