Poodle potty on-board?

[Danjenni]

So we got a standard poodle pup to make life extra interesting on the boat in the future. We are trying to figure out what other dog owners are doing when it come time to take a poodle potty break? Sailor, the c-dog, is 6 mo old, and is highly trainable but our weather has been so atrocious this fall we have only made it out one time, so our experience is lacking. What is everyone doing?

[thataway]

We have boated with dogs for over 45 years. Most were Labrador retrievers. This includes an Atlantic Ocean crossing, and 4 trips on the Inland Passage to AK. 18 years of dogs on boats were in C Dorys. Our last dog, and current dog are miniature poodles.

On a C Dory you have to make potty stops. This may be a bank you can pull along side of, but with a dog the size as a standard poodle, you really want to be next to a dock or use a dinghy. The dogs are easily trained to get in and out of the boat. A standard poodle should be trained to stay in the boat, unless accompanied by their owner. They will probably require a "boost" to get over the gunwale from an inflatable dinghy. They can be trained to climb a ladder with help (basically helping with balance and a hand behind the heat). There are a number of "gang planks"-Pet Step is a folding one. We have used that or a home made one about 16" wide and 8' long. (Weight was about 25#, siince most of the "gang plank" was made of 3 mm "door skins", covered with light fiberglass cloth bedded in epoxy. We put 'cleats" across the gang plank and then eventually put Ozite carpet between the cleats, to give better traction for the dog.

Don't attempt to train the dog to go potty in the cockpit--they probably will refuse, since that is their living space. On larger boats the dog can be trained to use the foredeck. (We used astro turf with grommets in two corners and a line attached so the astro turf could be dunked and cleaned in the water at sea.

Enjoy the time on the water with dogs. We have had as many as 3 including a Border Collie, Elk Hound and Papillion on a 22 at Lake Powell. There we went stern to the beach, and the dogs could step onto the swim step and then off into shallow water or jump onto the land.

The poodle is a water dog, and swims well. They don't shed--another plus on a small boat!

Gigi (pup) and Angel:

[Dreamer]

We saw a 75 footer in Nanaimo Harbor once that had Astroturf on the Foredeck along with a Standard sized Fire Hydrant!

[thataway]

The fire hydrant only gets in the way--just a square of AstroTurf...is necessary...but trawler owners....OH Well!