Cruising With A Service Dog....everything You Ever Wanted To Know!

Sick as a dog since Sunday. Ugh at least this nasty cold waited til I got back.

You probably caught the germ onboard the ship. :eek:

Sure will Cindy. We have to ask her what the waiting list is like for a successor dog. We are thinking about putting in Orson's paperwork when we get back from Alaska. :(

You won't be sorry that you're doing it early. I'm so, so glad that I applied for Horton when I did. The timing was perfect.

Just yesterday I was asking him if he remembered Brenda and Morey? He was staring at the couch that Brenda claimed as "hers" and it just looked like he was wondering where was that beautiful Black English Lab that ALWAYS laid on that couch.

My chair sits right next to the couch and I'd lean over and hold her paw while we watched T.V. together. I sure do miss her. I'm so glad that I took so many videos of her. I watch them all the time while I'm at work......it tugs at my heart and makes me tear and then I find myself smiling. We had such a wonderful life together.....She sits right on the edge of my heart between my soul and my conscience ♥

You won't be sorry that you're doing it early. I'm so, so glad that I applied for Horton when I did. The timing was perfect.

 

Just yesterday I was asking him if he remembered Brenda and Morey? He was staring at the couch that Brenda claimed as "hers" and it just looked like he was wondering where was that beautiful Black English Lab that ALWAYS laid on that couch.

 

My chair sits right next to the couch and I'd lean over and hold her paw while we watched T.V. together. I sure do miss her. I'm so glad that I took so many videos of her. I watch them all the time while I'm at work......it tugs at my heart and makes me tear and then I find myself smiling. We had such a wonderful life together.....She sits right on the edge of my heart between my soul and my conscience ♥

As soon as we start to get ready to go out, Orson is right there ready to get dressed to go. But he is starting to have trouble keeping up when we are walking and he is starting to think twice before doing some of the things he needs to do when we are out.

He will be close to 11 when he finally retires. Just not looking forward to spending 2 weeks at CCI again.

As soon as we start to get ready to go out, Orson is right there ready to get dressed to go. But he is starting to have trouble keeping up when we are walking and he is starting to think twice before doing some of the things he needs to do when we are out.

He will be close to 11 when he finally retires. Just not looking forward to spending 2 weeks at CCI again.

Yep! Brenda didn't want to go into my SUV anymore without a ramp and she didn't like the shiny floors at the market anymore, too hard to walk on. She was 10 1/2 when she retired.

The time I spent at CCI getting Horton was so worth it. I got very lucky to get him!!!! Such a handsome boy!

Hi everyone,

Ok, so I need to tell you a story about my service dog Duncan, and I just hope that I am not the only person this craziness has happened too.

For months I have been getting frazzled with Duncan when we are out and about as he seems "lazy" to me when I want him tell him to pull my wheelchair. And I am not talking up a steep incline either.

I contacted his trainer who came to the house and within a few minutes he figured out the problem.

This is where my dunce cap gets put on. On Duncan's harness he has a pull strap but I do not use it, as it gets very painful to have my hand closed tight on the leather, so I tuck my whole hand inside his harness between his shoulder blades and I hold on here. Well it appears I was giving him 2 commands at the same time, to pull/go and my holding on /tugging on his harness was a command to slow/stop.

OMG, I felt lower than pond scrum when his trainer explained the conflicting commands. Now this explains why sometimes I would get this crazy look from Duncan. So tomorrow we both go back to college ( haven't been there in 20 yrs) and we will be taught new options to work around my decreasing arm/hand functions.

On the plus side his trainer was very pleased on other skills that Duncan has learned over the past 10 months.

We finally have a cruise selected for November thru the southern Caribbean for 14 days. So next week I start all his paperwork so he will come on his first cruise. Yippie !!

Goodnight, Duncan's mom

So glad that got figured out Duncan's mom!

I know most of us have that ever changing physical stuff going on. So glad you have such a responsive trainer. :)

Holly

Sure will Cindy. We have to ask her what the waiting list is like for a successor dog. We are thinking about putting in Orson's paperwork when we get back from Alaska. :(

Awww hard thing to do. He will have a great retirement I'm sure!😃

Sure hope it's not Wex you are referring to as being sick! [:rolleyes:]

No Walt, he is great!

Don't remember reading about you and Roz meeting, how did it go?

You won't be sorry that you're doing it early. I'm so, so glad that I applied for Horton when I did. The timing was perfect.

