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

[rangeley]

Sunshine, You must be thrilled. I know how much it means to the puppy raisers and volunteers to see their babies graduate. I think I can speak for all of us when I say we are all proud of you for the love and dedication you give these special animals. :D Volunteers, puppy raisers and trainers are special people and have a big place in our hearts. We thank you because all of you make it possible for us to have the love and independence these animals give us. When I see how happy Wex makes John, all the hard work is worth it!! THANKS!!

[Quampapetet]

Hey, Wex's mom. You were the one who put the skeleton costume on your dog, right? Was the material it was made of slippery? (If I put it on my dog and put the mobility harness on top of it, would it make the harness slide around?) I got an idea the other night, so that's why I'm wondering.... :)

[rangeley]

Quam, The costume was made out of t-shirt material. The bones were glow in the dark stuff. Not sure how the harness would do. If it has enough to grip on the sides it might be ok. I don't recall the bones part of the costume being to slippery.

 

Cindy

[sunshine426]

I'm wondering if you could add some texture to the paint or whatever you put on the material to make it less slippery for a harness. I've worked with balance harnesses, so have an idea of the concern. I'm just wondering if adding something with some grit to a clear paint might do the trick?? Just using my arts and craft side(which is certainly not my strong suit:D).

[Quampapetet]

Quam, The costume was made out of t-shirt material. The bones were glow in the dark stuff. Not sure how the harness would do. If it has enough to grip on the sides it might be ok. I don't recall the bones part of the costume being to slippery.

 

Cindy

 

Okay, cool! I was thinking it was that stretchy Spandex-type material some fitted dog body suits are made of. T-shirt material should be good. :)

[Quampapetet]

I'm wondering if you could add some texture to the paint or whatever you put on the material to make it less slippery for a harness. I've worked with balance harnesses, so have an idea of the concern. I'm just wondering if adding something with some grit to a clear paint might do the trick?? Just using my arts and craft side(which is certainly not my strong suit:D).

 

That might work if it turns out to be slippery. Thankfully, it is a different material than I thought it was, so it likely isn't as slippery as I thought it was. T-shirt material is loose and not slick, so likely the harness won't have a problem - it should hold the T-shirt material down. I was thinking it was one of those Lycra (aha! I remembered the word!) dog body suits, which are slick. Thanks for the idea, though!

[rangeley]

Wow where is everyone? Does anyone know when Roz is getting back?

 

Quam, I checked out the costume and the skeleton glow in the dark stuff is kind of tacky, so I think a harness would be fine.

 

Cindy

[sunshine426]

It is kind of quiet isn't it. I'm off to do a group outing with about 8 dogs and 8 volunteers and there trainer. Always a bit fun and a bit chaotic. I am looking forward to seeing how Crackers works with another handler. He is coming along very well. Then I am off to the Children's Hospital for an Animal Assistated Therapy visit in the rehab unit. Good exposure to wheelchairs, walkers, lot's of unusual noises and smells. I'll let you guys know how it goes.

[wizard-of-roz]

Hi Everyone: Wow! Wexie, John and Cindy, I'm so glad to hear that your cruise was a huge success. I loved the pictures. Isn't cruising with your Service Dog a "blast!" We go again, onboard the Sapphire Princess on November 27th. [it's so nice to have one to look forward to, takes away the "down" feeling after getting off a ship!]

The potty-box will ALWAYS be an issue for some cruiselines.

I'm very, very proud to report that Brenda's potty-box was perfect. It was on our veranda, when we arrived and it was filled.....drum roll, please.....with MULCH! Carnival has finally gotten it right........The mulch was fresh and plentiful......It was so nice and Brenny loved it.

Of course, we had the most amazing Steward [the best we've ever had on any of the 14 cruises Brenny's been on or, for that matter on any of the 21 cruises I've EVER been on.] He and his assistant were on top of everything. He was so solicitous and was ready to fill our needs at every turn. I wanted to take him home with me! He really helped to make our cruise the success that it was.

I called Carnival, Access Department 4 days before the cruise to double-check with them about the box and the filler [this may have helped.] I brought a 4x4 roll of artificial turf [just in case we needed it.....we never unrolled it!] They didn't use the pellets and all was good!

The Splendor is a lovely ship.....huge!!!! We never got to see it all! Another time!

Just like Wexy, Brenny was the hit of the ship and, although we had two other dogs onboard [seeing eye dogs], on a one week cruise, we NEVER saw them, while exploring the ship or attending events, except on embarkation.

The crew and CD onboard the Splendor are truly some of the best we've ever encountered. I'd cruise with them anytime, anywhere! The CD, Stephanie Mead, was the best. She was a pure delight and helped to make the cruise what it was!

