[Doggies]

2 minutes ago, tree monkey said:

The answer is yes

 

 

Thank you. Worrying too much I guess 🙂

[Doggies]

2 hours ago, LadyG said:

You can't leave your dog unattended in high summer as the boat is likely to overheat. 

Generally,  find a dog walker to take them out every five hours, and be prepared to cancel your plans if there is any chance of your dogs being over stressed. 

Its your responsibility, if you can't keep them in good circumstancea, you have to let them go. 

Kennels would be OK if multiple dogs you own can live together, but it can be expensive. 

My idea animal welfare is well above the average, I think. 

My cousin has a farm, dog is chained up, it shits at the end of it's tether. 

I would  not allow this, a pen with yard would be provided and cleaned every day. 

Some farmers have  pet collies in the house, some don't see them as anything other than working animals. 

I believe some yachting dogs will lift leg on the mast, but they are not great at kitty litter. 

You want a dog, you take it out regularly. 

Dogs are best home pets but I don't have one even though I live them

I'm not prepared to walk them four times a day

I am dog shit averse, I've ever lifted one and never will. 

Thanks.

 

I just wondered if people were happy to leave their dogs for short periods of time on a boat.....for safety reasons.

[Doggies]

55 minutes ago, BlueStringPudding said:

Find a dog sitter who will live with them on the boat while you're away. That way they keep to their usual routine and they're surrounded by familiar smells and belongings so get less stressed.

 

When I've done dog sitting it's always in the owner's home to minimise stress on the dogs. I always meet the dogs and owner on neutral territory a few days or weeks beforehand so the owner can tell if the dogs like me (and If they like me too, of course). A day or two before they leave,  I'll be invited round to the home so the dogs not only remember me from a low stress environment previously, but also get used to seeing me in their territory with their owners relaxed in my company. Then when it comes to the day the owners leave, it's not a stressful surprise for the dog when I turn up at the house or boat or stay overnight. I feed the dogs and walk them at the same times their owner does. If they're used to the radio or tele being on at a certain time of day, I ensure that happens too. And theres lots if playtime to keep their minds active.  The result is happy doggies who aren't pining or chewing furniture or using the boat as a toilet. It's particularly good for aging dogs, or puppies or boisterous dogs who agency staff refuse to look after or just ignore because they're seen as too much trouble. Poor puppers!

 

If it's a neighbour who is only going to be away a few hours, then the dogs already know me and if the owner prefers, I can pop on board the boat a few times a day and take them out for a wee and a stroll, instead of spending all day with them. 

 

I've yet to find any dog care agency staff who are prepared to really spend time with the dogs and keep them to their usual routine. Most seem to want to do the bare minimum, won't clean up after dogs who poop accidentally indoors, or they have multiple animals to get round in a day.

 

If I were you, I would try to arrange well in advance to moor near someone you know well who can be trusted to look after the dogs while you're away - or meet and book someone to come over. Don't be concerned about the boat sinking. But do make sure anyone looking after them isn't freaked out by boats or gets the heebeejeebees every time it rocks a bit, because their nervousness will transfer to the dogs. And someone used to living in a house might do something stupid like leave the water tap dribbling or something electrical switched on, or lights on,  draining your batteries. Or they might struggle to lock up hatches, complain about tricky towpath access or whatever. If they're not a boater, give them a bit of basic boat life training.  Make sure you're moored somewhere secure so your pins can't pull out and scrotes won't climb on your boat and stress out the dogs. And as said above, definitely don't leave your dogs alone in the summer because boat interiors can get very very hot, even with windows left open. 

 

Train a couple of friends or family members on being boat-sitter dog-sitters, then the dogs get to know them well and you'll have more flexibility around when someone is available to help out 🐶😊

We just really needed to know what other people do with their dogs if they want to go somewhere for a few hours during the day that dogs can't go to.

 

We won't be going away without them, or even staying anywhere overnight without them.

 

Finding a dog sitter is a good idea.

 

[Doggies]

34 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

Do you mean (say) 8 hours, 12 hours or 24 hours ?

 

How much 'mess' are you prepared to put up with ?

 

When we are boating offshore ours regularly manages 8-10 hours and occasionally 12 hours, and once when we broke down and were awaiting a tow he managed 16 hours.

 

We thought that if we wanted to do some sightseeing where dogs can't go, for example, visit the Tower of London.

 

The mess doesn't matter so much....we were thinking more in terms of safety.

Am I worrying too much about boats sinking? :-))

[Doggies]

Hello Everyone, 

I'm working on getting all my questions out of the way so I'm ready for our move onto the canals next year.

 

We have 3 dogs. Most of the time they will be with us all the time but we recognise that there may be the odd day where we might need to be away from the boat for the whole day.

 

Would people recommend day kennels in this scenario or do you leave your dogs on the boat?

 

I guess I'd be worried in case something happened.

 

Thank you for your thoughts