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

[wizard-of-roz]

11 hours ago, S.S. Cruisers said:

I certainly hope there are no Service Dogs onboard any of the quarantined ships!  Obviously they wouldn't have enough food with them.  I'm sure they didn't plan on being quarantined.  Yikes.  😣

When I'm packing Horton's food for a two week cruise it's so heavy and exhausting to prepare each individual packet.  I can't even imagine packing for an extra two weeks or more.  And, to change the diet of a senior dog would not be a good idea for their health. 

 

It would have to be on their supply list, they'd have to send a crew member to pick up the food or Chewy would have a very interesting delivery site!  🤔

 

My Alaska cruise on board the Golden Princess is still a go for May 30th.  I do not plan on cancelling unless Princess does!

[Miki_moto]

My 10 day Alaskan trip - round trip from Vancouver, BC - on Cunard is set to go on June 22.  Hope we’re on it!

 

[Wendsong]

On 3/10/2020 at 7:12 AM, S.S. Cruisers said:

I certainly hope there are no Service Dogs onboard any of the quarantined ships!  Obviously they wouldn't have enough food with them.  I'm sure they didn't plan on being quarantined.  Yikes.  😣

I am scheduled for the March Princess Island cruise through the Panama Canal from Ft. Lauderdale to San Pedro (Los Angeles). So far the virus has been found in Costa Rica, Panama and Mexico. I have until the 21st to decide to cancel (one day after my appointments with the vet,  the USDA and the Panama Consul). If I do decide to go, I am taking a month's worth of food, just in case. I am also taking N-95 masks for me and shoes for Jazz. In addition, the vet will be giving Jazz a coronavirus flu vaccine for dogs. Although I reserved a seat alone on the plane, it is more of a worry to me than the ship, especially if the flight is cancelled and/or doubled up. There is no way to stay 6 feet away from someone on an airplane. 😷

[wizard-of-roz]

1 hour ago, Wendsong said:

I am scheduled for the March Princess Island cruise through the Panama Canal from Ft. Lauderdale to San Pedro (Los Angeles). So far the virus has been found in Costa Rica, Panama and Mexico. I have until the 21st to decide to cancel (one day after my appointments with the vet,  the USDA and the Panama Consul). If I do decide to go, I am taking a month's worth of food, just in case. I am also taking N-95 masks for me and shoes for Jazz. In addition, the vet will be giving Jazz a coronavirus flu vaccine for dogs. Although I reserved a seat alone on the plane, it is more of a worry to me than the ship, especially if the flight is cancelled and/or doubled up. There is no way to stay 6 feet away from someone on an airplane. 😷

It's so troublesome.  I hope that you get to take your much awaited cruise and that you find that it all goes as easy as possible!  I love the Panama Canal, such a beautiful cruise experience.

 

 

[Caribbean Chris]

On 3/10/2020 at 9:39 PM, wizard-of-roz said:

When I'm packing Horton's food for a two week cruise it's so heavy and exhausting to prepare each individual packet.  I can't even imagine packing for an extra two weeks or more.  And, to change the diet of a senior dog would not be a good idea for their health. 

 

It would have to be on their supply list, they'd have to send a crew member to pick up the food or Chewy would have a very interesting delivery site!  🤔

 

My Alaska cruise on board the Golden Princess is still a go for May 30th.  I do not plan on cancelling unless Princess does!

I hope all goes well and that the crisis has passed by the end of May so you can have a wonderful Alaska cruise, Roz.
 

Same thoughts go to Dianne and everyone else on this forum with pending sailings.
 

I feel relieved that we made our decision to cancel and now have received written confirmation of a future cruise credit. Our “big box” travel agency has become virtually impossible to reach by phone, but they have an emailing cancellation system we used. We already got refunds on our credit card for the tours, specialty restaurant dinner, & internet package which I had booked online and cancelled this week.

 My husband had already baggied up the dog’s food for a month (3 week trip plus extra) and it is piled high on the kitchen island! 