The food [except for the pizza/hot dogs/hamburgers and ceasar salad was just okay!] But, I promise we didn't go hungry.

Princess Cruiselines has finally gotten their cookies right and we enjoy them while on their ships but Carnival cookies are the worst, ever!......

"Please Carnival, what's up with the stale and tasteless cookies, you've got chefs onboard.....give them a recipe, please?"

The entertainment/lounge shows and movies were fabulous.

The weather in the MR was spectacular.

Our fellow passengers were great. We only had 300 kids onboard [compared to 1000, the week before.]

Everyone had to be back in school, so the family to senior ratio was pretty even.

The announcements onboard remains a bit much.....but, was noticeably less than what we've heard in the past onboard Carnival. I think they're finally getting that right [or, at least better!]

The ship is kept very clean and hasn't had a chance to show any wear and tear - except for the seating in the Lido...."what's up with the most uncomfortable seats, I've ever sat on in a buffet area?" They'll have to replace those, pretty darn soon!!!!

I'm glad to hear that everyone is feeling well......Thank you to Cindy, John and Wexy for sharing your pics.......I can't get enough of them. We, too, spread the word of CCI to everyone we enounter!

I have so much "catching-up" to do, at work.....talk to you all again later.....

[sunshine426]

Welcome Back! So now we can get this thread moving again. My outing today was fun, busy, work and I'm pretty tired myself. Having a dogtini and putting my paws up. Group outings are always a bit chaotic, but it is a good practice for camp. My Crackers had another handler, so I had to work on keeping myself scarce and my voice low. She said he would hear me two aisles over and his ears would go up! Flattering for me, but hard for her. I was working with a pup whose foster mom was also there, so I felt for her. As long as Betty was two aisles over or out of sight, her pup would work for me, but when she saw her, all bets off. Still a good time was had by all. I hope my trainer told that new volunteer how well she did. Crackers can be a bit hard to handle under the best of circumstances, and she was working with him with his trainer and his foster mom and 7 other dogs. Whew, talk about not setting someone up for sucesss. She is a new volunteer handler too. I didn't get her name, or I would be letting her know. When I could see them without them seeing me, she was doing a great job. Then I took another high energy poodle mix to the hospital. This one was donated to our orginization after his new owners thought a puppy was too much work. They did the right thing for him, since we have had him since 8 weeks, I don't know that he had much time to even start with them. He was fabulous at the hospital. A bit high energy, but still fabulous. He lives in the same room as Crackers and is always looking at me when I take Crackers out like "what about me?" So, it was good to get to know him as well.

 

Now, my own dog is woofing at me. I don't know why. Maybe because she was inside all day and I came home reeking of other dogs:D

 

Can't wait to hear abt Brenny's trip.

[wizard-of-roz]

Welcome Back! So now we can get this thread moving again. My outing today was fun, busy, work and I'm pretty tired myself. Having a dogtini and putting my paws up. Group outings are always a bit chaotic, but it is a good practice for camp. My Crackers had another handler, so I had to work on keeping myself scarce and my voice low. She said he would hear me two aisles over and his ears would go up! Flattering for me, but hard for her. I was working with a pup whose foster mom was also there, so I felt for her. As long as Betty was two aisles over or out of sight, her pup would work for me, but when she saw her, all bets off. Still a good time was had by all. I hope my trainer told that new volunteer how well she did. Crackers can be a bit hard to handle under the best of circumstances, and she was working with him with his trainer and his foster mom and 7 other dogs. Whew, talk about not setting someone up for sucesss. She is a new volunteer handler too. I didn't get her name, or I would be letting her know. When I could see them without them seeing me, she was doing a great job. Then I took another high energy poodle mix to the hospital. This one was donated to our orginization after his new owners thought a puppy was too much work. They did the right thing for him, since we have had him since 8 weeks, I don't know that he had much time to even start with them. He was fabulous at the hospital. A bit high energy, but still fabulous. He lives in the same room as Crackers and is always looking at me when I take Crackers out like "what about me?" So, it was good to get to know him as well.

 

Now, my own dog is woofing at me. I don't know why. Maybe because she was inside all day and I came home reeking of other dogs:D

 

Can't wait to hear abt Brenny's trip.

 

Sunshine, you sound like your "up and running" again.....I'm glad.

When we would go to visit CCI in Santa Rosa and Brenda would see or hear her trainers, she would "dead stop" and stare at them......Dogs never forget, do they?

I would just keep moving and walk right past them and they would try not to have eye contact with her.....very hard to do, very hard.

There was one trainer, "Jo" who Brenny had a very strong attachment to and Jo felt the same about her. When she would see Brenny, she would ask me to "release" her so she could get down on the ground and just hug her. It was very touching and Brenda's whole body would gyrate to just closer to her. It brought tears to my and PaPa's eyes.

