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

[Wendsong]

13 hours ago, wizard-of-roz said:

A CCI vest is a wonderful advertisement for the organization and helps the public in visualizing and signifying a working dog from a pet.  And a CCI trained dog is a joy and pleasure to take out in public.  I walk with great pride with my Service Dog and am proud to be around all ages, in all circumstances with him. 

CCI, while a worthwhile organization, does not train dogs for all types of disabilities. That does not preclude the rest of us from also walking with great pride with our Service dog or being proud to be with him/her, even if they aren't a walking advertisement for an organization that provides limited services. Nothing wrong with generic 😉

[Algebralovr]

In 2010, the definition of a service dog was set to be:

A service animal means any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability.

 

ADI has set the standard to include all the public access requirements.  They have required their member organizations to follow those standards, and asked that others do as well.   (My complaint about ADI is that they do not allow for-profit companies to be members, only non-profits.  There are a LOT of small, private trainers who do good work.)

 

IAADP has their recommended requirements at https://www.iaadp.org/iaadp-minimum-training-standards-for-public-access.html and their standards are high as well.

 

That said, in the US, none of these have force of law.  So, yeah, the laws are confusing on what constitutes a service dog.

[rangeley]

I understand there's all different kinds of service dogs. Not all come from an organization like CCI. I understand that some have to buy vests from the internet and some have to be in a stroller for their own safety. That being said, they need to be properly trained and tested. 

[Wendsong]

17 hours ago, wizard-of-roz said:

Princess cruise lines provides your dog with vest, and so does many other lines.

Thank you, that's good to know!

[Wendsong]

6 hours ago, Kaik9s said:

My other dog/pet (Who was training with me to be my sd) who is scared of strangers and barks at them or other dogs could have been my sd under those circumstances! Fortunately I decided she wasn’t sd material

 

Exactly, some dogs can't make it as good citizens and that's the difference between dogs that are chosen as SDs. are well trained/behaved and those that aren't. It's stress enough to have a service dog with you at all times, without the added problems of handling a poorly trained dog, not to mention the stress on a dog that can't handle public access. That's why we pay competent trainers to train them.

As for the jacket, I don't always put a jacket on my dog, especially in hot weather. The response I get most often from the public, when they are denied permission to pet him (I'm sorry, he is a service dog...) is "Well, how would I know?  He should be wearing a jacket!" He wears a jacket in restaurants (unless it's a regular), most Dr's offices and places we haven't been before.

 

I wonder what the response is to a jacket-less SD by the cruise lines.

Edited November 26, 2019 by Wendsong

[wizard-of-roz]

4 hours ago, Wendsong said:

CCI, while a worthwhile organization, does not train dogs for all types of disabilities. That does not preclude the rest of us from also walking with great pride with our Service dog or being proud to be with him/her, even if they aren't a walking advertisement for an organization that provides limited services. Nothing wrong with generic 😉

You are correct.  I certainly do not intend to put down or demean those who either train their own dogs or get them from other training organizations.  I know that CCI does not have dogs for everyone.  After applying to CCI I knew that I may have to apply to other Orgs.  I had read about the wonderful work that Jennifer Arnold was doing in Alpharetta, Georgia through Canine Assistants and was prepared to put my application in with them as well.  I was very fortunate to find CCI and be accepted into their program.

 

Horton ALWAYS wears his vest when we're in public.  The only time he doesn't wear his vest is after we've boarded a cruise and every succeeding day until we are disembarking.  It's just my preference and doesn't change his working status in any way. 

 

 

[wizard-of-roz]

52 minutes ago, Wendsong said:

 

Exactly, some dogs can't make it as good citizens and that's the difference between dogs that are chosen as SDs. are well trained/behaved and those that aren't. It's stress enough to have a service dog with you at all times, without the added problems of handling a poorly trained dog, not to mention the stress on a dog that can't handle public access. That's why we pay competent trainers to train them.

As for the jacket, I don't always put a jacket on my dog, especially in hot weather. The response I get most often from the public, when they are denied permission to pet him (I'm sorry, he is a service dog...) is "Well, how would I know?  He should be wearing a jacket!" He wears a jacket in restaurants (unless it's a regular), most Dr's offices and places we haven't been before.

 

I wonder what the response is to a jacket-less SD by the cruise lines.

Wonder no more!  The cruise lines do NOT make an issue out of the dog wearing a vest or not.  My dog ALWAYS wears a vest when embarking and debarking.  While onboard I take off the vest and it doesn't change how Horton works with me.  And, in over 33 cruises with 2 different dogs on over 8 different lines I have NEVER heard a negative response either from the public or the cruise lines.

