Dogs on Narrowboats
Neville Crook
We returned to England six months ago, putting our two 4 year old Border
Collies into quarantine. During their absence we acquired a 45 foot boat
with transom cruiser stern and a small bow deck. Whilst awaiting the return
of our dogs we experienced many relaxing and leisurely weekends cruising the
canals, and eagerly awaited the return of our canine companions. Fondly, we
imagined, they would spend their days relaxing on the roof of the boat, or
dozing on the bow deck, idly contemplating the passing landscaping. Alas,
on their release from quarantine, we must say that after two 1 day boating
experiences with them, it seems that narrowboating with dogs may not be
quite the relaxing past-time that we had anticipated.
Admittedly, post-quarantine animals might be a little 'OTT', but nothing
prepared us for the relentlessly repeated high speed transit (through the
cabin) from stern to bow that the dogs seem to insist upon. The female dog,
(who in South Africa had a pathological fear of water - in the form of the
domestic swimming pool) has twice tried to throw herself over the side, once
in pursuit of grazing sheep and another time after a small slightly
sheep-shaped dog. (Fortunately both dogs have buoyancy aids.) The male dog
simply barges about, knocking the gear stick out of position as he sees fit,
or occasionally charging into the back of our knees and thereby almost
chucking us over the sides en route.
We should say, in their defence, that South African dogs are notoriously
unrestrained, their main 'raison d'être being principally to terrorise the
marauding bands of neighbourly mobsters who are endemic to the locality.
However, we have managed to instil a remarkable degree of discipline to them
whilst within their home environment - it's just those small unpredictable
external factors which present a problem - like fishermen, swans, passing
dogs and canalside pedestrians.
Any tips from those boaters unfortunate enough to possess slightly less than
well-trained canines would be appreciated, especially regarding restraining
measures for navigating locks, or other canal-type catastrophes. In the
home we have successfully used baby-gates to contain them to certain areas,
and we could utilise such measures on the boat, but I wonder about
harness-type restraints which would give open air access, or whatever.
We anticipate buying a larger boat in the future, which would alleviate the
space constraints, but hopefully would offer sleeping accommodation for the
dogs outside the living quarters, whilst still being completely secure for
them.
Any anecdotal experiences, whether on boat-design, dog-restraining or simply
potential 'danger' areas would be more than welcome.
Sandra Crook
--
-----
This Message was send via Microsoft Mail and News
Iain and Ann STREET
I have found that I have to watch their diets or they become hyperactive and
thus difficult to live with. I NEVER feed my dogs complete dog food as it is
very high in protein and unless a dog is working hard (as a sheepdog etc) he
does not really need a lot of protein. It is becoming increasingly difficult
to get a dog meal which is not "complete" but Winalot make two varieties and
Beta also make Beta Hound and Beta Terrier. I feed the dogs with one of
these meals plus tinned dog food (I tend to buy a mixture of cheap and not
so cheap varieties). They do well on this diet and on the odd occasion over
the years when I have tried a complete food, at least one dog will go OTT
and exhibit the symptoms you mention.
As far as restraining them on board, I have seen several boats with "gates"
on both back and front doors which kept the dogs in but allowed them fresh
air and to be near you. After being in quarantine for a while they may be
feeling insecure.
Another thing about Border Collies is that they are very clever dogs and
learn things very quickly and if you manage to get them calmed down a bit,
you will probably be able to teach them the rules of boating which will make
them better companions on board. Boating with dogs means that they can get
plenty of exercise (another need of collies) as one of you can get off and
walk along the tow path (along side the boat) for a few miles.
We always take our collies boating with us and they love it. The only thing
we need to watch is the older dogs tendency to stand on top of the mooring
rope on top of the water tank in the bows where she can keep an eye on
ducks - she has appointed herself to the task of keeping the towpath duck
free. If any have the temerity to venture out of the canal when Meg is on
the towpath, she rushes up to them and they obligingly jump back into the
canal. Meg then returns to us with that look of satisfaction at a job well
done. While we are cruising she feels it necessary to stand guard in case a
duck should venture onto the boat!