A truly beautiful thing to see; is the trainer and the dog reconnecting! :)

[Quampapetet]

Quam, I checked out the costume and the skeleton glow in the dark stuff is kind of tacky, so I think a harness would be fine.

 

Thanks for checking on that! That's really helpful! :D Do you remember where you got it? I haven't checked out places yet for it (keep forgetting, grr).

 

My group has a pirate-themed event we're all dressing up for and my friend (the group leader) and I are leading it. So far, I was just going to put a treasure map print bandanna and an extra pirate hat I have on my service dog, but then when I saw your pic of Wexler in his Halloween costume again (when I went to his Web site), I got the idea of also putting that on my dog to make her a skeleton/ghost pirate dog! I think our group would get a kick out of that.

[Quampapetet]

 

I'm very, very proud to report that Brenda's potty-box was perfect. It was on our veranda, when we arrived and it was filled.....drum roll, please.....with MULCH! Carnival has finally gotten it right........The mulch was fresh and plentiful......It was so nice and Brenny loved it.

That's awesome!!!! :D I'm so glad you didn't have to deal with those pellets! I'm still bringing my own stuff for my cruise, but I'm glad they gave you mulch!

Heh, you know how the letter they send you to sign says that if you're bringing your own potty stuff you have to them know prior to the cruise? My TA let them know and the lady was like, "That's fine, we don't need to know," LOL. :rolleyes:

 

Of course, we had the most amazing Steward [the best we've ever had on any of the 14 cruises Brenny's been on or, for that matter on any of the 21 cruises I've EVER been on.] He and his assistant were on top of everything. He was so solicitous and was ready to fill our needs at every turn. I wanted to take him home with me! He really helped to make our cruise the success that it was.

 

Nice!

 

I called Carnival, Access Department 4 days before the cruise to double-check with them about the box and the filler [this may have helped.] I brought a 4x4 roll of artificial turf [just in case we needed it.....we never unrolled it!] They didn't use the pellets and all was good!

 

Aww, I was gonna ask you how it went with the artificial grass, since that's what I'm bringing, but oh well! I guess I will have to let you know after my cruise, is all. ;)

 

Just like Wexy, Brenny was the hit of the ship and, although we had two other dogs onboard [seeing eye dogs], on a one week cruise, we NEVER saw them, while exploring the ship or attending events, except on embarkation.

Crazy that you never saw the other service dogs! Guess it shows how big those ships really are! (Of course, not as big as the Oasis, LOL!! I saw that thing a few times in the Bahamas and it is ridiculously huge! When it is docked next to the other big ships, like Carnival and NCL ships, it makes the other ships look miniature!)

 

The food [except for the pizza/hot dogs/hamburgers and ceasar salad was just okay!] But, I promise we didn't go hungry.

Sorry to hear the food was only just okay. So do you mean the pizza was good/very good? Or was it bad?

 

Princess Cruiselines has finally gotten their cookies right and we enjoy them while on their ships but Carnival cookies are the worst, ever!......

 

"Please Carnival, what's up with the stale and tasteless cookies, you've got chefs onboard.....give them a recipe, please?"

Wow, that stinks! Thanks for the warning, though! I'm looking forward to the chocolate melting cake, as I love lava cakes! (Even the ones Domino's has now are good! They're one of my favorite desserts!)

[rangeley]

Thanks for checking on that! That's really helpful! :D Do you remember where you got it? I haven't checked out places yet for it (keep forgetting, grr).

 

My group has a pirate-themed event we're all dressing up for and my friend (the group leader) and I are leading it. So far, I was just going to put a treasure map print bandanna and an extra pirate hat I have on my service dog, but then when I saw your pic of Wexler in his Halloween costume again (when I went to his Web site), I got the idea of also putting that on my dog to make her a skeleton/ghost pirate dog! I think our group would get a kick out of that.

 

Quam, You can look online for it. I got ours at a state fair here. But I saw them online first. Just google "dog skeleton costume" and you will get a ton of them.

[rangeley]

Welcome Back Roz!!!!!! We are so glad you had a great trip and that everything went smoothly. You have already read about our trip and seen the pics so guess there's not much else to say. Well maybe just how our little angel was perfect!! ;) You were lucky to have your potty box all set for you. You read that we had problems but they got resolved within a few hours and then we were all set. We came back to snow, sleet and rain. I hear Cali isn't doing much better this week. I hope you are clear of all the bad weather. Hope to hear more about you trip. I'm going to CT today but will be back tomorrow, Hope to chat more.

