Dogs on deck

No it's not about the Blue Jays and I know there is a thread about pets aboard, but that is mostly a gallery.

So...

Interesting I am allowing dogs to be part of my boat shopping equation, when I don't have a dog. There are two though, a 12 and a 40 pounder, that would be fairly regular guests, sometimes both at the same time.

I'm finding a lot of boats what I consider to have non dog friendly decks. Mostly because of no bulwarks. Wet glassy side decks with open railings and a passing seagull spells DOB. I would certainly want putt mutt to fully enjoy cruising and that includes a free run of deck space. Canvas between stanchions would only work in some places.

What to do, besides only shop bulwark boats?

One other pet friendly thing to us was our access to the flybridge (assuming it has one). Ladders just won't get it. Our 42' GB has the wide walk around decks and steps up to the bridge. Big plus for pets and for older adults I admit to becoming...

We trained our current Sheltie from puppy hood to pee on a carpet square or a doggie pad made for this purpose. Our #5 (or was it #6?) boat was a Mainship 34T with reasonably wide side decks and a little bit of bulwark, maybe 4". It was also an easy jump up from the cockpit to the side deck. So we let her have the run of the ship and before going in for dinner or to bed we would say "go potty" and she would run forward and do her thing on a carpet square we left there for her. Couldn't be easier.

The next boat was a Mainship Pilot 34. It had narrow side decks, lower bulwark and it isn't easy to jump up from the cockpit to the side deck. In this case I lift her up to the side deck, tell her to "go potty" and usually follow her forward until she is done. More difficult but it works ok. The difficulty of jumping up and the narrow side deck means she never goes up alone, so I don't think there is any risk of letting her have the run of the boat.

If you were really concerned you could install netting in between the stanchions like offshore sailboats use. But for us, the foregoing works fine.

David

Our kids are two German Wirehaired Pointers. "The Boys" love Mollie and after watching them move around on her for a couple of days I was able to see where modifications needed to be made to ease ingress/egress from the salon and onto the aft cabin top. I built box steps to serve as landings at these points and they actually worked out great from us adults as well as most TT tri cabins have single teak steps that are easy to miss or slip off. I even built a removable plywood platform that sits on the V-berth bunks so that they can walk straight into "their room" from the salon.
The things we do for our kids! Wouldn't have it any other way.

When we moved on Hobo, the concern was Morgan would slip going out the pilot house door(s). We cut some sections of industrial carpet for the door(s) entry till we had the non-skid renewed. Other than pretty flat seas, the doors are shut and he's restricted to the back deck or interior.

I will attest to say that Capt Morgan has the boat routine down cold! He is the cruising dog standard to which other quadrapeds should be judged.

Larry. Morgan and Jenny could be brother and sister!


Hawgwash: ask me if cats on board are a bigger concern!

Jim
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Sapphire as you can see she is pretty comfortable on our boat.


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If you are worried about a dog falling or jumping overboard some boaters have laced netting, 2-4" mesh, along the handrail stanchions. works for young kids too. You'll have to work out the gates but shouldn't be a big problem.
Good luck!

Hawgwash said:

What to do, besides only shop bulwark boats?

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We didn't decide on the boat we did for our PNW cruising solely with a dog in mind but the fact we had one did influence our decision. The breed all our dogs have been (and will be) average 40 to 50 pounds. So having decent height bulwarks and a full walkaround main deck is a major benefit.

Dogs are pack animals so love to learn.

A good sized hunk of astro turf makes a great dog toilet.

Start young , it can be their "spot" even in a back yard , so a transition to a boat is easy.

Big PIA to have to row ashore or find a friendly dock 2 or 3 times a day when cruising.

Cut a hole in the turf and dunk it overboard as required .

Our Ginger is a great Boat Dog; absolutely unconcerned about thunder and Lightning.

Has been know to hold her bowels for a couple of days, if necessary, though we will be trying a poop rug on the swim polatform soon.

Well, that didn't work.
Went from asking about safe sides to poop pads in three easy posts.
Obviously everyone has a head in the head, dump fetish.

Sooooooooo...


HEY JIM,
are cats on board a bigger concern?

Hawgwash said:

Well, that didn't work.
Went from asking about safe sides to poop pads in three easy posts.
Obviously everyone has a head in the head, dump fetish.

Sooooooooo...


HEY JIM,
are cats on board a bigger concern?

Click to expand...

Ooooohhhhh, yyaaaahhhh!




They get EVERYWHERE and into EVERYTHING!