I hope your dogs settle down and you have many happy years boating with
them. Please let us know how you get on.
Ann
--
Iain and Ann Street
NB Gamebird ; One sixth of NB Copperkins
Sandra Crook <nscc...@dialstart.net> wrote in message
news:8586bs$9ei$1...@gxsn.com...
about problems with dogs who have recently been introduced to narrow
boating.
.
Chris Kenway
Neville Crook <nscc...@dialstart.net> wrote in message
news:8586bs$9ei$1...@gxsn.com...
> We would be grateful for any tips from experienced dog-owning
canalboaters.
SNIP
We have been living on our NB since April and have a corgi/datsund (never
could spell it, sausage dog know what I mean) called Sam who we got from an
animal rescue place, he had been there kennelled for about 8 months and he
is on just over 2 years old, sad.
He does not mind the boat and the engine running but put it into gear and he
will be off the boat and 'over the hill' before you realise what has
happened. He pants and drools and is extremely restless once we are moving.
We have him on the front of the boat with a lead around the table leg, we
have a table that hinges down and is supported by a single steel leg. This
seems to work well as when set right it restricts his movements just enough.
Our first attempt with the lead too long found him dangling over the side
poor sod. We tried him inside the boat closing the dog gates installed by
the previous owners but he jumped/climbed over them so we took them out. He
has settled quite a bit and will now just pant and eventually lay down on
the seat with his head over the side. Any change in engine speed sees him
alert straight away.
When moored in a busy area like Braunston we use a 10M steel lead that we
bought from the pet shop and attach him to the side of the boat. This means
he has a fair amount of freedom and can get in and out of the boat to get
shade when he needs it. We put his water and food on the front deck which
has the water tank under it. This keeps the food longer (he is a picker) and
his water cold in the summer.
I have bought a buoyancy aid for him for use in the locks and one of those
harnesses which goes round his neck and waist. You can't get a combined one
as far as I know so you can either make him float or make him easy to get
out. I have to say that you can forget the harness if you think you can get
to him with a boat hook, it's to fiddle to hook on. We have found that the
main problem for him is getting out especially when you have the metal
sides.
With single locks out in the country we just let him off and he is quite
happy running to and fro across the locks. It looks frightening at first but
having had a boxer as well who did this they seem totally at home. If there
are people about and/or there is more than one lock we use the 10M lead and
tie him to a fence post or something so he can move about but is not a
danger to himself or others. Of course you must remember to retrieve him
once you have gone through the lock, ask my wife about that one.
He likes to chase the swans and ducks but never catches them. He is more
careful with swans since one turned and bit him on the nose. Fortunately he
shows no interest in sheep and cattle which is a godsend.
People have said he will settle. He is better than he was but we still have
to take these precautions and I don't think he will ever grow out of his
fears as has been suggested by people.
Hope this is of help.
Chris and Pat Kenway
NB Merchant
PS we have 3 cats on board as well. They are even worse as they bring their
little play things onto the boat at night, found a dead one in my glove
yesterday.
J L Williams
from "Neville Crook" <nscc...@dialstart.net> contains these words:
> We would be grateful for any tips from experienced dog-owning canalboaters.
> We returned to England six months ago, putting our two 4 year old Border
Snipped>
> Any anecdotal experiences, whether on boat-design, dog-restraining or simply
> potential 'danger' areas would be more than welcome.
Our last dog went with us on several hired NB trips but never got
used to them. She was very fearful of the whole boat vibrated by the
engine. I was afraid of her going over the side of the aqueduct
en-route to Llangollan and when she was put inside the boat she
kicked up the most fearful din. Never again! Sorry I cannot be more
helpful but others seem to have no problems at all.
Cheers
jim
Molly
<eo...@dial.pipex.com> writes
>I don't know if this will help, but I have always owned Border Collies and
>I have found that I have to watch their diets or they become hyperactive and
>thus difficult to live with. I NEVER feed my dogs complete dog food as it is
>very high in protein and unless a dog is working hard (as a sheepdog etc) he
>does not really need a lot of protein. It is becoming increasingly difficult
>to get a dog meal which is not "complete" but Winalot make two varieties and
>Beta also make Beta Hound and Beta Terrier. I feed the dogs with one of
>these meals plus tinned dog food (I tend to buy a mixture of cheap and not
>so cheap varieties). They do well on this diet and on the odd occasion over
>the years when I have tried a complete food, at least one dog will go OTT
>and exhibit the symptoms you mention.
