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Maxwellian

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Evening all.

As many of you know we hire every year for between one to three weeks. This year we got a new dog Max who was 9months old yesterday. We are going on Pacific Breeze at the end of May this year and will be taking Max with us. Pacific are able to provide a doggy life jacket and apart from an hour on lake Windermere Max has not been onboard for any length of time.

Any good advice to make the week a little easier for us and Max would be welcome. He is very well behaved and relaxed. 

Last time I was on a boat was when I was 7 years old when we had a Dachshunds on a narrowboat for a week traveling the Llangollen canal, and I CAN REMEMBER VERY LITTLE. I do remember he slept in his basket between the two bunk beds at the front of the boat. I woke up during the middle of the night with the dog licking my face to wake me up. I had rolled off and fallen into his basket and he wanted it back.

Photo of Max

 

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We were a bit anxious about taking our Collie Seren on the Broads for the first time last year in March when she was 6 months, and again when we took her on a second trip on a motor cruiser in September. She got on fine, though we were careful to leave her inside when mooring up. We also found it very helpful that she was trained to sleep in her doggy crate, though we had to choose our boats carefully in mind of the space it would take up. It also came in handy when we had the pilots on board to go under Wroxham bridge.

Hiring a sailing boat in the summer came with different challenges, though again we and Seren coped. It helped that we had a mid-ships ladder to tie her to when we had to concentrate on tricky moments in sailing!

The worse thing for us is trying to train her out of barking at swans, as the first one she came across hissed at her. 

 

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Maddy gets lulled to sleep by the engine... but she hates birds so we have yet to see and hear her do her noisy best at keeping them away from "her" boat!

As others have said, keeping her shut in during mooring and casting off seems to be the key to boating with the family dog.

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Yep dog crates can be extremely useful when mooring and since I cruise mostly single handed its sort of essential really its the last thing you need a dog running round your feet while trying to get in a tight spot , both my German Shepard's were a bit wary of swans and rather run off than bark in fact my current dog ignores them now he's a bit older , team pigeon on the other hand is a bit of a handful so he's rarely out while moving down the river though ist hilarious watching him run up n down the dash chasing the wipers when its raining :228_baby_chick: , and for those that think I'm joking I ain't :default_eusa_dance:.

IMG_20170918_160718.jpg

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Second the dog crate. Immensely helpful just to have on standby.

My dog is an absolute idiot however and therefore don't think I can offer any more useful advice that that :default_smile:

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  • 2 weeks later...

It's lovely having your dog with you. Key bits of advice: Doggy lifejacket, always on - unless you are hunkered down. Even on walks near the river, it's not a bad idea;  When you stop, your four legged friend will definitely want to get off;  Poo bags for cleaning up - and somewhere to store them until you can dump them, securely;  Always secure the pooch when getting underway/mooring, ideally below decks.  

Lovely looking pup there! Here's ours, enjoying the view!

2016-05-25 17.46.52.jpg

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We take two sides of his dogs cage to put across the doors, one had a gate in it to get through. Ours isn't bothered for ducks he'll watch them but he's 2 and it's been a case of pump him with info to leave etc. Swans that's another matter. Issue we have is mooring and soon as Kaz picks up her Lifejacket all hell breaks loose cause he knows he's going for a walk so I get 5 mins of barking till he's off. We have puppy training pads inside the door for him to stand on till his paws are wet wiped (it's an hire boat) he uses door mat at home lol. We take a 2nd lead which is fasten to the cage to he can paw up on side but not get up when moored.IMG_7506.thumb.JPG.8049bb058af3bd524c4e9d5f17090378.JPG

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Ooh, yes, puppy pads! I’d forgotten how invaluable they were when we took Seren with us on Royale Emblem and Fair Regent. Good to have something more absorbent than the usual mat by the door after muddy walks.

