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

[rangeley]

I have a health cert question. I just picked it up from the vet and all it has on it is his tatoo number, rabies info and d-h-l info and thats it!:confused: Is that all that has to be on it????:confused::confused::confused:

[wizard-of-roz]

I have a health cert question. I just picked it up from the vet and all it has on it is his tatoo number, rabies info and d-h-l info and thats it!:confused: Is that all that has to be on it????:confused::confused::confused:

 

Basically, it's all that Immigration really wants to know. Has the dog been immunized and is she/he fit for travel?

My Vet adds the Heartguard and Advantix usage, as well. But, it's really not necessary.

 

Again, Bon Voyage!

[sunshine426]

Hi. Back from a full day of outings with a tired fella sleeping at my feet and Sandy the queen taking the high ground next to me on the sofa! This guy did very well. The teachers had read a book to the kids that had a service dog named "Buster" in it. So my visit built on the book. Buster was a black lab in service to a child in a wheelchair. I'm going to find out the name and author and let y'all know it looked good. I have a yellow lab/goden with me, but still lot's of the kids thought it was Buster from the book. We talked about these dogs and how important it was not to approach them, to always ask if it is ok to pat, and not to get their feelings hurt if the person said no. Then of course everyone got to pat my dog and all was well. These guys were kindergarten and pre-K, so I kept it pretty short and sweet. They liked to see how I was working on a heel using "cheese in a can.

 

Trip to Barnes and Noble, Kroger, the mall and lunch wiht another CA dog and some of my volunteer friends.

 

Now I am going to bake a few batches of my doggy treats to give as gifts.

[wizard-of-roz]

Hi. Back from a full day of outings with a tired fella sleeping at my feet and Sandy the queen taking the high ground next to me on the sofa! This guy did very well. The teachers had read a book to the kids that had a service dog named "Buster" in it. So my visit built on the book. Buster was a black lab in service to a child in a wheelchair. I'm going to find out the name and author and let y'all know it looked good. I have a yellow lab/goden with me, but still lot's of the kids thought it was Buster from the book. We talked about these dogs and how important it was not to approach them, to always ask if it is ok to pat, and not to get their feelings hurt if the person said no. Then of course everyone got to pat my dog and all was well. These guys were kindergarten and pre-K, so I kept it pretty short and sweet. They liked to see how I was working on a heel using "cheese in a can.

 

Trip to Barnes and Noble, Kroger, the mall and lunch wiht another CA dog and some of my volunteer friends.

 

Now I am going to bake a few batches of my doggy treats to give as gifts.

 

Thanks for sharing the wonderful story......Have a Furryfilled Holiday and a Lickingly Delightful New Year!

[Quampapetet]

We were at a Holiday party on Sunday and, of course, Brenda was with me, with her vest on. A woman came over to me and said that she was going to buy a "vest" online and put it on her dog and then take her dog on her next cruise with her!

Crazy that she even actually said that to you!! :eek:

 

I then asked her; what are you going to do when they ask you to fill-out paperwork, provided by your Vet?

I'm not sure what that has to do with anything. Vets don't certify service dogs or determine whether or not a person is disabled. And human doctors do lie about disabilities (which is how some abled ppl get handicapped tags illegally or how some abled ppl get to keep a pet in their non-pets housing 'cause they call it an emotional support animal even though they don't qualify to have one). The vet paperwork is purely to say that the dog is healthy and what the history of vaccinations/titers, fecal floats, etc. is. Vet paperwork doesn't certify that the animal fits even the entry requirements for a country; that's the USDA Endorsement process (which is only required by some countries).

 

I am always surprised when supposedly intelligent people are willing to go to such lengths to make Service Dogs and their handlers lives so much more difficult.

It is called selfishness. There are a few types of ppl who pass their pets off as service dogs: those who don't care about anybody else, those who don't think what they do will harm anybody else, those who think it is not fair that we can bring our dogs and they can't, and those who (for whatever reason) have convinced themselves that their dog is their service dog (when it is not and they may not even be disabled). It sounds like the lady you ran into is in the second category (doesn't think what she does will hurt anybody else).