[Wendsong]

14 hours ago, wizard-of-roz said:

It's so troublesome.  I hope that you get to take your much awaited cruise and that you find that it all goes as easy as possible!  I love the Panama Canal, such a beautiful cruise experience.

Thanks, Roz. Looks like Princess took the decision out of my hands. They have suspended all cruises. I have the option to use 1 1/2 times for a future cruise or get my money back on this cruise and use the half for a future cruise. So now I have to cancel the vet, USDA and Panama Consulate appointments and reschedule at a later date. That Panama cruise had a lot of Canadians booked who use the sailing to get back home. The insurance company is making out like a bandit. They don't have to pay out and we don't get our money back. Wonder if something can be done about that? And just when Jazz was beginning to think about using the box I set up. He hasn't gotten in it, but twice he has pee'd on the edge of it!

Edited March 12, 2020 by Wendsong

[wizard-of-roz]

Thanks everyone for all your good wishes for our future Princess cruising.  

 

I'm no youngster and I've seen and done a lot in my lifetime.......but, this is beyond anything that I've ever seen before.  As a matter of fact I'm one of those seniors that has been asked to "self quarantine"!

 

I hope that ALL of you and our friends who consider themselves "lurkers" stay well and are not too affected by this virus.   It's causing changes in all our lives in one way or another..........That said;  what's up with the toilet paper shortages?  Another thing I never thought I'd ever see in my lifetime!

 

Now that Princess has cancelled ALL its cruising until May 10th [my cruise is on May 30th].....I feel like we're going to be treated so special and I'm still looking forward to it.  I'm curious as to what changes the ships will be making and still keep the fun experience "fun!"  

[rangeley]

Sorry to hear of all the cruising problems. 

 

Chris I think you made the right decision. Getting stuck on a ship does not sound like fun. 

 

Our area is shutting down. I think all schools are canceled. All sports. Any activities. We had been doing demos at the museum of science and this week we called and told them we can't do any more at this time. A few days later they shut the museum down anyway. 

 

Pretty much staying in the house. John has been driving me around to do errands but I've made him stay in the car. Very scary at this time. 

[wizard-of-roz]

I want to wish everyone a good weekend.  Take care of yourselves and each other.

 

Most of us have our amazing Service Dogs in our lives and our pets to keep us busy and filled with those loving stares.  They, luckily, have no idea what's going on.......thank goodness!!!!  

 

I'll know that everything's going to be okay when I can go to a Target store and find a roll of toilet paper on the shelves........I wish this was just a joke!!!!!

 

Let's all stay positive and keep sending love to one another!  Before you know it, we'll all be boarding a ship going one place or another and all this nonsense will be behind us!!!!!

 

 

Edited March 14, 2020 by wizard-of-roz

[wizard-of-roz]

I just read that Prime Minister Trudeau announced that he will NOT allow any cruise ships or ferry's carrying more than 500 people into Canada until July.  If this is true than my cruise to Alaska on May 30th will definitely be affected.  Unless the ship bypasses Vancouver and goes to Mexico at the end of the cruise to satisfy the Jones Act.

 

I'm waiting to hear any further information from Princess or my TA.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[rangeley]

14 hours ago, wizard-of-roz said:

I just read that Prime Minister Trudeau announced that he will NOT allow any cruise ships or ferry's carrying more than 500 people into Canada until July.  If this is true than my cruise to Alaska on May 30th will definitely be affected.  Unless the ship bypasses Vancouver and goes to Mexico at the end of the cruise to satisfy the Jones Act.

 

I'm waiting to hear any further information from Princess or my TA.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aww that stinks. ☹️ 

 

So yesterday Oak woke up with yellow goopy crusty eyes. I took some pics and called the vet. They said that he needed to be seen but were booked and to call Monday for an appt. We were babysitting for Johns mom and were going to hang out at his sisters all day so we figured he would be ok. As the day went on his eyes got redder and redder. Finally around 5 I called the animal hospital and talked to them. They said to bring him in on our way home. I looked his problem up on the internet and it said it could be pink eye. Had no clue dogs could get this. So the doctor there refused to say if thats what it was. She didnt like calling it that and said it was either a bacterial infection or allergies. I was glad I brought him because when we got in the room with the bright lights, I saw how bad his eyes were. And $250 later he came home with steroid/antibiotic drops and benadryl. The drops are fine but they want him to have 3 benadryl tabs twice a day. I don't want him comatose all day. Anyone given this to their dogs? Does it knock them out? 