 

Just yesterday I was asking him if he remembered Brenda and Morey? He was staring at the couch that Brenda claimed as "hers" and it just looked like he was wondering where was that beautiful Black English Lab that ALWAYS laid on that couch.

 

I can't imagine how much you miss Brenda. I have only had Henri since August and I can't even contemplate a day without her.

Dianne

Hi everyone,

 

Ok, so I need to tell you a story about my service dog Duncan, and I just hope that I am not the only person this craziness has happened too.

 

For months I have been getting frazzled with Duncan when we are out and about as he seems "lazy" to me when I want him tell him to pull my wheelchair. And I am not talking up a steep incline either.

I contacted his trainer who came to the house and within a few minutes he figured out the problem.

 

Goodnight, Duncan's mom

That's great that you were able to figure that out with the trainer. These dogs are so smart; we are the ones who are usually doing something wrong!

Dianne

No Walt, he is great!

 

Don't remember reading about you and Roz meeting, how did it go?

We'll find out in November when first we meet on board the Island Princess.

Hello everyone! :)

Hope everyone is well wherever you are in the world - not too cold, and not too warm (speaking Californians here of course!!!)

Barb, adorable puppies and you will be enjoying that lovely new puppy smell with your cuddles!

Cindy - glad you had a good cruise, not so good you're feeling yucky - hope you're much better by the time you read this!

Holly - love the photos, keep them coming please!

Talking about photos, ah Krypti - that photo is priceless, I looked but I didn't see your dog's name? Our dogs will drink water from the tap but much prefer drinking the water from their outside bowl which is mostly rainwater! Or drinking the water out of the bird bath! Welcome to our wonderful family and thanks for that gorgeous photo,we all love photos around here!

Duncan's Mum - your "craziness" is absolutely normal - believe me it happens often with the puppy walking (raising) and it's not the dogs, it's us! Or we are using the wrong command when we "think" we have the correct one! If you saw what happens at our puppy workshops you would see how we are shown commands and we do exercises and even though we are shown how to do it correctly, sometimes several times, it can take a wee while to get it right! For example, We use the command "off" when dogs jump up (which they shouldn't of course but they have to learn not to do that), most people would say "get down". We use the command "down" when we want the dog to "lie down". When we go and visit my brother, Bonnie will get all excited and jump up on him, so I will be saying "off" and he will be saying "get down"! So I have to train him now as well! That's a challenge in itself! LOL!!! Thankfully like you, we have a trainer who has the patience of a saint.

DKD - I feel for you this weekend. It's the best of time for the new folk getting their dogs but the hardest of times for us. "Stiff upper lip darling and all that." ;):) What are Orsen's retirement plans?

I'm sorry if I've missed anyone's news out, just catching up with a few pages.

Aunty Roz - I sometimes hold Aruba's paw too, she seems to like a bit of reflexology!

Have a great weekend everyone, it's snowing here and cold. Planning on snuggling up in front of the fire, wait a minute, I've been beaten to that by the Fab Four! :D

We'll find out in November when first we meet on board the Island Princess.

I'm looking forward to it!

I can't imagine how much you miss Brenda. I have only had Henri since August and I can't even contemplate a day without her.

 

Dianne

She changed me and I'll forever be grateful to her. She brought Morey and I both great joy!!!

Hi everyone,

 

Ok, so I need to tell you a story about my service dog Duncan, and I just hope that I am not the only person this craziness has happened too.

 

For months I have been getting frazzled with Duncan when we are out and about as he seems "lazy" to me when I want him tell him to pull my wheelchair. And I am not talking up a steep incline either.

I contacted his trainer who came to the house and within a few minutes he figured out the problem.

 

This is where my dunce cap gets put on. On Duncan's harness he has a pull strap but I do not use it, as it gets very painful to have my hand closed tight on the leather, so I tuck my whole hand inside his harness between his shoulder blades and I hold on here. Well it appears I was giving him 2 commands at the same time, to pull/go and my holding on /tugging on his harness was a command to slow/stop.

 

OMG, I felt lower than pond scrum when his trainer explained the conflicting commands. Now this explains why sometimes I would get this crazy look from Duncan. So tomorrow we both go back to college ( haven't been there in 20 yrs) and we will be taught new options to work around my decreasing arm/hand functions.

 

On the plus side his trainer was very pleased on other skills that Duncan has learned over the past 10 months.

We finally have a cruise selected for November thru the southern Caribbean for 14 days. So next week I start all his paperwork so he will come on his first cruise. Yippie !!

