Dogs on Boats - Safety

[brassedoff]

Yep that's our biggest worry. The times that Millie has taken a dunking she's proved she can swim, and it's only happened when we're moored on the centre line at a water point, she judges the jump distance but then it changes, so we've always been close at hand.

 

The scariest one was when we found her on the gunnels in a lick - she'd attempted to jump from the roof to the bank and failed but luckily landed on the gunnels. Fortunately the only time that's happened - we lift her off the roof nowadays and she stays on dry land till we're done.

 

I am surprised you know Ange, i really did not expect so many scary storys about near misses and one unfortunate collie.

 

glad you doggy was ok, guess its hard on the dog too as well as the owner when it comes to worrying.

 

I rekon if i was on my own cruising i would just put dog inside, until i moored up.

 

lots to learn yet.

Our Lab Rosie boated from a very young age. She never had a life jacket or harness. We would put her on the back cabin top , (with a bowl of water) and she would happily stay there all day apart from necessary trips to the bank. The only time she was ever tempted to jump off was in locks as the cabin top came level with the lockside.

 

 

And she soon learnt to walk the top plank:

 

Lovely Pictures

Edited July 26, 2015 by brassedoff

[patty-ann]

Molly is tied up as I said by my side at the back..shes no trouble there and is kept inside tied up during locks n tunnels....

She's company for me...but she's old and next dog i get will be puppy and on the boat ASAP and boat trained as others have done.

Consistency is key to getting dogs to accept anything but temperament so important..timid animal may never adjust. My rescue terrier with sons partner now as she's quivering jellyfish in boat and car and has shown her teeth to grand daughter..my life style not right for Roxy but Lizzie loves her and spoils her..she has 5 baskets but still shares lizzie's bed at night.

Think you have to really look at breeds to get the right dog and not fall for cutey cute pathetic i need love n cuddles...Roxy!

We do need a pet section.....

We could examine pros and cons of all breeds..I quite fancy a Leonburger but not sure it'd fit in car.

[Chris Hills]

Keira our Munsterlander is off at every lock, she is never on a lead because she is well trained so if you say sit she does and if you call her she will come. She crosses locks at will and never has a life jacket. She does have a harness with a D ring which only gets used if we are on a river so I can use a boat hook if she does fall in. She has only ever fell in twice, both times when she was new to boating. We would never be without her. We always have one eye on her and try to anticipate any potential problems and WE ALWAYS PICK UP HER POO!!

[Phil Ambrose]

Molly is tied up as I said by my side at the back..shes no trouble there and is kept inside tied up during locks n tunnels....

She's company for me...but she's old and next dog i get will be puppy and on the boat ASAP and boat trained as others have done.

Consistency is key to getting dogs to accept anything but temperament so important..timid animal may never adjust. My rescue terrier with sons partner now as she's quivering jellyfish in boat and car and has shown her teeth to grand daughter..my life style not right for Roxy but Lizzie loves her and spoils her..she has 5 baskets but still shares lizzie's bed at night.

Think you have to really look at breeds to get the right dog and not fall for cutey cute pathetic i need love n cuddles...Roxy!

We do need a pet section.....

We could examine pros and cons of all breeds..I quite fancy a Leonburger but not sure it'd fit in car.

I often fancy a beefburger.

Phil

[Neil2]

If you're thinking what sort of dog to get one consideration is how you will cope if/when he/she becomes old and less agile. We've had two Lurchers that became unable to get on and off the boat in their later years and had to be lifted/carried. They are not the heaviest dogs but it was akin to manhandling a set of golf clubs without the bag. I love Lurchers, Greyhounds and the like but the next dog will have to be something more manageable.

[cuthound]

When we bought our boat last year, we took Buster's age into consideration.

 

We wanted something with easily negotiable steps from the stern deck into the cabin. Ended up with a modern "rear engined" trad, with steps down from the engine cover, and made a wider plank from an old ladder and some chequerplate.

 

Our previous share boats were semi-trads with a steep ladder down from the back deck to the cabin. Impossible for an elderly dog to leap up (he was OK with them until he reached 13).

 

Trying to lift 30kg of wriggling dog off the front will sooner or later end in disaster.

[peterboat]

We have had 3 dogs on boats the first two jumped in at every occasion they thought they could get away with, Taff does go in but is wary he can swim so we just watch what he is doing

 

Peter

[ROBDEN]

Boater the other day coming out of a lock. I shouted to him, joking, "Don't forget your dog".

 

He replied " I haven't forgot. He likes to run along the towpath".

 

I shouted again "What about picking up its shit poo?"

 

That's when he cocked a deafen while his dog cocked it's leg.

 

Rob....

[brassedoff]

If you're thinking what sort of dog to get one consideration is how you will cope if/when he/she becomes old and less agile. We've had two Lurchers that became unable to get on and off the boat in their later years and had to be lifted/carried. They are not the heaviest dogs but it was akin to manhandling a set of golf clubs without the bag. I love Lurchers, Greyhounds and the like but the next dog will have to be something more manageable.

