#sailing #dogs Being a cruising dog, our wheaten terrier has all kinds of adventures. Farley loves to go to a wedding. Our friends got married, barefoot on the beach, and they invited our dog to be part of the party.
Farley caught the bouquet, but hasn’t found another dog to marry yet. Maybe this year he’ll meet someone nice and settle down.
#sailing #dogs
Sailing with dogs is sandy business if you like to go to the beach. Farley, our wheaten terrier, is the colour of sand, and maybe we should have called him Sandy.
He loves to dig a hole and hide in it. He’ll sit perfectly still and make us play the Where’s Farley game. I think he might actually be making fun of us, but who knows?
If you’re thinking of cruising with a dog, an outside freshwater hose is a must. Ours is on the back step of our catamaran. Farley gets a rinse before he’s allowed passed the stairs. Then he gets a rub down with a towel. That’s the other item we brought . . . Farley has his own set of towels. One more little thing to keep us all happy.
#writetip Did someone say writing was lonely? My advice, get a dog. Cali is visiting our boat, Mattina, for the day while her owners are off kiting. Cali has decided that she’s the one writing my novel. The only problem, she has trouble articulating story ideas.
I’ve made the main salon my writing platform and like to take over the entire table. Well the dogs had a different idea. So where am I supposed to sit?
#sailing Our dogs love the beach. While we’re windsurfing, kiting, kayaking or swimming, the dogs are able to entertain themselves. Farley and Cali have become BFFs. They watch with concern while the gang gets geared up for another windsurfing/kiting session.
There are many uninhabited islands in the Bahamas and this means the dogs spend hour after hour off leash. There’s nowhere for them to disappear to. There’s nothing that can hurt them – well, that’s not quite true.
The sting rays can be a problem for dogs. If your dog is prone to chase them, they are likely to get stung. Not a fun experience.
The dogs keep fit digging, running, swimming and chasing crabs.
#sailing How may people does it take to get a dog on a boat? Apparently four.
Two to swim with the dog, one to lift the dog onto the boat and one to clap encouragement.
I say this in fun, but there are many situations where your dog has to swim.
Here we couldn’t get the boat closer to the beach, so the only way for us to get on board was to swim.
Before you take your dog cruising, make sure it can swim.
Farley doesn’t love it, but he can do it.
#sailing Sometimes your pup needs to need to be tied and sometimes not. Cali is in the foreground, Farley in the back.
When you forget to bring a leash, it’s perfectly acceptable to use the dingy anchor.
Normally Farley isn’t tied, but we’re at Emerald Rock in the Bahamas. The island is covered with little animals that I think they are tree rats – but what do I know.
The wheaten terriers were bread as ratters, so Farley thought he was supposed to chase these little critters. So. . . poor guy actually had to be leashed.
#sailing What could be better than a downward dog to make you feel good? Farley’s answer: A downward dog on the beach with your yoga pals.
Yoga is an easy way to keep fit while cruising. If you don’t happen to have a yoga instructor handy you can bring yoga classes on an iPod and play them on the beach. You’re only gear – A yoga mat. It doesn’t weigh much and doesn’t take up a lot of room.
Doing yoga alone is okay, but it’s much more fun with friends. Farley attends regularly and find his spot near the others. If you’re not watching he’ll grab your mat before you do.
#sailing Farley loves to play on the beach. What Wheaten Terrier wouldn’t? He’s spent hours back on the boat sneezing. A little bit of sand up his nose must be really irritating.
He uses the tramp to roll around and get clean.
We love this because it keeps sand out of our main salon. By the time he’s done rolling, he’s fairly sand free.
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.
#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.