 

Goodnight, Duncan's mom

Thank you for sharing this with us. I, too, have done some miss-communicating to Horton, as a trainer so nicely pointed out to me. I was asking Horton to stay by my side and walk with me; I would use the command "side".....he would start to move from one side to the other and would almost trip me. What I should have said was "heel!"

That's what makes me the student and them the trainer. Poor Horty, he would look up at me and just stop......he had no idea what I wanted and I didn't know how much I was confusing him!!!!

Hello everyone! :)

 

Hope everyone is well wherever you are in the world - not too cold, and not too warm (speaking Californians here of course!!!)

 

Barb, adorable puppies and you will be enjoying that lovely new puppy smell with your cuddles!

 

Cindy - glad you had a good cruise, not so good you're feeling yucky - hope you're much better by the time you read this!

 

Holly - love the photos, keep them coming please!

 

Talking about photos, ah Krypti - that photo is priceless, I looked but I didn't see your dog's name? Our dogs will drink water from the tap but much prefer drinking the water from their outside bowl which is mostly rainwater! Or drinking the water out of the bird bath! Welcome to our wonderful family and thanks for that gorgeous photo,we all love photos around here!

 

Duncan's Mum - your "craziness" is absolutely normal - believe me it happens often with the puppy walking (raising) and it's not the dogs, it's us! Or we are using the wrong command when we "think" we have the correct one! If you saw what happens at our puppy workshops you would see how we are shown commands and we do exercises and even though we are shown how to do it correctly, sometimes several times, it can take a wee while to get it right! For example, We use the command "off" when dogs jump up (which they shouldn't of course but they have to learn not to do that), most people would say "get down". We use the command "down" when we want the dog to "lie down". When we go and visit my brother, Bonnie will get all excited and jump up on him, so I will be saying "off" and he will be saying "get down"! So I have to train him now as well! That's a challenge in itself! LOL!!! Thankfully like you, we have a trainer who has the patience of a saint.

 

DKD - I feel for you this weekend. It's the best of time for the new folk getting their dogs but the hardest of times for us. "Stiff upper lip darling and all that." ;):) What are Orsen's retirement plans?

 

I'm sorry if I've missed anyone's news out, just catching up with a few pages.

 

Aunty Roz - I sometimes hold Aruba's paw too, she seems to like a bit of reflexology!

 

Have a great weekend everyone, it's snowing here and cold. Planning on snuggling up in front of the fire, wait a minute, I've been beaten to that by the Fab Four! :D

Fairbourne, I was thinking about you this morning as I was driving to work. I'm so glad to hear that all is well.

I must share a dream that I had. I dreamt that Horty and I came to Scotland for a visit and stayed in a house in your back yard. Do you have a house in your back yard? If not, please tell Mr. Fairbourne that it may be time to start construction! :rolleyes: :D

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.......Horty and I are going to the beach.....ridiculous weather is drawing us to the sea!!!!!

Hello everyone! :)

 

Hope everyone is well wherever you are in the world - not too cold, and not too warm (speaking Californians here of course!!!)

 

Barb, adorable puppies and you will be enjoying that lovely new puppy smell with your cuddles!

 

Cindy - glad you had a good cruise, not so good you're feeling yucky - hope you're much better by the time you read this!

 

Holly - love the photos, keep them coming please!

 

Talking about photos, ah Krypti - that photo is priceless, I looked but I didn't see your dog's name? Our dogs will drink water from the tap but much prefer drinking the water from their outside bowl which is mostly rainwater! Or drinking the water out of the bird bath! Welcome to our wonderful family and thanks for that gorgeous photo,we all love photos around here!

 

Duncan's Mum - your "craziness" is absolutely normal - believe me it happens often with the puppy walking (raising) and it's not the dogs, it's us! Or we are using the wrong command when we "think" we have the correct one! If you saw what happens at our puppy workshops you would see how we are shown commands and we do exercises and even though we are shown how to do it correctly, sometimes several times, it can take a wee while to get it right! For example, We use the command "off" when dogs jump up (which they shouldn't of course but they have to learn not to do that), most people would say "get down". We use the command "down" when we want the dog to "lie down". When we go and visit my brother, Bonnie will get all excited and jump up on him, so I will be saying "off" and he will be saying "get down"! So I have to train him now as well! That's a challenge in itself! LOL!!! Thankfully like you, we have a trainer who has the patience of a saint.

