What It’s Like Having a Dog on a Boat

Meet Buddy

Most blue water cruisers expect less trouble, stress and manual labor when starting a trip to Mexico, French Polynesia or any other place in the world. All those who have experienced this adventure of a lifetime have come to realize it is much more difficult than they would expect. Now, imagine that trip not as a solo sailor, not even as a family of one or two, but as a family of five with a dog! The dog isn’t even a small dog like a Chihuahua, instead he is an above-average-height American Cocker Spaniel who, even at four years old, acts like a puppy. We are 6 months into our year-long sailing trip, travelling as a family from Canada to Mexico with our American Cocker Spaniel named Buddy.

The first few months of the trip with Buddy were rocky as none of us were accustomed to boat life; we therefore had no patience for training the dog. When we left Vancouver, we had to give Buddy nausea medication so he wouldn’t throw up. He was uneasy and shaking every time we went offshore, like my Mom when we try to dock our boat. Buddy would continue to take medicine until we were about halfway through the United States. He is doing better than us as we all still have to take a nausea medication called Dramamine every passage! In rough conditions, where we are all up top rather than down below, Buddy will try to climb up the ladder to be with us. But as time passed, he became accustomed to the rocking of the boat, as did we.

Buddy climbing the ladder.

Provisioning

Provisioning is already a giant stress for my Mom; when we added a specific vet recommended dog food to the mix, which can only be obtained in the U.S. or Canada, she was at the end of her rope. Buddy’s food was hard to find in the U.S. Not every store had it, and the ones that did were out of stock. Finding his food in Mexico was even more difficult, as the brand he was accustomed to was not available. Luckily, my Dad had to return to Canada for business, so he was able to buy the correct dog food and bring it back to the boat at the end of his trips. A word of advice: if you are planning to leave Canada on a boat with a dog, make sure you have at least four extra large bags of their preferred dog food.

Walking the Dog (and Taking Care of Business)

Walking the dog was an inconvenience in anchorages until he was trained to go on the fake patches of grass we had on deck. We had to put his harness and leash on, lift him into the dingy, drive to a small rock island or beach so he could jump into the salt water and go pee. Then we’d drive back and rinse him off. Taking him for a walk at night was even worse, because when we were in small anchorages, we had to paddle all the way to shore and back without an outboard so as not to disturb the other boaters. One time, when we did not tie the dingy to the boat properly after taking Buddy for a night walk, my Dad had to jump into the water butt naked to retrieve it. Later when we stayed in marinas, Buddy’s walking process became much easier, as we would take him once in the morning when we woke up, once in the afternoon, and then once at night. Training Buddy to go pee and poo on the fake grass when we were underway was the most difficult part of settling into the boat for him. He would go two days without going pee or poo, waiting until we could let him on land. It was even worse if he could see land as he would then just whine continuously. But every time he went on the fake patch of grass we would shower him with treats until eventually he would go on his own, whenever he needed.

Buddy sitting on the beach.

Stray Dogs and Stuff

Once we arrived to Mexico, we encountered stray dogs everywhere we went; they would try to bully Buddy, try to bite us, or try to steal our food. We learned a trick from locals: when a dog is barking, sniffing or following you, bend down and pretend to pick up a rock. With an imaginary rock in hand, the stray dogs will immediately turn and run away.

When we lived in Calgary, our dog had a lot of ‘stuff’, some he required and some we just bought for him that he never used. On our boat, we have less ‘stuff’, but what we do have is the list of all the vaccines he has been given, as well as medications for any scenario. To store Buddy’s stuff we use a giant gray bag that contains his ear infection medicine, nausea medication, ointment if his nails begin to bleed, nail clippers, scissors, cleaning products, treats, and bags of food.

Buddy enjoying the scenery.

Is it Worth It?

Buddy has made our trip more difficult by making us buy patches of fake grass, dog medication, and forcing us to take him into the middle of the woods at night because he needed to go pee. We also had to find a way to get rid of used dog toys without throwing them out. Yet he’s there to scare stray dogs away from our beach chairs, to comfort us when we’re stressed out, and he makes noise with his happy wagging tail hitting the boat when we come back from throwing the garbage out. The times he’s been there for us, even if they were short, and the joy that he has brought my family and I cannot be replaced. If you have any questions or concerns about taking a dog on a boat, just do it. You won’t regret it; well, maybe some days you will.

Swimming with Buddy in Cabo