 

I told her about the moments of "hell" that we sometimes are put through in order to have our dogs by our sides.

 

You know what? She actually had a tear in her eye and thanked me for educating her.

 

One person at a time.........;)

 

Yeah, I think once she was onboard with her dog, she'd have wished she never brought him!!

 

Thanks for educating her! I'm glad she was able to see the truth of things.

[Quampapetet]

And, I could have used you on Sunday night when Brenda thought that she was the "personal greeter" for every guest that entered for the Holiday Party. CCI couldn't train that "greeting" thing out of her and, unless I literally put her in another room, I'm certainly not going to be able to do it either!!!!! She's almost 10, I think it's permanently imprinted! :( I'll deal!

 

Book store names how clever is that? :p

 

You can actually teach old dogs new tricks, unlike the old addage. Every time she wants to greet somebody without your permission (whatever command you use, such as "go say hi"), correct her and tell her to put your attention back on you (using whatever command you use for that, such as "look at me" or "focus"). When you do want her to greet somebody, after she has her attention on you, you can give her the greeting command - but be sure you don't do this every time or near every time or she'll just learn to glance at you before greeting. ;) To help her, you can give her a different command the other times, like sit or lay or doing puppy pushups (going back and forth between sit, lay, and stand). She will learn that when she wants to greet somebody, she is to look to you to see if she can get permission or not. If you do give permission with the greeting command, she can greet, but if you don't giver permission, she has to stay attentive to you and do whatever command(s) you do give her.

 

And, yeah, I second the love of the book store names! Very cute!

Edited December 17, 2009 by Quampapetet

[Quampapetet]

I have a health cert question. I just picked it up from the vet and all it has on it is his tatoo number, rabies info and d-h-l info and thats it!:confused: Is that all that has to be on it????:confused::confused::confused:

 

It should have all the info. about all the requirements you need for the countries you're going to. So, it should have rabies vaccine info. (including whether it is a one- or three-year vaccine - one year my vet forgot to put "three-year" on the certificate and it was over a year old, but thankfully I had the rabies certificate with me so I was able to prove it was still good, otherwise I think they'd have called my vet to ask and I'm guessing I'd have had to pay for the international phone call); vaccine and/or titer info. for the other required vaccines incl. leptospirosis; fecal float date/results; heartworm test date/results; etc. (Check the requirements pages for the countries to see what, if anything, else is needed as I'm only semi-awake as I write this so may not be remembering it all. ;)) Plus it should have the vet's info. and signature, of course.

Edited December 17, 2009 by Quampapetet

[wizard-of-roz]

Thank you Quam!

[rangeley]

Quam, I sure hope everything is on there and that we get our permit. It's getting close and I just want everything done. I did not speak to anyone in St. Thomas or PR so I hope they let us off the ship. If they don't no problem, we have been to St. Thomas every cruise we've gone on. Wex is doing great and we are going to continue the RX dog food til we get home from the cruise. We don't want to change anything now, the cruise and flight might be stressful enough. I just got his royal blue bowtie today. I can't wait to try it on him!:D

 

One other note of interest.... Last night we took the dogs out, when we came back in, the chicken I had in the oven splattered up onto the element in the top of the oven and made it smoky in the apartment. Well Wex went nuts and ran out the door into the hallway. He wouldn't come back in til the smoke cleared. We were shocked! We don't know if he had a bad experience with smoke before or he's really smart and didn't want to die! Thats our boy, the wierdo that he is!! :eek: We learn something new about him everyday. Hope we don't learn he hates boats!! :eek:

 

Cindy

[wizard-of-roz]