 

Yer I dont want anything too big, my last dog was a German Shepard loved her to bits but I could not carry a dog that size, I fancy a Beagle nice looking dog but I heard they howl. Dont want any upsett boat neighbours yikes.

Edited July 26, 2015 by brassedoff

[Mike Tee]

Be careful when allowing a smallish dog to get off at the stern. When a pup, ours tried to jump from the counter onto the bank - I'd got off first, she waited as told, then leapt for it after I was on the bank.

She slipped on the steel and fell in next to the boat - and didn't come up. I suddenly realised what had happened, she'd come up under the uxter plate. I laid on the bank and put my arm under and managed to grab her first go, so no harm done.

Could have been very different. I'm not sure who's pulse was going the fastest!

[brassedoff]

Be careful when allowing a smallish dog to get off at the stern. When a pup, ours tried to jump from the counter onto the bank - I'd got off first, she waited as told, then leapt for it after I was on the bank.

She slipped on the steel and fell in next to the boat - and didn't come up. I suddenly realised what had happened, she'd come up under the uxter plate. I laid on the bank and put my arm under and managed to grab her first go, so no harm done.

Could have been very different. I'm not sure who's pulse was going the fastest!

omg mike that is scary as hell, glad she was ok.

 

I am glad ive read all these posts its made me more aware of the dangers.

[Starcoaster]

On Sunday of last week, I had the job of hauling both an adult man and a fecking hugenormous husky/GSD cross out of the cut, onto a pontoon that was about two feet higher than the water level. Getting the bloke out was hard enough, as you can imagine, but he was at least able to communicate and work with me about doing it!

Getting his dog out on my own was a whole game of its own, even though she weighed less- had she not been in a harness I suspect I would not have managed to lift her weight at all, being as I had to use pretty much just the strength in my arms, due to the drop down to the water. The guy was in no state to help me get his dog out, and I think that ultimately she may have sunk from exhaustion in the end, had her harness not have made the job physically doable.

Side note- I am a Sturdy Girl.

[Phil Ambrose]

On Sunday of last week, I had the job of hauling both an adult man and a fecking hugenormous husky/GSD cross out of the cut, onto a pontoon that was about two feet higher than the water level. Getting the bloke out was hard enough, as you can imagine, but he was at least able to communicate and work with me about doing it!

Getting his dog out on my own was a whole game of its own, even though she weighed less- had she not been in a harness I suspect I would not have managed to lift her weight at all, being as I had to use pretty much just the strength in my arms, due to the drop down to the water. The guy was in no state to help me get his dog out, and I think that ultimately she may have sunk from exhaustion in the end, had her harness not have made the job physically doable.

Side note- I am a Sturdy Girl.

And Starry's post just demonstrates the one fact people overlook, it is very hard to haul a dog out of the water, I've often seen (and helped) people get dogs back on their boat when we moored on the Broads, if you warned people of the danger they would give the stock response of "oh it's alright he can swim.

The worst nightmare was getting a rotty back on board a hire boat (the usual culprits, no respect for water)

Phil

Edited July 26, 2015 by Phil Ambrose

[Morat]

A life jacket with a built in harness is a good investment. I've fished my dog out from under the boat before and it was a real shock. Had she been wearing her jacket she wouldn't have sunk deep enough to become trapped. Basset hounds have very little reserve buoyancy but at least they're easy to grab due to all the loose skin. Getting a grip on something like a staffy or bull terrier is much harder.

[W+T]

Good read this thread, i think i will invest in a jacket of some sort for our Ziggy, she loves water and has come close to jumping in the local disused canal trying to play with the ducks and geese. dont fancy dragging her out, she is getting a real old heavy lump now.

Going to be fun on a 20 foot cruiser with her.

 

She is trained to collect fired wood for when we get a NB again.

 

[lockedout]

Be careful when allowing a smallish dog to get off at the stern. When a pup, ours tried to jump from the counter onto the bank - I'd got off first, she waited as told, then leapt for it after I was on the bank.

She slipped on the steel and fell in next to the boat - and didn't come up. I suddenly realised what had happened, she'd come up under the uxter plate. I laid on the bank and put my arm under and managed to grab her first go, so no harm done.

Could have been very different. I'm not sure who's pulse was going the fastest!

 

Snap - when our Border Terrorist bitch was lickle she did exactly the same thing. Went to leap off, full of confidence, only for her legs to slip on the (not very) shiny paint and splash she went. We were in the marina at the time so it was relatively easy to reach down and grab hold of her harness. She is now really wary about jumping off, but will jump on without a thought - thinking about it, that is the good way round I guess.

 

Before we lost our Rotty, she used to love a swim and I have on occasion had to haul her out of rivers, canals, mill ponds and the oggin. No wonder my back is so bad!!