[Algebralovr]

2 hours ago, wizard-of-roz said:

Wonder no more!  The cruise lines do NOT make an issue out of the dog wearing a vest or not.  My dog ALWAYS wears a vest when embarking and debarking.  While onboard I take off the vest and it doesn't change how Horton works with me.  And, in over 33 cruises with 2 different dogs on over 8 different lines I have NEVER heard a negative response either from the public or the cruise lines.

By comparison, I try to always have a vest on Scooter when he is working.  That is his que that he can't stick his nose everywhere, and needs to stay at heel.

 

In the morning and evening, before and after work, he gets walked on campus without his vest on.  He gets pets from the college students then, gets to stick his nose down and follow squirrel tracks as we walk along, gets to greet all the people we see, gets to run around and sniff (oh the sniffing!)   When his vest is on, he is working.  He doesn't get to flip over and present belly to the girls as they walk by (and it is always girls, who squeal "what a cute dog").  When the vest is off, I just shake my head and let him.  He is rather shamless when we walk near a group of young women.  

 

The vest is what you make it.  We started off by making it a signal that "We are working now" and top behavior is expected and required.  When the vest is off, we play ball, tug, and all the games we don't play when we are working.

[Mavis and Me]

3 hours ago, Wendsong said:

The response I get most often from the public, when they are denied permission to pet him (I'm sorry, he is a service dog...) is "Well, how would I know?  He should be wearing a jacket!"

Wendsong - a friend of mine has a SD that has become distracted by her vest after years of hanging up on things.  Some dogs wouldn't care, but hers now has an aversion to harnesses/vests. Simply put, the dog works better naked.  She had a lot of trouble gaining access to businesses in our area when her dog wasn't vested, sort of like it sounds you are getting when you work your dog vest-less.  My friend's solution was to order a leash wrap for her leash that says SERVICE DOG in bold letters.  The dog's collar also states that she's a service dog, but that seems to always be buried in her fur.  Adding the wrap to the leash has helped her, so I thought I'd mention it to you for those times when it's too hot out to load your dog down with gear!  :)

[Mavis and Me]

25 minutes ago, Algebralovr said:

The vest is what you make it.  We started off by making it a signal that "We are working now" and top behavior is expected and required.  When the vest is off, we play ball, tug, and all the games we don't play when we are working.

Me too!  My 95 pound girl is a force to be reckoned with when her vest is off.  She's NUTS!  She gallops, rolls, leaps, barks, and chases her tail.  (It's adorable!)  However, when her vest is put on, you can literally watch her mentally pull up her pants, tuck in her shirt, and get on task.  It's amazing.  I love that the vest means something to her.  For one, it gives her 'permission' to be a dog when it's off.  And when it is on, it tells her that I need her to behave a certain way.  Dr Jekyll/Mr Hyde, but 100% in a good way!  :)

[Mavis and Me]

For those of you who cruise for more than a week or two at a time, what do you do to keep your dog fresh smelling?  My dog gets a bit, er...odiferous after a week in the heat because of her big face and drooly mouth.  I know that some Labs can start to smell oily not long after a bath too.  Has anyone ever managed to give their dog a bath on a cruise ship, or do you just take fresh wipes and wipe them down from time to time?  Curious minds want to know!  :)

[wizard-of-roz]

2 hours ago, Mavis and Me said:

For those of you who cruise for more than a week or two at a time, what do you do to keep your dog fresh smelling?  My dog gets a bit, er...odiferous after a week in the heat because of her big face and drooly mouth.  I know that some Labs can start to smell oily not long after a bath too.  Has anyone ever managed to give their dog a bath on a cruise ship, or do you just take fresh wipes and wipe them down from time to time?  Curious minds want to know! 🙂

I give my dogs Grizzly Salmon Oil in their kibble, twice a day.  I keeps their fur and skin in good condition and odor free.  It also keeps their nails in good condition and is good for their hearts.

 

Horton as well as Brenda have [had] thick fur, double coated and neither have ever had an odor.

[DisneyKidsDad]

On 11/23/2019 at 9:21 PM, wizard-of-roz said:

Hi Honey's I'm Home,  I'm over the moon exhausted.  The first leg of my 2 week cruise was filled with daily fun with Cindy, John and Oakland.  Horton and Oakland absolutely loved each other.  It was so cute to watch them sniff, play and drool all over each another.  I've been exchanging ideas and fun words with Cindy since 2007 and finally we got to meet, thanks to her and John's hard work.  I loved every minute with Cindy.  She's warm, caring, funny and such a joy to be with.  John is a great guy and Oakland is a beautiful example of a true hero.  We sat in the Allegro Dining Room at a table for four.   The dogs did really well.  I was so proud of both of them, who behaved like true gentlemen in the dining room.