Quam, I sure hope everything is on there and that we get our permit. It's getting close and I just want everything done. I did not speak to anyone in St. Thomas or PR so I hope they let us off the ship. If they don't no problem, we have been to St. Thomas every cruise we've gone on. Wex is doing great and we are going to continue the RX dog food til we get home from the cruise. We don't want to change anything now, the cruise and flight might be stressful enough. I just got his royal blue bowtie today. I can't wait to try it on him!:D

 

One other note of interest.... Last night we took the dogs out, when we came back in, the chicken I had in the oven splattered up onto the element in the top of the oven and made it smoky in the apartment. Well Wex went nuts and ran out the door into the hallway. He wouldn't come back in til the smoke cleared. We were shocked! We don't know if he had a bad experience with smoke before or he's really smart and didn't want to die! Thats our boy, the wierdo that he is!! :eek: We learn something new about him everyday. Hope we don't learn he hates boats!! :eek:

 

Cindy

 

"Smoke" and Service Dogs......you never know. He's a smart boy, he didn't want to breath the stuff.......

Brenda has very few things that can make her "fright and flight" response go into effect, except......take her to the Vet and she turns into a quiverring mass of fur!!!! She will literally jump into PaPa's lap! It's hard to ignore her but I do!!!!

[Quampapetet]

Quam, I sure hope everything is on there and that we get our permit. It's getting close and I just want everything done. I did not speak to anyone in St. Thomas or PR so I hope they let us off the ship. If they don't no problem, we have been to St. Thomas every cruise we've gone on. Wex is doing great and we are going to continue the RX dog food til we get home from the cruise. We don't want to change anything now, the cruise and flight might be stressful enough. I just got his royal blue bowtie today. I can't wait to try it on him!:D

 

Do let us know how everything goes with the Grand Turk permit stuff, since you're doing it before I will be. Did you send in your certificate to the USDA yet? I am going to bring it to the office in person, but it is a little nerve-wracking that the office here doesn't allow appointments to be made over two weeks in advance because they don't know their vets' schedules 'til then. So, I have to wait until two weeks before wanting to go and then hope their schedule fits when I need it done!

 

You shouldn't have any issues with the U.S. Territories (St. Thomas and Puerto Rico) or getting back into the U.S. with what you have.

 

You will have to post a photo of Wex in his bowtie!

 

One other note of interest.... Last night we took the dogs out, when we came back in, the chicken I had in the oven splattered up onto the element in the top of the oven and made it smoky in the apartment. Well Wex went nuts and ran out the door into the hallway. He wouldn't come back in til the smoke cleared. We were shocked! We don't know if he had a bad experience with smoke before or he's really smart and didn't want to die! Thats our boy, the wierdo that he is!! :eek: We learn something new about him everyday. Hope we don't learn he hates boats!! :eek:

 

Cindy

 

LOL about hoping not to learn he hates boats! I bet he'll do fine. :)

 

Some dogs have issues with smoke. That's why when you go to Disney World, on the ride Spaceship Earth, they always warn service dog owners that the ride has the smell of smoke at one part (when Rome is burning).

 

Hey, at least you can likely count on your dog to be one of those that saves your life in a fire! :D

[Quampapetet]

Brenda has very few things that can make her "fright and flight" response go into effect, except......take her to the Vet and she turns into a quiverring mass of fur!!!! She will literally jump into PaPa's lap! It's hard to ignore her but I do!!!!

 

If you want to help her get rid of this fear, you can work on it. Take her to the vet's on days she doesn't have an appointment (so nothing will be done to her like vaccines, blood draws, etc.). Wait in the waiting room, let her greet/have a good time with the staff there (including the vets if they are available) getting rubs and treats, etc. and work your way up to sitting in an exam room with her.

 

One time I was at the vet's and this lady's dog was going ballistic! She was sitting with him on a bench where the wall behind them has one of those long, skinny windows (like this: [======]) towards the top of the wall. The dog was climbing on her and then the back of the bench to try to reach the window so he could try to get out of there!! It was funny and sad at the same time. I guess he hates the vet 'cause he's had several surgeries for a problem he has. He was shakin' like an earthquake, the poor thing.