[kmg365suzyq]

So, I give my Miss Tish (only 14 pounds) a half a benadryl once or twice a day as needed for her allergies in between her Cytopoint injections.  I try to do it at night.  It does make her a little tired, but not completely knocked out.

[Mavis and Me]

5 hours ago, rangeley said:

...they want him to have 3 benadryl tabs twice a day. I don't want him comatose all day. Anyone given this to their dogs? Does it knock them out? 

This seems like a reasonable amount.  Mavis (95 pounds) was stung by a bee/wasp 2 summers ago while I was a 4-H leader at the local Fair.  Her whole nose and muzzle became swollen - she couldn't even close her mouth.  My vet recommended 4 Benadryl 2x/day for a couple of days.  That first day I left her in the RV because she was in so much discomfort, but by the next day she wanted to go back to work.  I didn't notice any behavioral issues with her while we were on the go, but she did seem to fall asleep faster and more deeply when I would stop for a bit.  I'm not sure if I would have wanted her to be alerting to a brittle medical condition (seizures/blood sugar/etc.) but she did fine for what I needed.  She never seemed groggy or lethargic at inappropriate times.  I hope your boy's eyes clear up quickly!!  Has he had any new foods or anything strange recently?  Do you have a lot of pollen where you live?  We had a dog that would get hives off and on for about a year - we finally decided that it started if he ate chicken that was treated with antibiotics!

[wizard-of-roz]

5 hours ago, rangeley said:

Aww that stinks. ☹️ 

 

So yesterday Oak woke up with yellow goopy crusty eyes. I took some pics and called the vet. They said that he needed to be seen but were booked and to call Monday for an appt. We were babysitting for Johns mom and were going to hang out at his sisters all day so we figured he would be ok. As the day went on his eyes got redder and redder. Finally around 5 I called the animal hospital and talked to them. They said to bring him in on our way home. I looked his problem up on the internet and it said it could be pink eye. Had no clue dogs could get this. So the doctor there refused to say if thats what it was. She didnt like calling it that and said it was either a bacterial infection or allergies. I was glad I brought him because when we got in the room with the bright lights, I saw how bad his eyes were. And $250 later he came home with steroid/antibiotic drops and benadryl. The drops are fine but they want him to have 3 benadryl tabs twice a day. I don't want him comatose all day. Anyone given this to their dogs? Does it knock them out? 

Awww!  Oleander!  I'm so sorry this is happening to you. 

 

Brenda was deathly allergic to Bee stings [she actually went into antiphylaxis where her throat closed and she had to be intubated.]  I always kept capsules of Benadryl in my purse and had liquid Benadryl at home.  It definitely changed her sleeping habits [by making her sleep longer and deeper.]  You can always cut back on his dosages if he seems to be too drowsy. 

 

It's a great medication and doesn't have long term usage problems with our dogs.

 

Thank goodness it will pass.  Poor baby......Auntie Roz and Horton send our boy Oakie all our love and good wishes for a speedy recovery!!!!  😍

[rangeley]

Wow didn't realize benadryl was so popular with dogs. His eyes already look so much better. Just did the drops this morning. I don't think he ate anything strange that we know of. When we got him last April 1st, he didn't have any allergies. We did have puppy class last week but didn't see any dogs with problems. Very strange. We'll talk to our regular vet tomorrow. 

 

Roz, the tech at the animal hospital says "oh he's drooling, he must be stressed". Haha, I said nope thats normal. 🤤

[wizard-of-roz]

5 minutes ago, rangeley said:

Wow didn't realize benadryl was so popular with dogs. His eyes already look so much better. Just did the drops this morning. I don't think he ate anything strange that we know of. When we got him last April 1st, he didn't have any allergies. We did have puppy class last week but didn't see any dogs with problems. Very strange. We'll talk to our regular vet tomorrow. 