 

I had a mini-suite cabin, hoping they'd place the box on my veranda.  The potty box was set-up at the end of a very long hallway, behind a really heavy door.  I met with the housekeeping manager and my cabin steward in an effort to have them move the box closer or on my veranda.  Their solution was to have my cabin steward come to my cabin and walk Horton for me.....he even practiced, while his manager and I watched.  NO WAY!  There was no way that I was going to turn Horton's leash over to a stranger to walk for me.  It was definitely an effort  to toilet Horty and extremely tiring but it has to be done and my 11 year old boy shined through and never made a mistake in spite of Princess.

 

I tried to set-up a meeting with the Hotel Manager but he was NEVER available to me and, quite frankly, it get pretty tiring to have to always fight a battle with Princess Cruise lines when it comes to the potty box.

 

I was on a Back/Back cruise and what Princess put me and about 30 other passengers, including Horton through to start the second leg of our cruise was ridiculous and totally unnecessary, to say the least.  We were asked to debark the ship, walk through the cruise terminal inside, past the luggage area and then outside, past arriving guests, over uneven ground, through TSA and Immigration.  When I was asked to remove all the objects from Horton's Vest and hand him over to a TSA agent, I simply refused and complained that I was going to write about this on Cruise Critic.  What a terrible way to treat repeat customers, let alone someone who is handicapped with a Service Dog.

 

There is a much more efficient and less stressful way to treat Passengers In Transit, without making them march like prisoners for such a long distance.  I will NEVER be led or told to do such an inane thing again.  I'm ashamed of Princess for putting passengers through this disgraceful act.  And angry at myself for letting them do this to me and Horty!!!!!!  Not to mention the other passengers.

 

Cabo San Lucas had to be cancelled because of the rough seas.......Don't mess with Auntie Roz!!!!

 

The Royal Princess is not one of my favorite Princess ships and I doubt I will be on her again!

 

Thank you Cindy, John and Oakland for making the first leg of my two week journey so much fun!!!!!!  I hope that one day we can do it again!

 

Welcome back DKD and congratulations on turning in another wonderful dog to assist someone in becoming a more independent person.

 

 

Welcome back Roz.  Winchester has a long road ahead of him to become a service dog.  We should be getting his first progress report tomorrow.  He has a few quirks that hopefully the trainers will be able to work out.  Fingers crossed.

[Wendsong]

12 hours ago, Mavis and Me said:

My friend's solution was to order a leash wrap for her leash that says SERVICE DOG in bold letters.  The dog's collar also states that she's a service dog, but that seems to always be buried in her fur.  Adding the wrap to the leash has helped her, so I thought I'd mention it to you for those times when it's too hot out to load your dog down with gear! 🙂

I have seen those, but hadn't thought about using them without a vest. Very good idea. I'll see about getting one. Thanks

[Wendsong]

18 hours ago, rangeley said:

That being said, they need to be properly trained and tested. 

Absolutely agree! Two thumbs up!

[S.S. Cruisers]

Mornin' all, 

Rockford had a play date with his new friend Otis, yesterday. It was Rocky's first play date and at first he was afraid to leave his momma's side and go play.  Finally after some coaxing and some cool looking toys, off he galloped.  He had so much fun.  He came home and slept for hours.  His whole demeanor changed.  I think he will have more play dates on his schedule.  

[Caribbean Chris]

1 hour ago, S.S. Cruisers said:

Rockford had a play date with his new friend Otis, yesterday...  He had so much fun.  He came home and slept for hours.  His whole demeanor changed.  I think he will have more play dates on his schedule.  

 

Yay, Rocky! Play dates are great!

[Caribbean Chris]

How do you all deal with theater seating with your dog?  I'm glad that cruise ships (and other venues) sometimes set aside seats/rows for people with wheelchairs. I am curious about how well these work out for people in chairs with service dogs. It seems like a lot of those sections are kind of exposed at the back of the theater with a lot of traffic, and I wonder whether the dog gets stepped on when the lights go out by late arrivals. 

 

I am lucky not to have mobility issues yet, so I browse around at daytime events in the theater to find whatever rows may exist that end by a wall or partition with a dog-sized space next to the last seat. If there's a show I want to see, one of us gets there early and heads for the last two seats on that row at the wall end. Often the early-arriving people prefer to take the aisles first, so we can usually score a place at the other end where the dog can settle comfortably without people stepping on him/her. 

 

Here's Raylene at a "Jersey Boys"-type show on Silhouette last week. That little corner created by a curved wall gave her plenty of room with complete protection from other people.

Edited November 26, 2019 by Caribbean Chris

[rangeley]

3 hours ago, S.S. Cruisers said:

Mornin' all, 

Rockford had a play date with his new friend Otis, yesterday. It was Rocky's first play date and at first he was afraid to leave his momma's side and go play.  Finally after some coaxing and some cool looking toys, off he galloped.  He had so much fun.  He came home and slept for hours.  His whole demeanor changed.  I think he will have more play dates on his schedule.  

 

Nothing like a play date to tire them out. Puppies have so much energy. 