Jim
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Greetings,
Mr. H. "...safe sides to poop pads..." I see where you're coming from but at least no-one has commented on dog buttocks....yet.

Here's our dog taking his turn monitoring the autopilot. We were concerned about Winston going overboard under the side rails when were looking at Nordic Tugs. It turned out the one we bought had a cable run through the posts at the mid point between the deck and the top rail which for a lab is pretty good barrier. When we can we give Winston an hour or so in the morning on the beach for chasing sticks, hiking, or swimming. When we are walking the beach or hiking the logging roads he is on bear guard since he alerts on them by smell unless I see them first. He also alerts on porcupines and cats. At midday, its another trip to a beach for swimming. When we anchor for the night, its another hour or so for a hike or session retrieving something. At around 10PM there is a last trip to the beach. In between those trips he normally looks like the picture.

Tom

tpbrady said:

We were concerned about Winston going overboard under the side rails when were looking at Nordic Tugs.

Click to expand...

You'll notice the first boat pictured in my OP is a NT and that, along with a couple others, is what prompted the post.

The Golden Doodle is obsessed with birds so sooner or later she'd be overboard after a gull or duck. The little guy, not so much but loves to run and on a wet deck he would be like a deer on ice.

Hawgwash-- Regardless of what boat configuration you select I strongly advise putting the dogs in harnesses as opposed to just their collars. A harness makes it much easier on you and the dog should you need to retrieve it from a trip overboard.

Marin said:

Hawgwash-- Regardless of what boat configuration you select I strongly advise putting the dogs in harnesses as opposed to just their collars. A harness makes it much easier on you and the dog should you need to retrieve it from a trip overboard.

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Yeah, I get that, thanks Marin.
The little guy wears a harness, by necessity, because of a collapsed trachea. Don't want anything that puts pressure on the neck, including a head up pfd. I think I may have found one that fits like a harness.

The other one, we'll, she's a seasoned kayaked and comes with an assortment of lobster gack.

Our "new to us" Navigator is easily, um, navigated by our little Bimini. The stairs to the flybridge, while steep, she runs right up them....and the side decks are wide and easily accessible as well. (Although we do keep her contained on the flybridge while underway and while docking.)

Jenny was as much a newbie to boating as we were when we purchased Phoenix Hunter in June 2013. She was 7 years old and we made the decision to try to get her to shore for the same 3 walks that she gets when we are at home on land. Some of the trips to shore are less than ideal, and sometimes she doesn't do her business, but as they say in recreational fishing, "it's a all about the opportunity," and she's quickly learned we don't mess around.

She was quite nervous about the skiff when first introduced to it but she quickly learned that it was her opportunity for a trip to shore so quickly figured out the routine. While we don't worry about her on deck on the mother ship, we do put a life jacket in her when on the skiff and the handle on the top of the jacket has saved her from going overboard on several occasions. The brand name of her life jacket is called "Paws aboard"

She's not a particularly active dog now at 10 years of age, but as a rule we don't allow her on deck wen. Travelling except when we are approaching a dock or anchorage as she gets anxious to see what's going on. Once outside on deck she's well behaved. There's lots of side deck for Jenny and we really don't worry about her falling overboard. I lift her on and off the foredeck from the dock.

The cat is a good traveller. We crate her when we are getting ready to leave or when preparing to dock or anchor. When travelling she goes to sleep in the Pilothouse and stays that way for as long as we normally travel, which is up to 8 hours. We have to watch her like a hawk when she's out on deck and we restrict where she can go. She's fallen overboard once and was not a happy kitty! Fortunately I had my salmon net, which to date has only been used to land a cat!

Jim
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Human-friendly decks are dog-friendly, unless you're cheating yourself. Sixteen-inch-wide decks are the minimum.

markpierce said:

Human-friendly decks are dog-friendly, unless you're cheating yourself. Sixteen-inch-wide decks are the minimum.
http://s296.photobucket.com/user/marcoperforar/media/Coot starting feb/rearinbarge.jpg.html

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Um, I don't think so.
Doesn't matter how wide the deck is a 2 gallon dog is going through a 10 gallon opening. I ain't.

Hawgwash said:

Um, I don't think so.
Doesn't matter how wide the deck is a 2 gallon dog is going through a 10 gallon opening. I ain't.

Click to expand...

But haven't seen a dog wider than I.

"Spanky McPartland" in full rest position. Being smarter than a dog, he uses a litter box. No need to go ashore to do his thing.