I don't have dogs, but we did have a dog in my childhood - a Shetland
Collie. Any "working dog" (and it sounds as though yours are bred to be
working dogs, albeit guard dogs rather than herders) is liable to be
automatically high on energy, and need a low-protein, high-carboydrate
diet to keep them reasonable (i.e. non-paranoid). My mother never
bought tinned food, but always made up home-cooked food for Corrie (this
may sound a huge hassle, but having spent three years doing exactly the
same for a kidney-damaged cat I can promise it's not as bad as it
sounds!). She used to include a high proportion of carbohydrate -
mainly bread or left-over porridge (remember, I'm a Scot!) and a certain
amount of low protein such as tripe, often mixed with left-over gravy.
In my experience, if you make up a reasonable amount - maybe a week's
worth, depending on the ambient temperatures - of pet food of this sort,
and keep it refrigerated (obviously you can't keep it frozen on a boat),
the initial effort is well rewarded.
I am sure there is another couple here who keep "working dogs" on their
boat (Australian cattle dogs, or something like that? I really should
know by now - they have a really weird name - the dogs, I mean!) and I
am sure that they will reply to you too.
But I have seen many posts from people on how they have hauled their
idiot dogs back onto the boat. I am glad that yours are wearing
flotation aids - do they also wear a harness strong enough to take their
own weight under the haul of a boating hook?
And do, please, ask Mike Stevens or Julian Tether (is he still here, or
just on the OehprList?) how they cope with cats on board! Or just check
on Deja!
--
Molly (change nospam to orbs to email me)
Visit http://www.thehungersite.com for a totally free and simple way
to donate food to the hungry. (Go on, try it!)
C. Marin Faure
<nscc...@dialstart.net> wrote:
> We would be grateful for any tips from experienced dog-owning canalboaters.
We have friends in Fleet who have taken a Border Collie on canal holidays
since 1990. Their dog, Bess, used to love to chase ducks and other birds
if she got a chance. She is pretty old now, and is much more content to
lie about the boat keeping an eye on things. But when she was younger,
one thing that helped was to take her on regular walks along the towpath.
The walks (runs and trots for Bess) helped meet her need for excercise.
It is my understanding that Border Collies can get very uptight if they
are not given regular excercise, which substitutes for work in a
non-working dog.
I suspect your dogs will settle down as they get used to the boat. We
have a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever (about the size of a Border
Collie) that we always take with us on cruises on our diesel trawler. RJ
(named for R.J. Mitchell) at first was all over the boat until he got used
to it, after which he settled down. About the only time he gets really
excited now is when we pull into a bay and he knows he'll get to go ashore
in the dinghy.
Finally, while Border Collies (and Duck Tollers) are very energetic dogs,
they are very intelligent and can be disciplined and trained. The fact
that your dogs had a free life in South Africa does not mean they cannot
be trained to be more restrained on your boat. It may take a bit of time
and effort, but I suspect your dogs can eventually become great boating
companions. Our friend's Bess certainly is, and our RJ is a delight to
have on our trawler.
C. Marin Faure
author, Flying A Floatplane
Molly
<chris....@virgin.net> writes
>
(snip)
>
>With single locks out in the country we just let him off and he is quite
>happy running to and fro across the locks. It looks frightening at first but
>having had a boxer as well who did this they seem totally at home.
We arrived at a lock in France where a black retriever-like bitzer
belonging to the lock-keeper loved to run across the gates and back.
His master threw a large (and I mean large) stick across the cut for
him. He tried and tried to get it back, but it was wider than the rails
on the lock gates. Eventually his master went and showed him how it
should be done (i.e. take one end in the mouth, not the centre) after
which there was no stopping him!