 

DKD - I feel for you this weekend. It's the best of time for the new folk getting their dogs but the hardest of times for us. "Stiff upper lip darling and all that." ;):) What are Orsen's retirement plans?

 

I'm sorry if I've missed anyone's news out, just catching up with a few pages.

 

Aunty Roz - I sometimes hold Aruba's paw too, she seems to like a bit of reflexology!

 

Have a great weekend everyone, it's snowing here and cold. Planning on snuggling up in front of the fire, wait a minute, I've been beaten to that by the Fab Four! :D

Oops! My service dog's name is Darian, though I also call him Buffalo Dog because he's so huge. :D He's 24" at the shoulder and 95 pounds, with so much fur! I used to shave him down to 1/4"-1/8" in the summer, back when we weren't leaving the house much. Now that we'll be going out more, I picked up a cooling vest from Ruffwear and I'll leave his fur a little longer for sun protection. We'll see how it goes.

You guys know about the Ruffwear Pro program, right? It's the only way I would've been able to afford his boots. He needs them for the summer here in Arizona. The pavement gets hot enough to burn dogs' paws. :(

Last night, we went to see Deadpool. I was worried we wouldn't get seats -- he's too big to walk past people to get to the middle of an aisle -- but we lucked out. Nobody in a wheelchair came, so they let us have wheelchair seating, with plenty of room for him to lie down.

(I can't get the pic to link properly, because it's from my twitter, but here he is:

Oops! My service dog's name is Darian, though I also call him Buffalo Dog because he's so huge. :D He's 24" at the shoulder and 95 pounds, with so much fur! I used to shave him down to 1/4"-1/8" in the summer, back when we weren't leaving the house much. Now that we'll be going out more, I picked up a cooling vest from Ruffwear and I'll leave his fur a little longer for sun protection. We'll see how it goes.

 

You guys know about the Ruffwear Pro program, right? It's the only way I would've been able to afford his boots. He needs them for the summer here in Arizona. The pavement gets hot enough to burn dogs' paws. :(

 

Last night, we went to see Deadpool. I was worried we wouldn't get seats -- he's too big to walk past people to get to the middle of an aisle -- but we lucked out. Nobody in a wheelchair came, so they let us have wheelchair seating, with plenty of room for him to lie down.

 

(I can't get the pic to link properly, because it's from my twitter, but here he is:

)

He's a teddy bear!

I know exactly what it's like trying to fit a huge dog in all places where humans go. My Horton weighs 95 lbs too! He's a big black hulk! He doesn't fit in bulk-head, he doesn't fit in the aisles at theatres, he definitely doesn't fit under a table. I ALWAYS have to inspect where I'm going to be sitting to make sure that he'll be safe and even then there can be a screw-up! On our last cruise a waiter dropped a basket of bread on Horton's head because he had forgotten that he was laying in back of a couch where the servers are used to walking in.

Thank goodness for handicapped areas onboard cruise ships in the theatre. When the lights go out Horton disappears, he's so black. I'm very, very careful. I don't want people getting hurt and most of all I don't want him stepped on. It makes a Service Dog very shy when they're legs, paws and tails are stepped on or wheeled over!!!!

.......

Fairbourne, I was thinking about you this morning as I was driving to work. I'm so glad to hear that all is well.

 

I must share a dream that I had. I dreamt that Horty and I came to Scotland for a visit and stayed in a house in your back yard. Do you have a house in your back yard? If not, please tell Mr. Fairbourne that it may be time to start construction! :rolleyes: :D

 

He says you can have his garden shed anytime! LOL!!! If you arrived here the red carpet would be out for sure all the way up the garden path to the shed! ;):D Horton could share Poppy's lovely Tuffy dog bed in a very nice shade of red with a tartan fleece covered cushioned mattress!

 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.......Horty and I are going to the beach.....ridiculous weather is drawing us to the sea!!!!!

.......

Oh! Dear! A shed, uh? :rolleyes: I guess that's what I was dreaming of! If it has to be a shed, then a shed it will be!

Look out Scotland, here we come!!!!! :D

He's a teddy bear!

 

I know exactly what it's like trying to fit a huge dog in all places where humans go. My Horton weighs 95 lbs too! He's a big black hulk! He doesn't fit in bulk-head, he doesn't fit in the aisles at theatres, he definitely doesn't fit under a table. I ALWAYS have to inspect where I'm going to be sitting to make sure that he'll be safe and even then there can be a screw-up! On our last cruise a waiter dropped a basket of bread on Horton's head because he had forgotten that he was laying in back of a couch where the servers are used to walking in.