 

My dog loves all the vets' offices she's been to, but I do not like any doctors' offices I've been to! :p

[S.S. Cruisers]

Mornin' all:

Cindy: That Wexy is a smart boy! I am sure he won't even know he is on a boat, unless of course you let him look over the side! :eek: Jezzy goes balistic over the door bell or a knock on the door. Fortunately, we don't have alot of vistors but you would be surprised how many times the TV has those sounds. Never paid attention to them until she was sitting in my lap and jumped straight up barking and growling. Scared the bejibbers out of me!

Nancy

[S.S. Cruisers]

Mornin' all:

Hubby has Christmas music playing on the computer. I think I am finally getting into the Christmas spirit, sort of.

Jezzy is passed out on the floor, laying on the towel that is supposed to be under her food dish! :eek: She likes to cover the food up and save it for later. Eeewwww. Her babies are strewn all over. Looks like a bomb hit. But you know what, I don't care. She is happy and had fun. I will pick them up later. I need to get her a toy box. The one she has, she carry around and chews on the corners.

Everyone have a great Sunday.

Nancy

[wizard-of-roz]

If you want to help her get rid of this fear, you can work on it. Take her to the vet's on days she doesn't have an appointment (so nothing will be done to her like vaccines, blood draws, etc.). Wait in the waiting room, let her greet/have a good time with the staff there (including the vets if they are available) getting rubs and treats, etc. and work your way up to sitting in an exam room with her.

 

One time I was at the vet's and this lady's dog was going ballistic! She was sitting with him on a bench where the wall behind them has one of those long, skinny windows (like this: [======]) towards the top of the wall. The dog was climbing on her and then the back of the bench to try to reach the window so he could try to get out of there!! It was funny and sad at the same time. I guess he hates the vet 'cause he's had several surgeries for a problem he has. He was shakin' like an earthquake, the poor thing.

 

My dog loves all the vets' offices she's been to, but I do not like any doctors' offices I've been to! :p

 

We have to go to the Vet to pick-up some Otomax and Heartguard......Brenda will go with me and have absolutely NOTHING DONE TO HER!

I'll let you know how it goes.....I have to muster-up the courage to go out into the XMAS rush myself, first!!!!!!!

I could wait until after the first of the year.....it would be so much simpler but I have some candy for the Vet's office and, I refuse to let Brenny's OCD get in the way.

I'll keep you informed: The loud "scratching" sound you'll be hearing are Brenny's claws, deeply dug into the floor of the front office and the loud "thud" is her body aiming for and hitting the back door.

Mind you, I'm not making fun of her......not much [it's just between us lovers of these dogs, right!]......But, it is a riot to see this highly trained, super intelligent Service Dog become a blitering idiot in the Doctor's office. Where is Cesar Milan when you need him?

Seriously, the trainers have told me that there are some dogs that have "issues" with any number of things, just like people do [she only does this at the Vet's so I blame them.] The less I make of it, the better it is for her! So, I've learned to simply ignore and give her commands just as I would anywhere else we go. The fact that she turns to "jello" is something she and I are used to and we deal with it. She "deals" and I "drag!"

Do I love her less......Heck no! I love her more! She's MY BRENDA....SHE'S MY SPECIAL GIRL!!!!!

[Quampapetet]

We have to go to the Vet to pick-up some Otomax and Heartguard......Brenda will go with me and have absolutely NOTHING DONE TO HER!

 

I'll let you know how it goes.....I have to muster-up the courage to go out into the XMAS rush myself, first!!!!!!!

I hope it goes well, both Brenda-wise and traffic-wise! Do it at a time when you have a lot of time to spare so you can slowly proceed with Brenda. And bring some delicious treats for her.

I think when I'm not looking, my dog comes on here and reads this thread, LOL! First she got ill after someone's dog on here was ill (turns out she was eating something off the ground that a tree had dropped ... gotta love when those "non-fruit bearing trees" bear stuff...) and now yesterday at the vet's she didn't want to go with the vet tech at first (to be weighed and have her temp. taken and such, we were getting a health certificate), which is a first for her. :rolleyes: Silly dog. She was fine, just didn't want to go with the lady at first.