>If there
>are people about and/or there is more than one lock we use the 10M lead and
>tie him to a fence post or something so he can move about but is not a
>danger to himself or others. Of course you must remember to retrieve him
>once you have gone through the lock, ask my wife about that one.
>
Pat? Please tell us? Please?
Bill
<nscc...@dialstart.net> wrote:
> We would be grateful for any tips from experienced dog-owning canalboaters.
SNIP
> Any anecdotal experiences, whether on boat-design, dog-restraining or simply
> potential 'danger' areas would be more than welcome.
I suspect that there are bits about boating with les animaux in
Georges Canal pages, which might help.
Toodle pip!!
Bill
--
Please remove your.knickers before replying by e-mail
Iain and Ann STREET
Big snip
My mother never
> bought tinned food, but always made up home-cooked food for Corrie .....
>tripe, often mixed with left-over gravy.
Ah, that takes me back. I used to feed my dogs tripe (with dog meal) but it
was not the horrible sanitised stuff you can (could?) buy from a butcher.
No. I equipped myself with a couple of wine pails (with lids) and went to
the local slaughtehouse where they put a couple of dirty, still warm, tripe
into each pail. They were covered in grass and worse but boy, did the dogs
love them. When I got home, I took pails into the back garden and with the
help of a very sharp knife, cut the tripe into dog size bits (which got
bigger as I was getting near the end of this process). These were packed
into old marge and ice cream containers and put in a freezer I kept
specially for the purpose.
As it only cost me about £2 for four tripe which lasted several months,
this was a very cheap source of nutritous dog food.
Sadly, new regulations stopped this practice. In fact, I think it had been
illegal for a while but the local slaughter house were happy to operate this
back door supply. The workie who lifted the warm tripe into my pails, with
his bare hands, always made the comment, "I don't know how you can handle
this stuff!".
Ann.
Chris Kenway
course). He is quite fond of the cats biscuits at about 5 in the morning but
other than that he has nothing else. Tried dog biscuits, he hates them. I
have had three dogs previously, two Boxers and a Basset. They all could
never eat tinned food went straight through them, the vet told me white meat
as red meat has to much protein in it. He gets the Lamb bone on Sunday or
whats left of the beef but thats about it.
Chris K
Iain and Ann STREET <eo...@dial.pipex.com> wrote in message
news:859m4e$t4g$1...@lure.pipex.net...
Chris Kenway
Molly <mo...@nospam.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:yXpBhLCU...@orbs.demon.co.uk...
> In article <858gm3$kgc$1...@nclient13-gui.server.virgin.net>, Chris Kenway
> <chris....@virgin.net> writes
> >
SNIP
> >If there
> >are people about and/or there is more than one lock we use the 10M lead
and
> >tie him to a fence post or something so he can move about but is not a
> >danger to himself or others. Of course you must remember to retrieve him
> >once you have gone through the lock, ask my wife about that one.
> >
> Pat? Please tell us? Please?
> --
> Molly (change nospam to orbs to email me)
> Visit http://www.thehungersite.com for a totally free and simple way
> to donate food to the hungry. (Go on, try it!)
Foxton flight we tied him at the top them moved him halfway down then got
out of the bottom lock turned right to moor up. After doing so she remebered
the poor boy was still tied up halfway up the flight.
Chris K
Brett Laniosh
wasn't at all keen, especially the rather fierce locks on the Kennet &
Avon near Newbury.
She is now very much a boating dog (proof at
http://www.lola.ltd.uk/trips/dr1.jpg) who gets most upset if we go down to
the boast to do some work and don't actually go anywhere!
--
Brett Laniosh (http://www.lola.ltd.uk/laniosh)
Sometimes I...No, I don't.
Brian Holt
Iain and Ann STREET wrote in message <859m4e$t4g$1...@lure.pipex.net>...
>Molly wrote
>
>Big snip
>
>My mother never
>> bought tinned food, but always made up home-cooked food for Corrie .....
> >tripe, often mixed with left-over gravy.
>
>
>Ah, that takes me back. I used to feed my dogs tripe (with dog meal) but it
>was not the horrible sanitised stuff you can (could?) buy from a butcher.