We also made sure we had a couple of towels to hand near the door to dry her off after walks, especially on Fair Regent where the rear entry was directly into the rear cabin (one of us had to capture her in a towel on wet days to mitigate the risk of her brushing against the bedding). We found it easier with Royale Emblem as it was the type of boat with the lounge at the rear of the boat. 

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On 1/1/2018 at 23:21, Ricardo said:

Yep dog crates can be extremely useful when mooring and since I cruise mostly single handed its sort of essential really its the last thing you need a dog running round your feet while trying to get in a tight spot , both my German Shepard's were a bit wary of swans and rather run off than bark in fact my current dog ignores them now he's a bit older , team pigeon on the other hand is a bit of a handful so he's rarely out while moving down the river though ist hilarious watching him run up n down the dash chasing the wipers when its raining :228_baby_chick: , and for those that think I'm joking I ain't :default_eusa_dance:.

IMG_20170918_160718.jpg

Nothing quite so likable as a daft pigeon! We have one who hangs around the house, not shoulder tame, but will feed from the hand.

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40 minutes ago, JennyMorgan said:

Nothing quite so likable as a daft pigeon! We have one who hangs around the house, not shoulder tame, but will feed from the hand.

He's hilarious is Dave , he was rescued at church fen brundall in august when pretty young and had crashed Into the river , I did try to release him when he dried out , he came out of his crate when I put it outside on the bank , had a look around and promptly got back on the boat , so crate back on board n in he flew n been onboard ever since , he does fly inside n loves to pester the hound who just ignores him :default_biggrin:

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Oh what a lovely story.  Ricardo.   He landed on his feet when he met you.        I have just got to post this link on here.   My daughter in law (very footballers wife) posted this to me this morning she is thinking of getting for her little dog Lennie.    He really is a smasher but putting him in this thing.    Would love your comments.....

 

https://zugopet.com/products/the-rocketeer-pack

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12 minutes ago, Hylander said:

Oh what a lovely story.  Ricardo.   He landed on his feet when he met you.        I have just got to post this link on here.   My daughter in law (very footballers wife) posted this to me this morning she is thinking of getting for her little dog Lennie.    He really is a smasher but putting him in this thing.    Would love your comments.....

 

https://zugopet.com/products/the-rocketeer-pack

Hi Monica,

A life jacket I can understand, but the above smacks of more money than sense.

Regards

Alan

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16 hours ago, Broadsword said:

It's lovely having your dog with you. Key bits of advice: Doggy lifejacket, always on - unless you are hunkered down. Even on walks near the river, it's not a bad idea;  When you stop, your four legged friend will definitely want to get off;  Poo bags for cleaning up - and somewhere to store them until you can dump them, securely;  Always secure the pooch when getting underway/mooring, ideally below decks.  

Lovely looking pup there! Here's ours, enjoying the view!

2016-05-25 17.46.52.jpg

Although your dog probably won't think it's "very cool" I'd suggest a life jacket as "high vis'" as possible particularly if you have a dark coloured dog, as they can be difficult to spot in the water. This becomes more important if said hound falls in the oggin whilst the boat is underway and there is very quickly some distance between you and the dog, or in low light conditions.  

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4 hours ago, Hylander said:

Oh what a lovely story.  Ricardo.   He landed on his feet when he met you.        I have just got to post this link on here.   My daughter in law (very footballers wife) posted this to me this morning she is thinking of getting for her little dog Lennie.    He really is a smasher but putting him in this thing.    Would love your comments.....

 

https://zugopet.com/products/the-rocketeer-pack

Yep he's a little cracker is our  Dave n very much a team member now , harness wise , mmm , not that I don't agree with harnessing dogs in cars because I very much do but I do think they should be at least be allowed to sit , the way I look at is simple would I like to be in that position ? And I guess I don't need to give an answer there , un restrained dogs in cars are a serious risk for human passenger's and also the dog but they must also be comfortable after all humans are hardly suspended in a car , obviously just my thoughts .

 

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