 

I could wait until after the first of the year.....it would be so much simpler but I have some candy for the Vet's office and, I refuse to let Brenny's OCD get in the way.

Good for you! It isn't OCD, though, it is fear. Two completely different things.

 

I'll keep you informed: The loud "scratching" sound you'll be hearing are Brenny's claws, deeply dug into the floor of the front office and the loud "thud" is her body aiming for and hitting the back door.

Letting her do that doesn't help. Luring her with treats and letting her have a "party" of a time at the vet's (it'll take multiple times) will help. Make sure you are not nervous 'cause she can sense it.

 

Mind you, I'm not making fun of her......not much [it's just between us lovers of these dogs, right!]......But, it is a riot to see this highly trained, super intelligent Service Dog become a blitering idiot in the Doctor's office. Where is Cesar Milan when you need him?

Oh, you're allowed to make fun of her, don't worry! ;)

[wizard-of-roz]

[/b][/color]

 

I hope it goes well, both Brenda-wise and traffic-wise! Do it at a time when you have a lot of time to spare so you can slowly proceed with Brenda. And bring some delicious treats for her.

 

I think when I'm not looking, my dog comes on here and reads this thread, LOL! First she got ill after someone's dog on here was ill (turns out she was eating something off the ground that a tree had dropped ... gotta love when those "non-fruit bearing trees" bear stuff...) and now yesterday at the vet's she didn't want to go with the vet tech at first (to be weighed and have her temp. taken and such, we were getting a health certificate), which is a first for her. :rolleyes: Silly dog. She was fine, just didn't want to go with the lady at first.

 

 

[/b]

 

Good for you! It isn't OCD, though, it is fear. Two completely different things.

 

 

[/b]

 

Letting her do that doesn't help. Luring her with treats and letting her have a "party" of a time at the vet's (it'll take multiple times) will help. Make sure you are not nervous 'cause she can sense it.

 

 

[/i][/b]

 

Oh, you're allowed to make fun of her, don't worry! ;)

 

Thank you, Quam!

[S.S. Cruisers]

Mornin' all:

Reno just loved his vet's. Most were female. When we went in, the first thing he would do is go over to the receptionist desk and put his front feet up there as if he was checking in. When we sat down, he would lay on the floor and try and crawl (without me seeing him!) over to the other dogs. Well I already knew he wouldn't like them and would growl and snap, so I had to try and keep by me. His birthday would have been Monday, he would have been 14. I now know why I was down in the dumps. Subconsciously it was wearing on me.

 

Everyone have a great hump day.

 

Nancy

[wizard-of-roz]

Mornin' all:

 

Reno just loved his vet's. Most were female. When we went in, the first thing he would do is go over to the receptionist desk and put his front feet up there as if he was checking in. When we sat down, he would lay on the floor and try and crawl (without me seeing him!) over to the other dogs. Well I already knew he wouldn't like them and would growl and snap, so I had to try and keep by me. His birthday would have been Monday, he would have been 14. I now know why I was down in the dumps. Subconsciously it was wearing on me.

 

Everyone have a great hump day.

 

Nancy

 

He's you're personal "guardian angel" now! You were a wonderful Mommy to him and Jezzy appreciates it!

These beautiful, wonderful souls, how on earth do we manage without them in our lives? And, when they pass, it's amazing how they're truly never forgotten!

That funny crawl that he used to do is so familiar. Brenny does it when we're in a class of other dogs and she just wants to get in that very important sniff!

Take care!

