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Boat Pets

3K views 21 replies 17 participants last post by  Minnewaska 
#1 ·
G'day Sailnetters,

Has any cruiser had one? I'm thinking pretty simply here. Like a newborn cat, or the remote possibility of a small breed of pup.

Pros:
- Eat the things on boats that attract other unwanted pests.
- Great company for me when the miss'us is asleep.
- Great company for her when she's awake and jealous of me being off watch.

Cons:
- Customs in Australia, Timor, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, etc.
- The general well being of the pet and the added hassle of it's health.
- Our attachment to it were it to be put down or caged by authorities.

Experiences, evidence, opinion, comment, flaming, and trolling are all welcome.

Cheers
 
#2 ·
If you want a pitbull, or that type, there is a 500 post thread or some such wacked out number of posts in one of the area's.........

Otherwise, watch out for CD, he has some little fugly bulldog thingymabob with spikes on its collar.............

Reality is, folks seem to cruise with dogs and cats, even a few with bird/parrot type thingies too!

For me tho......I went with cute!
 
#8 ·
I have thousands of pet fish. I just let them swim along with the boat.
They are very easy to look after as they don't need feeding etc.
Every now and then I'll eat one, just to keep the others on their toes.
 
#9 ·
Cons:
- Customs in Australia,
It's not Customs in Australia. It's Quarantine. When we cleared in there without a pet we were chatting to the Quarantine guy and he said the average cost of having a dog on a boat in Australia was $2,000 per MONTH.

So be very very carfull about glibly taking a pet!

Cost involves a Quaranite officer comming to your boat at anchorage (you are not allowed to go to a marina whilst in Australia) and collecting the dog poop... At $220 per hour, or there part of....

No you can't trash the poop yourself!
 
#10 ·
Hey There SL,

There would be nothing glib about our decision to take a dog with us, that is for sure. For the sake of this thread I think we can take Australia out of the list. We've got a pretty good handle on Australian Customs and Quarantine procedure.

Are there any experiences from folks headed up through SE Asia they'd like to share?

Cheers
MA
 
#11 ·
Cons:

- The general well being of the pet and the added hassle of it's health.
I think most dog breeds will not be suited to a cruising lifestyle. Living aboard dockside, sure. Really cruising, I have my doubts. Most breeds, big and small, need to run and play and exercise on a daily basis, especially when young. I can't speak from personal experience of cruising with a dog, but as a dog owner I just don't think it would be fair to the dog in most circumstances.
 
#12 ·
I can't speak from personal experience of cruising with a dog, but as a dog owner I just don't think it would be fair to the dog in most circumstances.
I'm erring on the side of agreement, except in a case where the breed (I'm totally un-educated on this area) was suited to lots of swimming. I'm told something Spanglish might be great for this.

On the other hand, Cats I get. Long shipping tradition, Mathew Flinders, Trim, etc. And no matter what animal it was, I'd be getting it from a registered Australian organisation such as the RSPCA.

Back to the point... South East asia... Thoughts, opinion, comment?

To coin a phrase I heard in a pub one time "Grow a pair", and have your say.
 
#14 ·
Personally, after witnessing several dogs and cats aboard the many, many boats here in Boot Key Harbor, I sincerely believe it is cruel and unusual punishment for the pet. The dogs, some left aboard by their owners during the day while the captain is somewhere ashore, are forced to withhold their bodily excretions for endless hours until their owner returns.

The two boats I was invited aboard smelled a lot like the vet's office I remembered back home - overwhelmed with rancid odors that were trying to be covered up with a variety of fragrances emitted from spray cans and wicks.

If you want a pet, get an aquarium. Better yet, find a bevy of young ladies to accompany you on your voyages. They smell better, look better, etc...,etc...etc...

Good Luck,

Gary :cool:
 
#18 ·
I have not done long distance foreign sailing; but I've taken my cat with me on my annual 2 week Chesapeake cruise.

The first several hours underway (especially if under power), she is miserable and seasick. It usually clears up by the time the first anchorage is reached or she pukes up her dinner, whichever comes first, at which point she becomes queen of the domain.

She is always under foot. She likes to walk the deck (scares the hell out of me; but an active cat is very difficult to contain down below). She has found a hiding place somewhere that I can't figure out, disappearing for hours and causing a fair amount of concern that I left her swimming somewhere back in my wake. A litter box is more convienient than twice daily dog walks, and provided it is scooped frequently, doesn't get too obnoxious smelling (every time I come below I check and scoop if necessary). Finding a good place for the litter box might be a challenge on some boats.

When coming dockside she wants to get off the boat and go wandering though. I spent a good forty minutes with the fuel dock attendant in Oxford, Maryland chasing her down (the attendant was a fun gal and seemed to enjoy the hunt). But it clearly illustrates that Penny the Cat will not be contained if docked in a marina. I suspect other cats might want to go wandering, too. I'm not sure how other slip holders (or marina management) would feel about that.

I worry about her falling overboard (it's happened twice, once at anchor where she managed to scramble up the swim ladder before her splash registered in my brain, and once while docking when she made an ill timed leap for the pier), and will probably install new life line netting to help protect against that, even though I seriously dislike the looks of netting.

There are challenges; but she is generally good crew and good company and will probably spend many more seasons with me on the water.
 
#20 ·
Just this past year, we met some friends at anchorage and arranged a sundowner aboard our boat that evening. They have their dog aboard, which they can't (or won't) leave aboard alone, as she whines. They will leave her in their dinghy when they come over and the dog behaves reasonably well then. Nice dog, but wants to play.

They come over and a few cocktails later, I let her aboard to play myself. This great idea was naturally induced by the cocktails. The dog behaves well and stays relatively put by her master.

The sun was down, so I had no idea what was brewing below my feet. The following morning, I couldn't believe the amount of dog hair that could be deposited all over the cockpit by one animal that hardly moved around. I was sweeping and vacuuming black hair for an hour and still didn't get it all.

If you have a boat pet, no-shed breeds should be considered a requirement. Wow.
 
#21 ·
Well, besides what you are listing:
Dogs are considered either a threat to agriculture and national safety, or a menu item, or an unclean animal that must not be touched by decent humans, respectively, in almost all of the countries you are listing.
I.e., most would think that the people living on a boat with a dog are freaky weirdos; not a good way to get the locals' respect.

A cat might be better, but is not really a boat animal. They hate being wet, and don't swim that well.

Why don't you pick up something local?

A crow maybe? At immigration, you can always put it on the rail, if someone asks, it's not yours. Just landed there. And they are definitely smarter and more fun than a dog. You just need to get a crow chick.

A baby monitor lizard will also eat anything, and they swim very well.
With a monitor lizard, people will also take you for a weirdo, but not worse than with a dog. :)

Once you are in Indonesia, you can get absolutely anything: Monkey, bear, tiger, primate, baby rhino, snake, stick insect. Just don't expect to be able to import it anywhere else.

And seriously: I don't think a pet on a boat is a great idea at all.

Good luck!
 
#22 ·
I absolutely HATE boaters that allow their pets to roam the dock or run around unleashed. There, I feel better.

I think some believe that everyone has the same love for their creature as they do and many humans are mentally disturbed enough to think their pets act, think or have wants like humans. Just look at how pet food is sold. Its entirely designed to appeal to the human.

Dogs lick their butts and roll in dead animals. Then dopey humans find it all cuddly when the dog licks their face.

I actually like dogs, but have boundaries. :)
 
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