Sailing with Dogs

[Jasmid53]

Wednesday I needed to worked on my 19. I brought my dog, Benny along; after all he is the reason I bought the boat in the first place. He was very enthusiastic from the beginning of our day. Hopped into the dinghy and once we were alongside the Lazy Dog III he was quite eager to jump aboard. I needed to assist him by grabbing the handle on is life jacket and lifting him like a suitcase. He explored our new boat as I opened the hatches and portholes and proceeded to set up my tools. I needed to install larger bow chocks and tune the shrouds and install the fore sail on the roll reefer.

It was around 85 degrees and Benny was not enjoying the heat. He is a Wheaten Terrier, a breed that originates from Ireland, and prefers cold sunless whether. Plus he was due to get his hair cut in a couple of days.

There was a nice breeze and I was surprised at how cool the cabin was. So I coaxed Benny into the cabin with a bully stick. I could tell immediately how happy he was to get out of the sun.He lay down on the vee berth enjoying his treat while I finished my task at hand. Every now and again Benny would pop up through the forward hatch to check on my progress.

I installed the bow chocks with out any problems.And tuned the shrouds. When I raised the fore sail the webbing ripped out, as it was well worn at the ring. Put the sail back in its bag to bring home to mend it. Since it was a nice day, decided to test out the engine. It started on the first pull and Benny and I went out on our first voyage. There's something special about being on your boat with your dog sitting beside and pressed up against you that makes everything feel just right.

[Finbar Beagle]

Jasmid,

Thanks for the illustration.  My beagle used to canoe and kayak.  I have not had him out on our 19 as the marina we are in does not allow dogs.  We are planning to put him on our picnic cat as soon as wife returns.

Does he go out on the forward deck on his own?

Regards,
Brian

[Jasmid53]

On the 16 he would put his fore feet on the deck when I had to go forward and bark at me. I didn't want him up front but he never tried to get up front with me. When I come back he will growl and bite me. Not hard or with malice is very mouthy. He does the same thing if I go up a ladder or just change a light bulb by standing on a chair. Wish I knew what he was thinking sometimes.

Train your beagle to bark on command. He'll be great if you are ever caught in fog.

[Finbar Beagle]

My beagle hardly barked as a puppy.  I sat down with him one night, when wife was out, and taught him how to howl.

He has not stopped yet.  He "talks" constantly, and I understand most of it, I think.

[jimhuber2]

  We took our 1 year old terrier mix to the lake for the first time Mother's Day. Did not like the water at all!! He retreated to the safety of the boat. This was also the first time we had a dog on our 27. On our 23, our dear old sailing dog could go back and forth from the cabin with ice cubes or to the cockpit to watch people and other boats at will on her own. She would jump from the settee to the sink counter and then into the cockpit. While the 27 is really comfortable for me and my wife, it poses some logistical problems for the dog. The cabin is a long way down, or up depending on direction he is going. Rooney right now is lowered to or pulled up from by the handle on his life jacket! Our old dog would have needed an elevator : )  Right now, he just wants to be where we are. We have had some special times with dogs on sailboats.      Jim

[captronr]

Our kids grew up with a wonderful Golden Retriever.  She started out in our ski boat, then to the sail boat.  She loved the water.  If the kids were skiing and she was on shore, she'd take off after them if we didn't restrain her.

One time on the sailboat, we passed closely to a red course marker.  I thought she was gonna jump outta the boat after it.

Whenever she saw her PFD come out of the garage, she went NUTS with excitement.

She provided us with love for seventeen years, and we miss her.

Ron

[ameysails]

our Mr. Chewey (wheaten terrier) is an avid saildog,
but had to place a non-skid mat in the cockpit
he will bark at other boats
we are not sure if they are commands of pork vs port
or starbacon vs starboard
we think it's an Irish accent thang
as long as he has his bowl of water in the cabin for a
drink break he seems content
we have not had him on boat more than 6 hrs,
so #1 and #2 seem to be solved before getting on board

[Tim Gardner]

Buddy the seadog (a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel) loves to sail, or ride on our pontoon boat.  And, with his lifejacket on loves to hang out with  the Admiral and I during a float and pee.  He's even a veteran of the CLR

[Jasmid53]

Love hearing all your dog stories. Benny and I just got back from our first sail on the 19. He does cry and whimper a bit.  Didn't Tom Hanks have something to say about "No crying in Sailing". Don't know if it's because sailing is not his thing, or if it's just the total lack of squirrels out on the water. He just loves his yard and the squirrel hunting. He did move into the cabin and settled in for awhile.

Coming into port the channel narrows and there is a park off to the side. Had to grab Benny as the ice cream man had just pulled into the park. One of his favorite things to chase, next to the UPS truck and the garbage trucks. And I wasn't sure he was going to go swimming for an ice cream.

He chases the fore mentioned trucks from within a fenced yard.

[Gerry]

I used to boat with my Springer Spaniel all the time.  She got excited as soon as we arrived at the marina.  She was great, sat very still in the canoe I used as a dinghy.  On the boat the only problem I had was here desire to sit on the fore deck; better to see, I think.  Did not take long for her to figure out the jib caused no problem during tacks.

[bruce]

We've had 5 Scotties, one at a time, and all enjoyed canoes and camping. All of them went overboard at some point. The two most recent, Rowan, checking the chart, and currently Jamie, looking for action, have joined us on our PC. Jamie, still a pup and quick to engage anything, is kept on a short tether.

[moc4]

I love everyone's stories of boating with their dogs!  I have a Frenchton (half French Bulldog, half Boston Terrier).  He loves to kayak with me, but shakes when on our 30' cruiser.  In fact, he plants his feet as we start down the dock.  I just bought a CP16, so will take him out this weekend if it's not too hot and hope he loves sailing like he loves kayaking! 

[Jasmid53]

Phil B. talked about some of the summer highlights, I have a lowlight of the summer to report. On July 27 my Benny had a bad accident. While doing his favorite activity: chasing the UPS van — within the confines of a fenced yard — he clipped the tongue of my boat trailer. I had moved it to mow the lawn and didn't put it back in its original place. The trailer didn't cut him, but he was running so hard that friction and force ripped his chest open. He had a horizontal scrape and a five inch vertical tear of skin.

I brought him to the emergency vet and they took good care of him. There were other dogs who had more pressing problems so it was quite a long wait. Some of his skin had to be removed as by the time of his surgery it was no longer viable. He had cut some of the muscles of the ribs also. I'm sure he was very sore after his ordeal.

For the next six weeks I stayed home with Benny to comfort him and to make sure he didn't chew his wound. He did have to wear a collar all the time except when I was holding him. Now, Benny isn't a lap dog who needs someone to constantly pet him. From the time he wakes up he is all business; he patrols the yard for squirrels, chases the school busses and any delivery truck that goes by. His favorite, as I have said being the UPS van. But now all he wanted is for me to be touching him.

When I would lay on the couch with him, he would crawl onto my chest, put his paws around my neck and lay there as long as I could stay in that position. I stayed home for six weeks, only leaving once to go get groceries. And for that time I hired a sitter and I think Benny kept his head in her lap while she petted him the whole time I was gone.

As of Labor Day, his thick scab fell off, he is now back to his old self. He has an X on his side, but the hair is slowly growing back in. I think there will always a small bald spot at the cross. I wish this had never happened but it could have been worst. There was no infection and no need for a second surgery. Both of which were possibilities. We have been out sailing once together since and plan on one or two more.

[bruce]

Thanks for sharing Benny's traumatic story, Jasmid. Glad he's doing better!