My husband and I have been sailing for more than 20 years, and our dogs have always been with us, first a poodle, then a Labrador. We always thought that newcomers to the family would have to adapt to the lifestyle already in the house and not the other way around. Certainly we would have to change some aspects of it, but not completely disrupt our habits because we would suffer in the long run. So, always respecting our dog's time and needs, we prefer to work hard to get used to it from the beginning rather than being forced to change our habits later.

From the day trip, to the summer vacation, to the radical life change of moving to live on a boat, our furry friends, being an integral part of our family, have always been by our side. But how did we do it? How did we get organized?

There are many aspects to consider when deciding to bring an animal on board, but that doesn't mean you have to give up experiencing good thrills with them as well.

First of all, it must be said that if I have established a great relationship with my pet, he will gladly follow me everywhere. To accustom him to life on board, as well as to other daily routines, it would always be best to do this while they are still puppies. But whatever the case, a gradual and playful approach is always a winning card.

For example, not everyone knows that it is not a given that a dog can swim. We discovered this and much other informations when we had our Labrador take the course at the Italian School for Rescue Dogs. We didn't want ours to become a lifeguard dog, but since the boat was to become our home, we knew that at this school they would teach us the basics of establishing a perfect dog-water-boat relationship. So if you are just starting out, regardless of your dog's breed, a school like this is what you need to be able to confidently bring your dog on board...And remember that with the right teaching any dog can learn to swim or love the water.

Practical advice on how to handle a dog on board:

I don't really agree with those who schedule boat trips based on the needs of the dog, situations like: every 5-6 hours he has to go down to do his business, I have to find a roadstead where it is possible to go down with the tender... The risk of turning a boat trip or vacation into a nightmare, is real. By the way, the beaches where you can disembark with the tender...and even with the dog, are not that many. Certainly, it is more strenuous, but functional, to get the dog to get used to navigation and life on board. Let's see how.

Physiological needs

The dog recognizes the boat as his home, and if he doesn't do his business at home, he won't do it on the boat either. However, making sure that he feels free to do them on board, without conditioning our routes too much, is a key aspect.
There are many strategies you can use, following are some suggestions:

Absorbent cloth: put it in a chosen place on the boat, maybe even test it at home first, so he recognizes the smell.
PROS - when it is done you throw it away.
CONS - very polluting, it would take an endless supply abord, taking up a lot of space, and most importantly it is smelly even when sealed in a bag.
Synthetic mats or fake grass.
PROS - the dog knows exactly where to pee and poop.
CONS - if they are not well made, it can be difficult to place them
Leash walk: if the dog associates the leash with needs time, having him walk on the deck, as if he were in the park, can be a good solution.
PROS - chooses the place where he feels most comfortable. One water bucket and everything is clean in no time.
CONS - if sea conditions are not the best it can be tricky.
Clumps of real grass: some people try putting real grass where they would like the dog to pee, hoping that by associating the grass-park-pee smell they will let go.
PROS - the dog's sense of smell is powerful so it is possible for them to associate the two.
CONS - I always have to have grass on board.

We (after trying them all, to no avail) decided not to let our dog off the boat until he just wasn't holding it anymore and made it to the bow. When she got free after several hours, we showered her with compliments and cuddles. She has now identified the bow as "her space”. So whether for day trips or multi-day sailings, she knows that there she can do her business freely, it is quieter for her and for us! This for us has been the winning choice

Safety

The biggest concern when we take our four-legged friend on a boat is: What if he falls in the water?

As always, safety first.

First, the dog should always keep a harness, ergonomic and his size. This is because, should he end up in the water, bringing him back on board by taking him from the harness is easy and safe, otherwise either you have a plank or gangway going into the water, or taking him by the collar you would risk strangulation or the inability to pull him on board. We, under the advice of the school teachers, never keep the dog tethered when sailing, he must be free, unless the sea conditions are challenging, in which case we hook his harness with a webbing to the life line so he feels free to go back and forth safely. It is also true that some dogs as soon as they see water they immediately dive into it. So at the base it is good to have a good education to enter the water only on command, especially if the stay on board is not limited to the day's outing. If the dog just is irrepressible then better to tie him in the cockpit, with a short game, hoping that he does not start barking nonstop disturbing the neighborhood, especially if you are in a marina.

In addition to the harness, we put the net on the stanchion. Although aesthetically many people don't like it, the net tied to the dredges remains one of the best solutions. An unexpected wave, a slip, a run or whatever 'else can be one of the causes for the dog and children to end up in the water, the net is essential to prevent this from happening.

