Sailing with Dogs

Skipper and his Dog out exploring.

Maybe it is a symptom of modern life but it seems more and more of us are waiting to have kids until we are older; and instead get pets to "practice" on. We are no exceptions, in our early 30s we are without kids, live downtown in a small condo and have a small dog. Walk'n talk'n stereotypes!

Since we sail a lot it seemed only natural that when we got a dog we would take it sailing with us. This is not always as straight forward as it may seem and required some preparation to make it a success. While no one would call our dog an accomplished seaman he is now quite easy to take along for the ride. The following is the course of action we took to turn our little west end puppy into a salty sea dog.

I have read stories of people cruising the world with their faithful companions at their sides or tales of the ship's dog saving drowning sailors on the men-of-war of Nelson's era and with this in mind I sought to turn the dog my wife had demanded into a suitably nautical pooch. When she said: "you have the - boat; I am want a dog!" I immediately began planning to integrate the two.

A ten week old Kingsley on his first cruise.

The first day we picked up our little 8 week old Boston Terrier Kingsley I took him down to the boat before he even got home. He could barely walk for more than a few meters but I encouraged him down the docks and plopped his shaking body on the deck of the boat and sized him up. This was going to take a lot of work. He was petrified and stood there shaking; and if he had a tail I am sure it would have been between his legs.

I began taking him down to the boat every chance I got when I was fixing something or the other. I plopped him in the cockpit and began tinkering. This resulted in me cleaning up his waste when his little puppy blaterr ran into conflict with my projects.

The time came when we were going to take him on his first sail. I brought him down to the dock to "help" me inflate the dinghy. He hadn't quite figured out the dock and walked off the side and sank into the water with a small splash. Instinct kicked in and he swam to the surface motor boating around in a panicked circle until I hauled him out by the scruff of his neck. Thus he was introduced to the sea; oddly it would take another year before he would go swimming...

At this point Kingsley was not able to hold his blater for more than 4 hours and was unable to scale any of the various areas of the boat. This had its benefits as he more or less stayed where you put him. However he was scared when left alone and would whimper and bark when left alone for too long. For the cruise we rigged his small kennel behind a lee cloth in the port berth so that he had a place to sleep and could not get out of the berth. We had trained him to pee on command, "go potty" which actually worked. We brought medical pads (the ones placed under patients who will wet themselves) and ordered him to pee which actually worked well. While we were in route we either left him in his kennel if things were hairy or wrapped him in a blanket and had his little bundle in the cock pit with us.

Our first cruise was a success we had only one accident and he slept through the night for the first time. From there my plan was constant exposure to sailing. I took him everywhere. Fireworks night he came with us, single handing over to Bowen he came with me, he even survived a 45 knot storm. I also worked at pushing his boundaries. He soon became confident at hopping out of his little lee-clothed area and moving around the cabin. He also was now big and brave enough to move around the cockpit. I started to push him. While at the dock I picked him up and put him on the foredeck and walked back to the cockpit. He whined and barked and stood perfectly still. After a few minutes he edged his way back to the cockpit and jumped shaking into my arms. At various other dates I repeated this until he was comfortable running forward.

In the cabin he had difficulty scaling the companionway latter so I taught him to leap from the starboard settee to the icebox and from there out of the companion way and into the cockpit. Once this was complete it was time to train him to embark and disembark from the boat. This was relatively easy at this point. I got off the boat and walked away. Finally after whining, barking, and running all over the boat he jumped the two feet down onto the dock and never looked back. The same process was repeated for getting onto the boat. The final mobility hurtle was to get him into the cabin from the cockpit. He will on occasion leap down the 3' into the cabin but prefers to wait until you go down and then he looks expectantly and when you put out your arms he leaps into them and you set him down in the cabin.

During a winter sail Kingsley is wrapped up in the cockpit.

Now that he is older and larger he is a lot easier to handle. He has the run of the boat and sensibly stays huddled with us when under way or bathing in the sun on the cockpit floor. He is afraid to go forward when there is a heel on the boat and let's be honest that is a good thing. When cruising he sleeps with us. While having your dog sleep with you may not be your thing consider they're like little space heaters and on a chilly night there is nothing like a little fuzzy heater to keep your feet warm.

Trust was a key component to making a good sailor dog. He trusts that we will catch him, take care of him, and otherwise make sure he is okay. When we get into the dinghy to row him ashore he now leaps to the side of the boat jumps into our waiting hands. Now he rides the bow of the dinghy ashore confident that we won't let him fall in (although he has in the past).

Safety first.

There is a big debate out there whether or not to put your dog in a life jacket or not. I agree a dog looks silly in one and it does seem over kill but a little black dog falling into the Strait in building sees looks worse to me. We got Kingsley a day-glow orange life jacket and it has been great on a lot of levels. Firstly it keeps him warm and has a convenient handle on the back which is nice to be able to grab him and move him around in a hurry. It also makes him very visible from a distance and obviously keeps him afloat. It also adds to his resistance of hypothermia in cold water.

I had a scary incident that has convinced me of there value this last winter when I single handed the boat to Gibsons. I plopped Kingsley on the dock while I plugged in the shore power and only lost site of him for a second. When I looked back he was gone. I ran down the dock figuring he had run to the gate. When I got there I saw he wasn't there so I headed to the water end of the dock and saw he wasn't there either. On the way back I noticed an orange object circling in the water next to a power boat. Kingsley had chased after a cat and fallen in the frigid water. Reached down and was able to easily grab his life jacket handle and retrieve him. He had been in the water for five minutes and was I can only suppose suffering from hypothermia. I ran onto the boat grabbed the electric heater and cranked it up. I knew enough not to warm him too quickly so I stripped off my top and pressed his convulsing body against mine and curled up on the cabin sole to warm him up with the heater blowing on us. It took half an hour for him to stop shaking. This convinced me that unless you really don't care about your pet you should have them where a PFD too. I shudder to think of the outcome had Kingsley not been wearing his PFD.

Another thing to watch out for is wildlife. Kingsley is a skunk hunter and has been sprayed before. Nothing would be worse than trying to get the stink out while afloat. I also know of dogs being picked off by coyotes, cougars, raccoons, and even eagles; so just be aware. I have also been told to pick up your dog's feces as it can lead to disease or scare off local wildlife. This is easier said than done. I typically try to bury it with some rocks and moss. It is not perfect but unless there is a trash can I am loath to haul dog poop on the boat.

Scary things aside I found there were a few other things to bear in mind when you have a pooch aboard. Keep'em busy, for a long trip there is nothing like a meaty bone to keep your dog happy and out of your hair. Also try and bring something the dog is familiar with; our dock has a blanket and we make sure to bring it along to make the dog feel secure.

For those planning to be out at sea for longer periods of time and have discriminating dogs I have heard a trick that is fool proof to get them to relieve themselves. You go to a dog park with a rag and when you see a dog (not yours) pee on something you take the rag and rub it against the pee, the more dogs whose sent you are able to get the better. Then you tie it to a stanchion on your boat. Your dog will naturally be drawn to the rag and will pee on it; then simply tose a bucket of sea water on the area and all is good. Eventually you can remove the rag and the dog will continue to mark there. The only downside is you look like a physco chasing a dog around collecting its pee.

All in all I would say that sailing with a dog is well worth the inconvenience and the time taken to train them. They are great companionship and lay the ground work for taking children with you; if they are in the plans.