 

Cindy

[sunshine426]

Roz and Cindy: You have mail.:D

[wizard-of-roz]

Roz and Cindy: You have mail.:D

 

I loved the pictures.......

[wizard-of-roz]

Welcome Back Roz!!!!!! We are so glad you had a great trip and that everything went smoothly. You have already read about our trip and seen the pics so guess there's not much else to say. Well maybe just how our little angel was perfect!! ;) You were lucky to have your potty box all set for you. You read that we had problems but they got resolved within a few hours and then we were all set. We came back to snow, sleet and rain. I hear Cali isn't doing much better this week. I hope you are clear of all the bad weather. Hope to hear more about you trip. I'm going to CT today but will be back tomorrow, Hope to chat more.

 

Cindy

 

Cindy, please let us know how Bailee did!

[wizard-of-roz]

[/b][/color]

 

That's awesome!!!! :D I'm so glad you didn't have to deal with those pellets! I'm still bringing my own stuff for my cruise, but I'm glad they gave you mulch!

 

Heh, you know how the letter they send you to sign says that if you're bringing your own potty stuff you have to them know prior to the cruise? My TA let them know and the lady was like, "That's fine, we don't need to know," LOL. :rolleyes:

 

 

 

 

Nice!

 

 

 

 

Aww, I was gonna ask you how it went with the artificial grass, since that's what I'm bringing, but oh well! I guess I will have to let you know after my cruise, is all. ;)

 

 

 

 

Crazy that you never saw the other service dogs! Guess it shows how big those ships really are! (Of course, not as big as the Oasis, LOL!! I saw that thing a few times in the Bahamas and it is ridiculously huge! When it is docked next to the other big ships, like Carnival and NCL ships, it makes the other ships look miniature!)

 

 

 

 

Sorry to hear the food was only just okay. So do you mean the pizza was good/very good? Or was it bad?

 

 

[/i]

 

Wow, that stinks! Thanks for the warning, though! I'm looking forward to the chocolate melting cake, as I love lava cakes! (Even the ones Domino's has now are good! They're one of my favorite desserts!)

 

Quam: The pizza is absolutely delicious......the melting cake is to die for and the cesar salad is so yummy!

The burrito bar is really good and the rotissiere [upstairs] was also good.

Carnival's "Tea Time" leaves a lot to be desired.

I always found something to eat [except for the cookies] PaPa, not so much!

He has a much more "trained and delicate palate", he's also a gourmet cook and can be very critical! I finally had to ask him to stop rating each dish and just try to enjoy it.

Like I said, we never went hungry.......there were lots of choices.

I don't care for East Indian food but I heard some positive things from some of our friends who tried it.

[Quampapetet]

Quam, You can look online for it. I got ours at a state fair here. But I saw them online first. Just google "dog skeleton costume" and you will get a ton of them.

 

Thanks, I looked a little last night and saw a couple different types, but I need to look more so I can price compare.

[Quampapetet]

Quam: The pizza is absolutely delicious......the melting cake is to die for and the cesar salad is so yummy!

Oh good, 'cause I was planning on having some pizza! And, of course, LOTS of that chocolate melting cake!!! :D

 

 

Carnival's "Tea Time" leaves a lot to be desired.

That's too bad. That's something we're planning on doing as a group. Last year at Disney we did the afternoon tea at the Grand Floridian and even the guys enjoyed it, so that's why our leader figured we'd do it onboard. Oh well!

[rangeley]

OMG Sunshine they are beautiful!!!!

 

Roz, Not understanding your question on how Bailee did????

 

Cindy

[sunshine426]

I'm glad y'all liked the picture! Those puppies are sooooo cute. Today at work, whenever it would get busy or crazy, I would pull up the puppy picture, and everyone felt better! Puppy Power!!

[Valentine's Mom]

Sunshine, I think Roz and everyone else was wondering if Baily forgave you for being gone from her so long. Valentine hates when I leave her even for an hour or so and will bark at me when i get in the door. If you knew how rare it is for her to bark you would know just how she hated being left behind. I remember her vet telling me it was not good for a service dog to be away from their partner so I really try not to but sometimes you just have to go alone! But boy does she ever tell me about it when I get home!!! LOL:eek:

[rangeley]

Bailee was very excited when I got home. She went nuts, loved and kissed me to death, then ignored me. :( She let me know she was mad. Now she is back to normal and happy to be with her Wexy. I just bought the dogs new beds. Of course they hate them, so I'll be returning them. I get these flat eggcrate ones at our grocery store and they love them. The new ones were thick and had a gel topper on them. I could have slept on them!! John has a wake after work today so Wex stayed home with me today. He's in his favorite spot.... the bed on the pillow. Boy is he spoiled!!!

 

Cindy