More safety tips:

If you have a dog and have to choose a boat, perhaps not of life, but just for a short vacation, choose a boat that is compatible with your dog. Easy getting off the boat, spaces suitable for him to move and rest, shade, an animal-friendly crew.
Getting on and off a gangplank is not so obvious for them, the view of the lateral void, the noise their paws make on a material they are not used to, and even the movement of floating, can be very frightening to the animal, which is why it is recommended to first do "gangplank tests" on land...and most important on the gangplank I go first and then he goes!

Bathing

There is the dog that dives from two meters high and the one that doesn't even want to know about getting close. If your dog is a lover of water, bathing from the boat is a must, but even in this case caution must be taken. Once in the water, the greatest difficulty is to get him back on board; therefore, as anticipated earlier: either the boat has a suitable sea descent or it becomes more challenging to do. We get the dog into the tender and then from there we pull it up into the boat by taking it from the ladder, of course always holding it by the harness. If we think the swim will take longer than expected we can also get a floating harness that allows the dog to swim with less effort and longer.

Do NOT forget that a wet dog weighs more than when it is dry so the effort to hoist it aboard will be greater, especially if it is puppy and has not yet developed water-repellent fur... I forgot... wet dog hair stinks...a lot. This is to be taken into consideration, not for us who love him in every respect, but in case we should have guests on board. Also, he loses an impressive amount of hair, and if he is black, like ours, it is not very pleasing to the eye on a white boat, and then you get hair in the bed as well.

Health

Even dogs, fortunately not all of them, can suffer from motion sickness: by checking with your veterinarian, he or she can recommend the anti-nausea that is right for you. Alternatively, there are also natural remedies, such as Bach flowers. I recommend the first time to get him on board without any medication in his system and see how he reacts, he may not necessarily be sick, maybe he will just have some drowsiness given by the rocking, or some nervousness, again given by the rocking...after all, they have the same reaction as humans.

It is recommended that they always have a safe, comfortable and, above all, shady place: check that it is always protected from the sun even when the boat at anchor "spins." Dogs can suffer from heat stroke.
Not to be underestimated: they can burn their paw pads; you can protect them with sunscreen.
Make sure they always have plenty of fresh water; as we do in hot and windy weather, they drink more and become dehydrated quickly.
Give preference to dry food, both to have less waste on board and to prevent it from spoiling easily in the heat when it is in its bowl. Close the bag tightly because moisture may alter the taste of his food.
If the “love” period is approaching, and your dog is not used to wearing diapers, be prepared to spend the day cleaning because blood is very difficult to remove on wood.
In summer, especially, they need to be protected with parasite prophylactics, especially if you go to place with a lot of mosquitoes or on the ground where maybe there are sheep and goats the soil is rich in parasites.
If you plan to take your dog abroad, get up to date on the local regulations of the destination state and the necessary documentation. Especially if you are thinking of going around the world with your paw friend inform yourself very well because each state has its own laws regarding the entry of pets, sometimes very very strict.

Entertainment

To entertain the dog on board while sailing, there are not many solutions but endless cuddles. Perhaps a game of her munching can be useful to beguile the time and keep them from doing it with the tops or teak trim. This is why we find Aqua Map's LIVE SHARING feature to be so useful for finding, in real time, other boats with animals on board in the area where we are sailing. Simply by selecting in the "Live sharing" mode animals on board. We can find new playmates for our furry friends.

Expert tips

If your dog is a puppy or already advanced in age, there are pointers that Ferruccio Pilenga, the founder of SICS Italian Rescue Dog School, can give us after years of experience and thousands of trained dogs.

Introducing the dog for the first time to the aquatic environment, whether river, lake, or sea, on shallow water and perhaps with an appropriate temperature. Absolutely not from a dock.
Avoid water entrances where the bottom is very steep, because the dog, if it did not know how to swim would be frightened, achieving the opposite effect from the one desired.
Enter the water with the animal and make yourself appear calm, serene, do not convey anxiety or agitation, nothing escapes them! Above all, do it in a playful way. The dog must trust you.
Don't force him to do things he doesn't feel like doing, respect him and don't insist or worse not to get scared, you would risk making him hate the water: a dog doesn't forget!
A dog swims as he walks, if this posture in water does not come naturally to him, that is, he does not know how to swim, he will get upright and go down. The result is just a big scare. Accompany him in this first step by holding him horizontally with your hands until he gains confidence and swims on his own.
Getting on and off a gangplank or tender is not so obvious for them, get them used to doing this first on land.

Sara Rossini, Sailing Shibumi.

Tips for life on board: Dogs on board