Dogs

Dog Training in the Bahamas

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 3 Comments
Attentive Dogs?

Who ever said a beach wasn’t a great place to train dogs? #sailing #dogs I certainly have their attention here. You’d think I was holding a piece of steak, but nope, it’s a ball. All three want to be the first to get to it after I throw it.

Farley (the Wheaten Terrier) will chase it and and then sit down beside it.

Jasper (the Spaniel) will pick up the ball, bring it back to me, and then not give it to me.

Calli (the Jack Russel) will run beside the other dogs barking at them.

I think I may need a new training program.

There must be a dog out there that would bring a ball back to me.

A Dog’s Business While Sailing

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 3 Comments
Farley on his trampoline.

#sailing The most frequent question I get about Farley is: Where does he “go” when you are underway?

He’s not allowed out of the cockpit when we are underway. If he has to “go” he stares at me. That’s his way of letting me know.

I tether myself to the boat, Farley gets tethered  to me, and then we head to the trampoline on our catamaran.

He’s chosen one corner of the trampoline as his area.

Farley will “go” on command. His command is “pay pay”. When he’s done, we use the wash down pump that is on our deck to clean the area, then I lead him back to the cockpit.

My little hero will go in any kind of weather. Sometimes he gets sprayed by a wave while he’s going, but he’s never deterred.

Writing Under Way

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 2 Comments

Sailing and writing together again. #writetip #sailing Off watch is the best time to write. I find when I’m on watch, there are too many distractions and I can’t focus on the words. Maybe I can do some editing ion watch, but not always.

A catamaran provides many spots to sit and write. If the seas are calm, lying on my trampoline always inspires ideas. This is where my digital recorder comes in handy.

If it’s too hot and sunny, I hide in our main salon. If the bimini is providing good shade, I’ll write while sitting in the cockpit. The one constant when I’m writing: Farley is always at my feet.

I guess the message is sailing and being underway is not an excuse to miss out on writing.

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Cats and Dogs

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 1 Comment
Farley believes all cats should adore him.

Should all characters get along? #writetip. Definitely not. But why not spice up a scene by forcing two characters who don’t get along into a situation where they must.

Put their lives in danger. Make them rely on each other. But the whole time, they really can’t stand each other.

Then give a character a life altering decision. Character A must risk their lives to save Character B. Do they do it? Or do they leave the person to die. This will say volumes about your character, and maybe scare your reader at the same time.

Farley playing with the cat made me think about odd pairings and how sometimes life surprises you, but also how fiction should surprise you.

Why is provisioning so tiring?

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 4 Comments
Could he be more tired?

Farley looks how I feel after trying to shop for six months. #sailing The hard part comes after getting back to the boat. After loading the provisions into our dingy, we to lift it onto Mattina.

Then the fun begins. We open all cabinets and storage areas and play the game for figuring out where to store everything.

Farley is left with a corner to sleep in the cockpit. Behind him you can see our cockpit cushions, shoved out of the way, so we can access spots for oil, cleaners, etc.

The question. Why is the dog exhausted when we did all the work?

Provisioning For Farley

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 5 Comments
Farley's Fed for the Winter

So who says my wheaten terrier is spoiled? #sailing Here he sits with his high-end pet food, Orijen, waiting patiently to eat.

Today, Farley and I went shopping. This mound will get him through till the spring. He even got to pick his own treat. Of course he chose a Bully Strap. While I loaded the car, he ate his treat in the pet store.

Dog food in the Bahamas can be expensive and the choice limited. I buy the smaller bags to reduce the risk of spoilage. If I lose one bag, that’s okay.

The smaller bags are easier to store on a sailboat. We just have to remember where we store them. After six months, it’s easy to forget.

My lucky dog.

Cruising and Dog Safety

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 4 Comments
Farley gets a ride

If you plan to cruise with a dog, one thing you might want to consider is your pet’s safety gear.

Farley has his own life jacket, a gift from  Chopper’s Pet Supplies in Invermere BC, but doesn’t wear it all the time. He’ll wear it kayaking in rough weather, or if we are kayaking along a rocky shoreline where he couldn’t get ashore himself.

When we are underway, Farley has his own tether and harness. He is not allowed out of the cockpit unless he is tethered to me or the boat. He has a safe spot to curl up when the boat is rocking.

We keep him in a harness instead of a collar when we are underway, so if he gets jarred his neck won’t het hurt. It also makes it easy for us to hoist him onboard if we have to.

Farley has a dog tag for each collar or harness wears. That way we don’t forget to put a tag on. His tags are engraved with his name, our email address, boat name and phone number. If he gets lost, we are easy to find. I’d love to hear about any other safety gear used by cruisers.

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Dog Parks While Cruising

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 3 Comments

Dogs bring special needs with them onto a cruising boat. #sailing One of their needs is exercise. While in the U.S. or Canada is easy to find dog parks. When you pull into an anchorage, Google will find one for you if you don’t know where one is. Locals are always happy to point us in the direction of a good dog park.

Just north of the Titusville Municipal Marina in Florida is  a fenced in dog park. It’s split in two. Half designated for small dogs, half for big dogs. It has a double gate for entry, ensuring our pup can’t run away. It even has water. It was a nice surprise for us and for Farley.

There is a dog park near Vero Beach Municipal Marina, but it’s not fenced.

Seaside beaches in the U.S have varying rules for dogs. Some allow them, some don’t. We always check first before taking Farley for a run.

If you’re cruising to the Bahamas, dogs can run free on the beach. Some places have organized “doggy beach parties” depending on how many dogs are in an anchorage. It’s easy to start one up. Just get on the VHF and announce one.

“Who let the dogs out?” Woof Woof

Animals as characters?

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 1 Comment
Chica - The Diving Dog

The great part about having an animal in your novel is you don’t have to worry that you will insult them. #writetip. I became interested in including a dog in my novels when I read a Dean Koontz novel. I think it was Tick Tock. A scary novel where the dog provided comic relief. I thought is was a good way to break tension in a scene when it was needed.

Dogs can provide an infinite source of distractions and difficulties for any of your characters. If you need a situation to be unpredictable, add a dog to the scene.

Chica – my yellow lab – has a place in my first novel Fracture Line. Chica is no longer with us, but she still provides me with story ideas.

Farley – my wheaten terrier, has a place in my third novel (yet to be named).