 

Roz, the tech at the animal hospital says "oh he's drooling, he must be stressed". Haha, I said nope thats normal. 🤤

If Oakie was judged by his drool, he'd be in a intensive care unit!!!!  He definitely lends new meaning to the word "drool".......I swear I could have bathed in the stuff!!!!  😜

[rangeley]

1 hour ago, wizard-of-roz said:

If Oakie was judged by his drool, he'd be in a intensive care unit!!!!  He definitely lends new meaning to the word "drool".......I swear I could have bathed in the stuff!!!!  😜

Hey be nice!!  He's lucky he's cute. This was his benadryl coma this morning. 

[wizard-of-roz]

3 hours ago, rangeley said:

Hey be nice!!  He's lucky he's cute. This was his benadryl coma this morning. 

Well, I'll say one thing it's definitely drying out the drool spout!!!!!! 

 

Oh!  Baby boy.....you look so innocent.  Get well, I like it when you act like a slobbery, wet monkey!!!!!

[springredheadsdd]

Hi everyone. I am new to this thread but not new to cruising. I have been on 4 Carnival cruises (3 Caribbean, 1 Alaskan).  I am also new to having a service dog. I got my girl Bella in September. She is still in training (I am doing the training myself) but doing amazing. My first vacation with her will be a trip to Yellowstone in September. It will be her first time flying (she will be 14 months old). I am also looking into cruising with her next spring. The cruise we are looking at is the Carnival Vista out of Galveston Texas. We would be going to Montego Bay; Grand Cayman; Cozumel . I have been to Cozumel 2x on other Carnival cruises but not with a service dog. Bella will be fully trained by the time we cruise. 

[Mavis and Me]

2 hours ago, springredheadsdd said:

Hi everyone. I am new to this thread but not new to cruising. I have been on 4 Carnival cruises (3 Caribbean, 1 Alaskan).  I am also new to having a service dog. I got my girl Bella in September. She is still in training (I am doing the training myself) but doing amazing. My first vacation with her will be a trip to Yellowstone in September. It will be her first time flying (she will be 14 months old). I am also looking into cruising with her next spring. The cruise we are looking at is the Carnival Vista out of Galveston Texas. We would be going to Montego Bay; Grand Cayman; Cozumel . I have been to Cozumel 2x on other Carnival cruises but not with a service dog. Bella will be fully trained by the time we cruise. 

springredheadsdd - WELCOME!!  I just went on my first cruise with my service dog in December.  We had a blast, and other than freaking out a little about the paperwork to take her, it all went very smoothly.  I am also an owner-trainer - my girl has been by my side for 4 years.  I think one of the best ways to practice for a flight is to take advantage of a bus system in your area.  (And maybe you've worked on this already.)  By making a habit out of the action of heading down an aisle, turning into a seat area, and dropping onto the floor out of the way, I bet she will not even realize that she's on a plane!  My girl didn't on her first flight.  To prepare a SD for cruising, the biggest challenge is actually getting them to use the potty box!!  They should already be good with loud noises, tucking under tables, ignoring food and people ... but getting them to understand that the glorified litter box full of bark chunks is where they are supposed to do their business can be confusing to them!  I look forward to learning more about you and Bella!

[wizard-of-roz]

9 hours ago, Mavis and Me said:

springredheadsdd - WELCOME!!  I just went on my first cruise with my service dog in December.  We had a blast, and other than freaking out a little about the paperwork to take her, it all went very smoothly.  I am also an owner-trainer - my girl has been by my side for 4 years.  I think one of the best ways to practice for a flight is to take advantage of a bus system in your area.  (And maybe you've worked on this already.)  By making a habit out of the action of heading down an aisle, turning into a seat area, and dropping onto the floor out of the way, I bet she will not even realize that she's on a plane!  My girl didn't on her first flight.  To prepare a SD for cruising, the biggest challenge is actually getting them to use the potty box!!  They should already be good with loud noises, tucking under tables, ignoring food and people ... but getting them to understand that the glorified litter box full of bark chunks is where they are supposed to do their business can be confusing to them!  I look forward to learning more about you and Bella!