>No. I equipped myself with a couple of wine pails (with lids) and went to
>the local slaughtehouse where they put a couple of dirty, still warm, tripe
>into each pail.
--
Brian from sunny Suffolk by the river Hundred who also posts to the Mailing
list at www.ukwaterways.net. and UKCa...@onelist.com
>
>Ann.
>
>
Ian Boddison
> are not given regular excercise, which substitutes for work in a
> non-working dog.
It is not just that the exercise is a substitute for work but it also
provides essential mental stimulation. When you or I are sitting in the
boat/house we can entertain ourselves by reading a book, looking at a
seemingly infinite number of web sites, watching television, cooking, etc,
etc. A dog can do no such things and their perspective of life is similar
to that of a person imprisoned in a bear room with no input or stimulation.
The dog relies on going out to new environments and seeing and smelling new
things.
This does mean that boating can be an ideal pastime to share with a dog, but
the dog does have to learn that being on board is alright and that, whilst
there, they have to be calm and there are certain rules to be obeyed.
--
Cheers,
Bod
------------------------------------------------------------------
Only one more year to the really *BIG*
party at the end of the second millennium
------------------------------------------------------------------
Ian Boddison
> We would be grateful for any tips from experienced dog-owning
canalboaters.
> We returned to England six months ago, putting our two 4 year old Border
> Collies into quarantine. During their absence we acquired a 45 foot boat
You could also try looking at alt.animals.dogs.collies.open-forum for some
ideas
There are a lot of knowledgeable people on that group.
Terry Ransom
Are you an android? :>)
Regards Terry Ransom
Ian Boddison <b...@bod1.freeserve.co.uk> wrote in message
news:85fg88$jtd$8...@news8.svr.pol.co.uk...
>
> To give you some idea, my 2 year old Collie has four walks every day
plus, at least, 6
> hours every weekend, she goes to agility classes twice every week to keep
> her mind active and this is just enough exercise (both mental and
physical)
> for a Collie.
> Cheers,
> Bod
> (and Floss (2yr Collie) and Omey (11yr Collie Cross))
Neville Crook
>
> Neville Crook <nscc...@dialstart.net> wrote in message
> news:8586bs$9ei$1...@gxsn.com...
>
> > We would be grateful for any tips from experienced dog-owning
> canalboaters.
> > We returned to England six months ago, putting our two 4 year old Border
> > Collies into quarantine. During their absence we acquired a 45 foot
boat
>
>
> You could also try looking at alt.animals.dogs.collies.open-forum for some
> ideas
> There are a lot of knowledgeable people on that group.
>
> --
>
> Cheers,
> Bod
>
appreciated). To respond to some of the points made: we tend to feed the
dogs on Winalot wholemeal mixer with Pedigree tinned dog food so we feel
relatively relaxed on the hyperactivity score. I'm not sure I could get
intimately involved with tripe in its unprocessed form....so I'll let that
one pass for the time being. Ultimately we hope to be able to tie the dogs
up in the vicinity of the locks, as suggested, but just at the moment they
need to prove their inter-canine sociability skills.....not something they
demonstrated in quarantine whilst barking incessantly at the rows of other
unfortunates on either side. We are walking them twice daily since their
release, but they were never the best of pedestrians either in South Africa
where they were born, or more recently when we relocated to Germany.
Additionally we play games as and when time and space permits, but as far as
mental stimulation goes it would be great if we could teach them to read or
watch television! We'll try all options over the next few months, (clearly
we need to get a boathook, though) and will keep you posted. Many thanks,
and if you happen to pass us on the waterways, we apologise in advance for
the barking!
Sandra & Neville Crook
nb Kulmbach
Ian Boddison
Neville Crook <nscc...@dialstart.net> wrote in message:
> We would be grateful for any tips from experienced dog-owning
canalboaters.
> We returned to England six months ago, putting our two 4 year old Border
> Collies into quarantine. During their absence we acquired a 45 foot boat
> with transom cruiser stern and a small bow deck. Whilst awaiting the
return
> of our dogs we experienced many relaxing and leisurely weekends cruising
the
> canals, and eagerly awaited the return of our canine companions. Fondly,
we
> imagined, they would spend their days relaxing on the roof of the boat, or
> dozing on the bow deck, idly contemplating the passing landscaping.