 

Thank goodness for handicapped areas onboard cruise ships in the theatre. When the lights go out Horton disappears, he's so black. I'm very, very careful. I don't want people getting hurt and most of all I don't want him stepped on. It makes a Service Dog very shy when they're legs, paws and tails are stepped on or wheeled over!!!!

Yummy. Bread falling from the sky!!

How do you manage Horton on a plane? My dad wants me to come visit him in Florida some time this year (if only I didn't have deadlines!) and we'll have a six-hour flight from Phoenix on Southwest Airlines.

The one thing Darian is VERY good at is the "lie there while people walk over you" command. He's also excellent at "nap wherever you are" and "just lounge around on the floor for a while." See a trend? :D

Yummy. Bread falling from the sky!!

 

How do you manage Horton on a plane? My dad wants me to come visit him in Florida some time this year (if only I didn't have deadlines!) and we'll have a six-hour flight from Phoenix on Southwest Airlines.

 

The one thing Darian is VERY good at is the "lie there while people walk over you" command. He's also excellent at "nap wherever you are" and "just lounge around on the floor for a while." See a trend? :D

He's Horton's brother from another mother!!!!

Airplanes are the worst. We try and get bulkhead and Horton takes two seats on the floor. The airlines could ask me to pay for the other seat but so far I've been lucky. Once we were bumped into First Class because there just was no room for Horton anywhere. They did NOT ask me to pay the difference but they could have!

I begged for a taller dog because I'm so tall and it's so much easier on my back when I can reach my dogs collar, leash, vest, poop bags, etc., without having to always bend over.

They gave me the biggest dog in training camp! I love my big guy but it's not always easy taking him to some of the places I need to go to.

He's Horton's brother from another mother!!!!

 

Airplanes are the worst. We try and get bulkhead and Horton takes two seats on the floor. The airlines could ask me to pay for the other seat but so far I've been lucky. Once we were bumped into First Class because there just was no room for Horton anywhere. They did NOT ask me to pay the difference but they could have!

 

I begged for a taller dog because I'm so tall and it's so much easier on my back when I can reach my dogs collar, leash, vest, poop bags, etc., without having to always bend over.

 

They gave me the biggest dog in training camp! I love my big guy but it's not always easy taking him to some of the places I need to go to.

Because Darian is turning nine this month, we're getting a puppy to take over when he retires. We picked the Native American Indian Dog -- a "mutt" breed, mixed from husky, malamute, chinook, and GSD. They vary wildly in size, coat, and markings, but they're generally excellent family dogs/service dogs. The breeder we're going through, Night Eyes Farms, has placed many service dogs.

The awkward part is that we're set to cruise in March of 2017, which means we'll either have my ten-year-old buffalo dog or a puppy. If I get a pup from the first litter that's going to be born in seven or so weeks, we'll be okay. If I don't get a pup until the autumn litter, though... well, I won't bring an untrained or under-trained pup with me. That wouldn't be fair to me, to the other passengers, or to the pup himself.

We won't be going on any shore excursions. The primary reason for the cruise is a convention for authors (including me!) and readers, and my husband will probably just lie around in the sun ignoring my advice about sunscreen. :D So I'm not really worried that Darian will be too old -- we're equally lazy!

(And yay, my signature works!)

By the way, does anyone have suggestions on a dual purpose human/dog first aid kit? I carry a stripped-down emergency kit in my doggie go-bag, but I want a more comprehensive kit for the cruise since medications are so expensive/may not be available. So far, I have:

- Bandages - gauze pads, gauze wrap, band-aids, medical tape

- Ointments & Powders - vaseline, bacitracin, aloe, Gold Bond medicated powder, styptic powder, alcohol swabs

- Tools - tweezers, emergency shears (blunt tips, blades under 4" long), small file (for broken toenails)

- OTC Medications - aspirin, Benadryl, Pepto Bismol (all in dog-safe doses)

- Prescription medications - gentamycin-betamethasone spray (fantastic for wounds & skin irritation), mometamax drops (for ear infections)

- Other - cotton balls, Q-tips, sterile gloves

And for people: stuff for digestive problems (both ends!), cold medication, Tylenol, vitamins

Anything else you suggest?

We'll find out in November when first we meet on board the Island Princess.

Sorry thought it was the last cruise she went on.