Wonderful information.  I also welcome Bella and Springredheadsdd.  Don't forget to get your Aphis 7001 form filled out by your Vet.

 

I also suggest some practice in a home-built potty box.  It sure makes using a box on board so much easier.

[DUTRAVEL]

Good thing I planned ahead and had extra dog food delivered last week for my service dog Henri.

 

All six counties in the San Francisco Bay Area are on a mandatory lock down starting at midnight tonight until April 7th. You cannot leave your home except to get groceries, food and other essential services. All businesses must close except those deemed essential. Restaurants will be closed except for delivery or takeout. In the order, they do specifically mention that taking care of your pet or getting pet supplies is a valid reason to leave your home.

[springredheadsdd]

Thanks for the advice. I have not taken her on public transportation since I never use it myself (I have a car and drive). I built a potty box on the covered portion of my back deck. It is bigger than 4'x4' but have not measured it (used scrap wood from the yard). In it I have a layer of pine pellets for absorbency and have filled it the rest of the way with nice horse stall pine shavings. Bella will not use the bathroom in it, but does go in it. I have tried to teach her to go to the restroom on command but no luck. (I have had her since she was 8 weeks). She also generally will not go to the bathroom on leash except when she REALLY has to go and we are on a walk. My plan for training is to put her on a leash when I take her out in the morning. If she goes big praise. If she has not gone within 10-15 minutes take her inside and put her in her crate for a little while and then try again. I am starting off on a 26' flexi leash and will be gradually shortening the leash as she progresses. After she is used to going to the bathroom on a short leash then we will move to the potty box. I think this will take a couple of months to accomplish. Bella is very smart but can be very stubborn. She is a show breed English Labrador Retriever and yellow in color. 

[rangeley]

1 hour ago, DUTRAVEL said:

Good thing I planned ahead and had extra dog food delivered last week for my service dog Henri.

 

All six counties in the San Francisco Bay Area are on a mandatory lock down starting at midnight tonight until April 7th. You cannot leave your home except to get groceries, food and other essential services. All businesses must close except those deemed essential. Restaurants will be closed except for delivery or takeout. In the order, they do specifically mention that taking care of your pet or getting pet supplies is a valid reason to leave your home.

I have auto delivery from Amazon for Oaklands food. Suppose to ship on the 20th. Hope thats going to happen or we're in trouble. 😮

[rangeley]

42 minutes ago, springredheadsdd said:

Thanks for the advice. I have not taken her on public transportation since I never use it myself (I have a car and drive). I built a potty box on the covered portion of my back deck. It is bigger than 4'x4' but have not measured it (used scrap wood from the yard). In it I have a layer of pine pellets for absorbency and have filled it the rest of the way with nice horse stall pine shavings. Bella will not use the bathroom in it, but does go in it. I have tried to teach her to go to the restroom on command but no luck. (I have had her since she was 8 weeks). She also generally will not go to the bathroom on leash except when she REALLY has to go and we are on a walk. My plan for training is to put her on a leash when I take her out in the morning. If she goes big praise. If she has not gone within 10-15 minutes take her inside and put her in her crate for a little while and then try again. I am starting off on a 26' flexi leash and will be gradually shortening the leash as she progresses. After she is used to going to the bathroom on a short leash then we will move to the potty box. I think this will take a couple of months to accomplish. Bella is very smart but can be very stubborn. She is a show breed English Labrador Retriever and yellow in color. 

Are you trying to get her to go in the box on the leash? If so, maybe try to get her to go off leash and then work on the leash part later. We always let him off leash to go in the potty box, but he will go on leash if we need him to

 

Wow how many times can I say "leash" 🤔

Edited March 17, 2020 by rangeley