[sunshine426]

My foster pup (Crackers) was supposed to spend the holidays with my family. Sadly my own dog Sandy developed an eye infection. This is really not much of a problem, just need to give her eye drops. Sadly, it is contagious, so Crackers can't come home. While, he would be unlikely to contract doggy pink eye from my Sandy,it was too big of a risk for a dog who lives in a kennel with many dogs. I had his stocking ready and had a plan for the day. Oh well, he will have many Christmases ahead. I did spend some time with him up at the farm today. Plus, all the new puppies up at the nursery. Merry Christmas to all of you!!!

[wizard-of-roz]

My foster pup (Crackers) was supposed to spend the holidays with my family. Sadly my own dog Sandy developed an eye infection. This is really not much of a problem, just need to give her eye drops. Sadly, it is contagious, so Crackers can't come home. While, he would be unlikely to contract doggy pink eye from my Sandy,it was too big of a risk for a dog who lives in a kennel with many dogs. I had his stocking ready and had a plan for the day. Oh well, he will have many Christmases ahead. I did spend some time with him up at the farm today. Plus, all the new puppies up at the nursery. Merry Christmas to all of you!!!

 

That is a bit disappointing for you and Crackers [love that name] but you are being so thoughtful in protecting all the dogs in the kennel.

I know he loved his holiday time with you.

Have a Merry Christmas and I look forward to sharing more cruises and wonderful stories with you in 2010.

[rangeley]

Hi All, I've been so busy between Xmas and the trip. We have faxed our forms to Turk and now just waiting to get the permit back. We had around 10" of snow over the weekend, which didn't help the xmas rush and all the crazy people! :eek: This was Wexys first snow storm with us so we took the dogs out back and let them run. I took some video of them and John posted it on Wexys webpage. There is some strange noise from my camera, so you might want to turn off the sound. I hope my camera isn't going to die soon. http://wexler2009.shutterfly.com/ scroll down to the bottom to see the video. I will probably be around tomorrow but if I am not, everyone have a great holiday!!! Peace, Love and Health to you all!!!

 

Cindy

[S.S. Cruisers]

Cindy: What a great album of Wexy! I want to hug-a-bug him!!!! Not only is he quite the ham, he is an excellent Journalist. No doubt the kids love him. I didn't know John works in Special Ed. My background is in Special Ed, but right now I am working with 4,5,6,7 and 8th grade classes as an aide. I miss my special ed kids so much. I always said they behave better than the other kids. I have heard so many stories of service dogs helping out kids, I wish I could tell all the parents to check into it. You never know what a dog can offer kids that we can't.

 

I suppose you bought more squeaky toys? Jezzy can only squeak a few of hers.

 

Have a great holiday and upcoming cruise.

 

Nancy

[rangeley]

Nancy, I thought you knew John taught special ed. Hope you saw the pic of one of the kids reading to Wexy. He really works as a therapy/reading/classroom dog too. The kids really respond to him. Plus if they do good, they get rewarded by being able to hold his leash walking down the hall, or they get to brush him. He works wonders!

 

Well last night we decided to give the dogs their xmas presents. Omg it was so funny! Bailee of course got tennis balls ( her obsession). After hours of throwing the balls in the house, we had to give her a Rimadyl and make her lay down. Wexy of course got squeaky toys. He has gravitated to the rubber chicken. He's been trying to eat the legs off, but no success as of yet. Of course John is still sleeping and Wex is here squeaking away!:eek: They are in their glory. It's so very nice to see them so happy!:D

 

Cindy

[S.S. Cruisers]

Mornin' all:

Cindy: We could only give Reno the "kong" toys. He power chewed everything else to smitherines! He would pop the tennis balls then proceed to peel them. I got him the traditional three tier kong and then a round ball shaped one. Hubby called it the bowling ball. Definately don't be in its way when Reno flung it. It always had that surprised look on his face like "Wow, I didn't know that would make that big of noice!" I am thinking about trying to find Jezzy a little kong ball. She loves balls, but also chews the fuzz off the tennis balls and totals the wiffle balls.

Sunshine: Sorry Crackers cannot spend the holiday with you. I am sure he will miss you too!

Everyone have a glorious holiday. Stay safe.

Nancy