and baby makes 6!

Some dogs just never figure out being on a boat. They are afraid of the water. They don’t get their balance. The unfamiliar surroundings paralyze them with fear.

And they never figure out how to potty on a boat.

This last issue can be the deciding factor on whether a dog will ever acclimate to cruising.

Honey loves being with us. She craves it. So it was only natural that we tried to take her with us on the boat. She did quite well on her first few day trips. She found her balance. She accepted the boundaries of the life lines, and she had a just the right amount of respect for the water, without being too scared to enjoy the ride.

But she would not go potty on the boat. Not a big deal on a day cruise, but on a weekend away she would have to figure it out or not return with us on future long cruises.

There are many different ways to get a dog to do their business. Some people tie astro turf to the foredeck. Some put it n the cockpit. I have even heard of one story about a dog that refused to go no matter what the owner did…even bringing actual grass and putting it in the cockpit. Alas the dog would not go, so it never cruised agan.

We didn’t do anything special for Honey. We figured when she needed to go, she would just…go.

The evening came and went. She slept through the night in the aft cabin with Quinn, Mia and I, and when morning dawned, Bill took her on deck with no luck. So, he decided to row her to shore.

“Bye sweetie! I’ll have some coffee ready when you get back Have fun!”

It was quite a way to shore.

He rows the dog to shore, walks her up and down the beach FOREVAH, and she would not go potty.

So…. he rowed back to the boat.

Honey jumped back on the boat, ran to the foredeck and promptly pooped. Then she ran to the back transom and peed off the back of the boat……like a seasoned sailor.

We washed it off the boat via a bucket of sea water, and that was that.

She is now officially a swab.

Boat dog