[rangeley]

43 minutes ago, Caribbean Chris said:

How do you all deal with theater seating with your dog?  I'm glad that cruise ships (and other venues) sometimes set aside seats/rows for people with wheelchairs. I am curious about how well these work out for people in chairs with service dogs. It seems like a lot of those sections are kind of exposed at the back of the theater with a lot of traffic, and I wonder whether the dog gets stepped on when the lights go out by late arrivals. 

 

I am lucky not to have mobility issues yet, so I browse around at daytime events in the theater to find whatever rows may exist that end by a wall or partition with a dog-sized space next to the last seat. If there's a show I want to see, one of us gets there early and heads for the last two seats on that row at the wall end. Often the early-arriving people prefer to take the aisles first, so we can usually score a place at the other end where the dog can settle comfortably without people stepping on him/her. 

 

Here's Raylene at a "Jersey Boys"-type show on Silhouette last week. That little corner created by a curved wall gave her plenty of room with complete protection from other people.

Ask Roz. She takes up the whole row for the dogs. Haha

[DUTRAVEL]

2 hours ago, Caribbean Chris said:

How do you all deal with theater seating with your dog?  I'm glad that cruise ships (and other venues) sometimes set aside seats/rows for people with wheelchairs. I am curious about how well these work out for people in chairs with service dogs. It seems like a lot of those sections are kind of exposed at the back of the theater with a lot of traffic, and I wonder whether the dog gets stepped on when the lights go out by late arrivals. 

 

 

 

 

We sit in the back in the accessible seating area. We try to put Henri in between my wheelchair and my husband's seat and then we just have to be vigilant that she doesn't get stepped on. She's impossible to see in the dark. I think there may be a way to get to the front seats on the Edge, but we didn't try to sit down there in case it might be too loud for the dog.

 

[DUTRAVEL]

18 hours ago, Mavis and Me said:

For those of you who cruise for more than a week or two at a time, what do you do to keep your dog fresh smelling?  My dog gets a bit, er...odiferous after a week in the heat because of her big face and drooly mouth.  I know that some Labs can start to smell oily not long after a bath too.  Has anyone ever managed to give their dog a bath on a cruise ship, or do you just take fresh wipes and wipe them down from time to time?  Curious minds want to know! 🙂

My lab only needs a bath once a month at most - I just take her usual grooming supplies (brushes, tooth brush, ear cleaner, dremmel, etc.).

[wizard-of-roz]

2 hours ago, rangeley said:

Ask Roz. She takes up the whole row for the dogs. Haha

I, too, arrive early and pick my seats.  I allow at least two seats for Horton and am constantly asked if the seats are taken....because they can't see Horty laying on the floor.   Black dogs are truly invisible in the dark!

 

He lays down, gets comfy and rarely sits up, even when the music and lighting gets loud and bright.  I take him to most of the shows and I always arrive in plenty of time to get him safe floor space.  I also bring "caution" tape in my purse and will rope off the area he's laying in, if necessary.  Cindy and John sat right down front with me and Horton.

 

Horton is my first concern in every situation of my life.  Whether it's the buffet, dining room, theatre or lounge area, he is placed in a safe area first and then I sit down! 

[wizard-of-roz]

2 hours ago, rangeley said:

 

Nothing like a play date to tire them out. Puppies have so much energy. 

Horton and Oakland could have put every puppy to shame with the way they played in the Concerto Lounge onboard the Royal Princess.  It is one of my most fondest memories of our cruise together.

 

They barked, leaped in the air, jumped on each other and made us giggle like school girls just watching them play.  Oakland would grab at Horton's long legs trying to wrestle him to the floor and Horton would land on his back waiting for Oakland to pounce on him......So cute!!!!

 

We bought more water bottles and even had other guests buying them for us every time a bar server would come by.  They shared the water, as I filled up the travel water bowl about 8 times and drooled water all over the room.  Other passengers stopped to watch the romping and playing and enjoyed watching as much as we did.  

 

Nothing more fun than watching highly trained Service Dogs act like puppies!

Edited November 26, 2019 by wizard-of-roz

[Caribbean Chris]

21 minutes ago, DUTRAVEL said:

 

We sit in the back in the accessible seating area. We try to put Henri in between my wheelchair and my husband's seat and then we just have to be vigilant that she doesn't get stepped on. She's impossible to see in the dark. I think there may be a way to get to the front seats on the Edge, but we didn't try to sit down there in case it might be too loud for the dog.

 

 

The thing that always worries me is the dog’s tail sliding out into a place where it could get stepped on. Even in cafe al Baccio (Celebrity’s coffee lounge), I’m constantly checking the tail and making her move.

 

Good point about the loud noise down front. I had a great row for the dog once on HAL overlooking the stage, but as soon as the loud music started blaring, the dog was standing up, shaking her body and wouldn’t settle. So we left.