Puppy Ponderings

Hi! The humans have been giving you the low-down on our sailing adventure so far. We wanted to give you our side of the story!

My name is Mija (little girl in Spanish) and I just had my 8th birthday on July 1st. I sure am glad they decided to do this cruising life while I was younger! It is a lot of work keeping watch to make sure they don’t screw up out there. I also need to ‘run the rails’ periodically to make sure the coast is clear. While on my run it is important to bark at the waves to make sure they know who is in charge. I knew there was stuff under the water and this one day we were visited by Dolphins. They are big and grey and fast; I knew there was stuff under the water.

I am the eldest and have seen more of the world than that pip-squeak Chula. OK, truth be told, the only thing I have seen that she hasn’t is the state of CA but I don’t let on. I just let her think that before she arrived I led a life of high adventure.

How do I like the cruising life? Well, when the humans first bought the boat I wasn’t too thrilled. The first time out I laid on the cockpit floor and shook like a leaf! After a few times out I got my sea legs and now I am just a salty old dog. The only thing I like better than when we are out sailing is a dinghy ride! When they start lowering the dinghy I go crazy making sure they know I expect to come along for a ride.

Alright…Chula wants to chime in.

Hi, my name is Chula (cute in Spanish) and even though I am the youngest (three) I am 10 pounds heavier than Mija so everyone thinks I am the oldest. I am not sure why but humans have a need to point out my size. And, it is always the ones who are carrying extra ‘junk in their trunk’ that point out my size! Takes one to know one!

I love to eat! Thankfully the humans loaded up the v-berth with 150 pounds of our dog food along with puppy treats. Out in these remote islands you can’t find dog food so it was good thinking on their part! Not that I wouldn’t have minded eating human food!

Oh, the other thing the humans loaded up on was puppy pee-pads. Not for me mind you! I have great bladder control. The other one, well let’s just say she sometimes can’t make it through the night. They have dedicated one of the heads for her. They turn on a night light and put a pad down each evening. She is SO spoiled!

Everyone’s favorite question is, “Where do your dogs go potty?” Silly question! We are dogs so we go ‘outside’. When we are underway sailing or at anchor that means the outside rails of the boat. Sometimes we go up on the anchor locker. Our favorite time to go there is a night time so if Ed gets up to check on the anchor in the middle of the night he can find surprises! We hear some dogs ‘hold it’ until they get to shore. Why would you do that? It is so much fun to watch the humans pick up after us!

I have a lovely, thick black coat which makes cruising a bit more challenging. In the sun I get REALLY hot! I prefer to stay in the cockpit in the shade while Mija runs around the rails of the boat. My boy, Ed, is so good to me. The life jacket I used to have is one of those orange contraptions with a big Velcro band that went under my tummy. Whew…would I get hot! So, he went on line and found these really cool inflatable life jackets (Critters Inflatables) and what a big difference! Mom found a white t-shirt too that they wet down and put on me occasionally. I look so ridiculous in it that I put my tail between my legs when I wear it! OK…it does help keep me cool though.

Alright Mija, your turn.

Ball! While Chula and I don’t have much in common, the one thing we both are obsessed with is our ball! Our favorite thing is to go to the beach and chase the ball. I used to be afraid of the water. Matter-of-fact, I wasn’t even a good swimmer. When we lived in Long Beach, CA I wouldn’t even put my paws in the water’s edge. Now…I barrel right into the water. Most of the time though I let Chula swim out get the ball and take it from her when she gets to the beach. She needs the exercise!

I don’t like to be left behind on the boat when the humans go anywhere. I let them know by howling at the top of my lungs when they leave. It isn’t so much that they are leaving us behind as the fact that when the dinghy motor starts up…I want to go for a ride. A dinghy ride is my ultimate favorite thing. All they have to say is, “dinghy ride”, and I go crazy!

We are at a marina right now in The Grand Bahama Island. That means the humans have taken their bikes out of the lazarette. They also have this really cool dog cart (Crooser Carrier) that they can attach to one of the bikes so we can go places with them. Usually they take us to the beach! We didn’t like the cart too much at first and we barked non-stop to protest. Then, the benefits started to dawn on us. There are screens on all 4 sides so we get a really nice breeze….especially if Ed peddles fast! Then, of course we are in the shade. Lastly, Ed gets to do all the work while we relax!

