[Rhodes22-list] Dogs

Fri Jul 8 13:29:32 EDT 2005

Slim, Good choice on dogs... I loved my miniature poodle and often took him 
sailing including the trip out on the harbor ferry to my boat which was on a 
mooring in Monroe Harbor in Chicago.  I never was out long enuf to worry 
about the relieving part so I'll have to leave that up to others, but I am 
currently working with a Chihuahua on using the scented pads... good on the 
urine side, but not the other.  I did take a Beagle on trips out to Catalina 
Island, and we would row to shore twice a day which seemed enough for her.

The only down-side to poodles that I know of (aside from the never-ending 
grooming involved) is that they are very sensitive and very intelligent... 
high intelligence in a dog isn't always a good thing.  For instance, he 
quickly learned to chew through a leash if tied up and then would go around 
and chew through all the other dogs leashes around and set them free too.  I 
know you aren't ever supposed to leave a dog in the car, but try that if you 
want to travel with him at all... Once, when I had to go into the vet to 
pick up the cat... just a brief 15 minutes, I came out to discover he had 
chewed through both front seat belts... these were they type with a small 
explosive device and it cost $600 to replace them.   I had to take a chain 
with me wherever I went if he had to be tied up for any reason.

I made the mistake of tethering him to myself during the training period 
when I worked at home (a la the monks who train dogs... there is a book out 
on it).  He became excessively attached to me and I attribute it to this 
early practice.  I could never cage train him even as a young puppy... 
puzzling since he was accustomed to a cage before I got him.... I may have 
gone about it the wrong way.

He loved to do tricks and I taught him many: he did the normal doggy things: 
heal, sit, come, lie down, roll-over, shake, stay, etc.  but I also taught 
him to high-five, dance in a circle, walk across the floor on his hind legs, 
leave food on his muzzle until told to get it, sit up among others.  The 
most fun thing was this: he would stand on his hind legs; I would point my 
finger at him and say "bang" and he would drop to the floor and play dead. 
Use your imagination... poodles are so smart that it only takes a few times 
before they have a trick under their belt... and they are great at agility 
should you or your wife care to pursue that.

As far as adapting to the boat:
I always had a doggy life jacket on him... first off, he didn't like the 
water much although poodles were used as water retrievers way back when. 
I'd suggest getting him used to swimming while he is still young if he isn't 
naturally inclined.  I did that with a Beagle who was initially water-averse 
by walks along the water... calm water like a lake.  I would gradually get 
into deeper and deeper water until she had to swim although I was in only 
knee-deep water myself.  She learned to love the water and became quite a 
good sailor and swimmer although we had to undergo quite a few dog-overboard 
maneuvers as she was first and foremost a hunter and would go after any fish 
surfacing or the flying fish we saw in CA.  We sailed a Malibu outrigger at 
the time which is all surface.

With Buddy, the poodle, I always kept him tethered and in the life 
jacket.... he wanted to be next to me at all times and so wanted to follow 
me onto the foredeck which meant a likely dog-overboard experience which I 
really wanted to avoid.  He really seemed to enjoy the sailing although 
being black as yours is, the sun can be hard on them, so you'll need to 
provide shade or allow him into the cabin.  You'll probably want to keep him 
in a puppy cut... very short all over... to keep from getting a shower when 
he shakes himself after a swim.  Which reminds me... I also taught him to 
shake himself on command and wouldn't let him out of the shower after 
bathing him until he had shaken himself 3 times like that.... keeps the 
bathroom a lot drier...LOL...

Enjoy him... I'm sure he will bring you many years of enjoyment.

Saroj

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Steve Alm" <salm at mn.rr.com>
To: <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Sent: Thursday, July 07, 2005 5:32 PM
Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Dogs

> Our dear old friend, Major, a chocolate lab, has gone to where ever
> good dogs go when they die.  He was 13.  I don't like doglessness and
> in my entire life I've spent very little time without a dog or two
> around the house.  So after a few days of mourning, we went out and got
> a new puppy.  I've had a long string of very large dogs--labs and
> shepherds--but we decided to make life a little easier and get a
> smaller breed this time around.  We picked out a 10 week old miniature
> black poodle and named him Rio.   (see attached)
>
> Because of Major's bigness, we didn't take him sailing much, but we
> hope to get Rio acclimated on the sailboat and I was wondering if
> anybody had some good advice on dogs aboard.  West Marine sells doggy
> floatation vests with handles on the top to easily get them in or out
> of the water.  (not doable with a big lab--he had to learn to get up
> the boarding ladder!)  Not to gross anybody out, but I'm wondering
> about training him to do his little business on the fore deck where a
> bucket of water will wash it away.  Any thoughts from you dog-owners
> out there?
>
> Slim
>
>
>

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