Alas,
> on their release from quarantine, we must say that after two 1 day boating
> experiences with them, it seems that narrowboating with dogs may not be
> quite the relaxing past-time that we had anticipated.
As you will know, Border Collies are highly intelligent dogs but they are
also very insecure and highly strung. This makes them one of the worst
possible breeds to undergo the stress of the ordeal of quarantine. I am
sure that you have noticed a distinct change in your dogs.
Your dogs will have thought they had been abandoned by the only thing that
really matters to them - you. I am sure that they will take to their
new boating environment in time but what they need is space and your time
rebuilding your relationship with them. They need to be played with and
given plenty of space to run off their energy, and being collies they will
have plenty of that!
Collies are good strong swimmers but are not normally ones for finding water
just for the fun of it. However, they have a strong herding instinct and
will try to herd anything if this is not channelled. If they are
charging around then they need more mental stimulation in the form of toys,
quality play time with you and walks in interesting places. To give you
some idea, my 2 year old Collie has four walks every day plus, at least, 6
hours every weekend, she goes to agility classes twice every week to keep
her mind active and this is just enough exercise (both mental and physical)
for a Collie.
Give the dogs the love and time that they need and they will respect you
again enough to live comfortably with you on the boat. But Collies are
not the sort of dog to lie down quietly and let the world go by - they have
to be on the go all the time. Remember that you have just put them
through one of the most stressful experiences a dog can go through and they
have gone through it without their greatest security - you.
--
Michael Cobb
up top nine dogs (or was it ten) with us whilst cruising. The dogs all love
it and apart from the occasional barking session at another dog (pack
instinct) we have little trouble. We do tend to choose isolated moorings to
give the dogs more freedom but have moored successfully at popular spots
including tourist places like Bancroft basin without any real problem. At
Foxton last summer Gwen, one of the bitches, made a friend by rolling on her
back so that Crystal, the lock keeper, could rub her tummy.
Every dog is different and like people they are treated slightly differently
as well. Some, like Gwen, can be trusted and are not restrained, others are
less trustworthy and are restrained for their own good. We did have an
anxious time in the summer of 1998 when Bran(dy) jumped ship as we were
moving off and took several hours until we got him back. A good disc on the
collar helps here as the police take it as an instant sign that the dog is
wanted and not just a stray!
With so many dogs we have built in cages to restrict some of them in the
boat when necessary (e.g. a bitch in season). When on the move we have
canvas around the stern so they can join us on the back deck. The less
trustworthy ones are restrained, we use bench chains (as used at dog shows)
with one section pulled through a piece of hose pipe to protect the
paintwork when fastened around the stantions.
At night we have flashing collars for the trusted ones when out in the
country, you can see where they are from a long way off.
Perhaps the most important thing is to be a responsible dog owner so those
who walk the towpath after you have no reason to complain!
Other have commented about your Collies and about Quarantine time and
patience may be necessary to ensure a well behaved dog but eventually the
canal life should be stimulating enough for an intelligent dog, Buhunds are
intelligent as well.
There are some snippets about our dogs on my canal pages and separate pages
about the dogs themselves in some places hyperlinked to each other.
Our home page:- http://www.buhund.clara.net/index.htm will get you to both
the dog and canal pages, the canal pages are on the canals web ring and the
Buhund pages on a Buhund web ring.
Michael Cobb
nb Touch and Tell
Neville Crook wrote in message <8586bs$9ei$1...@gxsn.com>...
>We would be grateful for any tips from experienced dog-owning canalboaters.
<snip>
John Baldwin
<nscc...@dialstart.net> wrote:
>Thanks to all who responded, (and any latecomers would still be
>appreciated). To respond to some of the points made: we tend to feed the
>dogs on Winalot wholemeal mixer with Pedigree tinned dog food so we feel
>relatively relaxed on the hyperactivity score. I'm not sure I could get
>intimately involved with tripe in its unprocessed form....so I'll let that
>one pass for the time being. Ultimately we hope to be able to tie the dogs
>up in the vicinity of the locks, as suggested, but just at the moment they
>need to prove their inter-canine sociability skills.....not something they
>demonstrated in quarantine whilst barking incessantly at the rows of other
>unfortunates on either side.