So, how do we like our lifestyle? We love having the humans around all the time. They used to leave for 8-10 hours a day before we took off. They said something about needing to make money to buy dog food and puppy treats. We aren’t sure how they can afford our food now but we are happy to have them around more.

We will be leaving the Bahamas shortly and going to other islands. The humans just spent a day sending emails and filling out paperwork so we will be able to go to these other islands without being quarantined. I am not sure what that means but they say it wouldn’t be any fun. Can you imagine, some of the islands, like Jamaica, won’t even allow us to come there! If you show up at an island that doesn’t allow dogs, or without the right paperwork, they say they may even euthanize us. Again, not sure what that means but I hear it is worse than being quarantined! Mom says Noonsite is a good website for this kind of information. What we don’t understand is why the humans don’t need shots or proof of their good health. From what we hear, they can have things a LOT worse than fleas or ticks!

Let me tell you, before we left, we went to the vet so many times. I hate going to the vet so I am glad that is done with! We had to meet the PETS requirements (Pet Travel Scheme) for some of the islands so we were chipped, got a new rabies shot, got titer-tested and had a bunch of new shots that are required over here.

There is only one big responsibility we have while cruising. We have heard of these things called Pirates! The humans say that is a glamorous name for a thief! It is our job to bark whenever anyone approaches our boat. We haven’t mastered how to stop wagging our tails while we are barking but we hear it helps make you look tougher. Don’t tell those Pirates that we really are only hoping that they brought puppy treats!

In general, we LOVE cruising! We still get to sleep the day away like at home. But, instead of those boring walks around the block we get to play in the sand and the water. The humans love having us around because it makes the boat feel like a home. They even say it is worth the extra effort it takes to fill out the paperwork required to bring us along. If you are going to bring your puppy dog(s) along with you cruising (why wouldn’t you?!) here are some tips.

A. Start the vaccination and paperwork 3 months before leaving.
B. Micro-chip your dogs. You have to get a new rabies shot after chipping your dogs…no matter when the last shot was administered.
C. Some islands require a titer test which really simply verifies that the most recent rabies shot worked. This test takes 30 days after the rabies shot and blood work are done. The vet sends in the paperwork.
D. Go to Noonsite and the island’s websites to determine requirements. IE: The Bahamas require Lyme, Leptospirosis, Adenovirus and Coronavirus shots which you may not need in the USA. The only vet in the USA that we could find that had these vaccines was Banfield. If they are new shots for your dogs then they will need a booster shot one month later.
E. Bring their food. Dog food is hard to find in the ‘out islands’ and if you find it the price is dear! We brought 150 pounds of dry dog food stored in large Ziploc bags. We put their food in one of those large plastic bins, with a screw top lid and seal that you can find at Pets Mart, to keep it fresh.
F. Bring along an airline approved pet carrier and the associated tags/labels required in case you need to return to the states with your pet.
G. Bring plenty of Adams Flea and Tick spray. The islands abound with these buggers and this appears to be the product that works best.
H. Bring plenty of Advantix Flea and Tick monthly treatments (available at Banfield). This also is the preferred brand for the islands.
I. Bring plenty of dog shampoo. Your dogs need a fresh bath to get rid of the salt water the same way you do!
J. Bring a clipper and extra blades if you need to groom your dog. You won’t find dog groomer’s on too many islands. Bring a nail clipper as well. We use one of those Pedi Paws which work great…just bring along extra C-batteries.
K. Bring plenty of their medications. We use Sentinel Heartguard that also has a flea and tick sterilizer in it.
L. Bring plenty of ear cleaner. We use the liquid cleaner as well as the ear cleaning pads you can get at Pets Mart. You will go through more than you expect because of all the swimming.
M. Bring pee-pads if you can train your dog to use them. Placing one down every night can prevent an accident on your rug!
N. Oh yeah….don’t forget the puppy treats!