Really just to encourage you!
You may have to take the odd risk but it can usually be engineered so
that you can keep control of things.
It will be OK if you just stick with the retraining. Kathy and I have
never boated without at least one dog with us. They all have been able
to swim and have needed only a hand on the collar to get them up the
odd steep side onto the path. One of our collies swims for sport, It
quite suprised a small child feeding the ducks when she slipped in
among the ducks looking for a share of their bread.
If you think collies are bit "lively" try a Collie/GSD cross. We had
a 3yr old rescue one, before our current dogs. When we first took her
boating she leapt from the boat and swam ahead to come and "help" me
at the second lock we came to. She then explored several novel methods
of crossing the lock, none of which included the convenient foot
bridge, but most spectacular of all was the 7ft jump straight across.
Yes, I guess you could say she was a bit mad.
A few trips on in her boating career as we were leaving B'mingham at
Salford Junc I realised that we had just come up the Wolverhampton
locks thro' the city etc,etc. and she had not needed to be put on a
lead but had behaved herself perfectly on and off the boat even at the
locks. I can't tell you how pleased we were.....
Our newest collie had picked up the barking trait whilst she was in
rescue kennels before we got her. With help from an understanding dog
training class after two sessions sitting at the side we managed to
get her to join in reasonably quietly it WILL get better.
John & Kathy Baldwin
Ian Boddison
Terry Ransom <Terry.Ransom@"NOSPAM"tesco.net> wrote in message
news:85g5bq$82s$5...@epos.tesco.net...
> How do you find the time for this and send all your NG replies.......
> Are you an android? :>)
Not last time I looked!!!
--
Cheers,
Bod
C. Marin Faure
<nscc...@dialstart.net> wrote:
>Many thanks,
> and if you happen to pass us on the waterways, we apologise in advance for
> the barking!
I would much rather hear someone's dogs barking on the cut than have to
put up with listening to someone's generator or TV/VCR/stereo going full
blast for hours on end. On the canals we tend to cruise (Shropshire
Union, Macclesfield, Trent & Mersey, etc.) there are a lot of farms, which
mean a lot of dogs. Dog barking is part of the scene as far as my wife
and I are concerned, along with sheep bleating, cow lowing (mooing?), and
horse snorting. While I'm sure there are people on the cut who will
object to any sounds other than the ones they make themeselves, as far as
I'm concerned your dogs should feel free to bark away. They'll probably
get some interesting (to them) answers from the dogs who live along the
canal.
Philip Wilcox
of those stretchy type dog leads with the other end firmly bolted to a
fixture in the middle of the boat to be the best bet. This way he has access
to either end of the boat but without enough slack to be able to throw
himself off the side. This only happens occasionally when he seems quite
happy to float in the water strapped into his buoyancy aid, doesn't try to
swim, just sits there like a demented cork drinking the water until we hook
him out.
Philip n/b October Wind
Neville Crook <nscc...@dialstart.net> wrote in message
news:8586bs$9ei$1...@gxsn.com...
> We would be grateful for any tips from experienced dog-owning
canalboaters.
> We returned to England six months ago, putting our two 4 year old Border
> Collies into quarantine. During their absence we acquired a 45 foot boat
> with transom cruiser stern and a small bow deck. Whilst awaiting the
return
> of our dogs we experienced many relaxing and leisurely weekends cruising
the
> canals, and eagerly awaited the return of our canine companions. Fondly,
we
> imagined, they would spend their days relaxing on the roof of the boat, or
> dozing on the bow deck, idly contemplating the passing landscaping.
Alas,
> on their release from quarantine, we must say that after two 1 day boating
> experiences with them, it seems that narrowboating with dogs may not be
> quite the relaxing past-time that we had anticipated.
>
> Any anecdotal experiences, whether on boat-design, dog-restraining or
simply
> potential 'danger' areas would be more than welcome.
>
>