MrPAWS

 When my Shadow was having a terrible time my Trainer friend suggested Sojo's - I order from Chewy, but you can buy from a boutique pet store.  You can also buy small bags to try and see if your dog will like it.  It solved his intestinal issues totally.  Also totally natural - just add water.  7 lb bag makes into 40 lbs of food - GREAT for traveling.

ALSO - you'll think I'm crazy BUT - give him Alkaline water to drink.  We have it delivered.  Cancer cannot live in an alkaline environment.  You can research this on uTube.  Fixed my husband's seizures and his cancer has not returned.  Couldn't hurt.

Good luck and blessings.

Does anyone have experience with traveling with oxygen.  We have traveled and cruised for years with our service dog - first Snow, then Shadow.  This we have down pat.  But now my husband is on oxygen 24/7 and one more cruise would be wonderful.  We know we have to travel to and from the same port and one we can drive to, i.e. LA because he cannot fly.  We have our eyes on the Carnival Panorama.  Does anyone have tips for protecting machines while embarking and debarking.  Or anything else we might need to know.  We are taking 3 machines and renting one to be in the cabin.  Thanks to all.

On ‎10‎/‎26‎/‎2018 at 8:19 PM, wizard-of-roz said:

Isn't that ridiculous!  The potty box will ALWAYS be an issue for our dogs.  The placement on our veranda's is really the best place.  Second choice; the closest stairwell.

 

Unless your veranda is extremely small, the box can be placed off in a corner and since the solid wastes are picked up immediately, it really just becomes a square of green off in a corner.  Especially if you bring a piece of rolled-up, light weight patio cover [with holes cut in it for drainage], and place it on top of whatever filler the ship is using.  It stays in place, is very attractive to look at and is easy for the ship to remove at the end of the cruise.  It's not expensive and can be placed in a kitchen trash bag for easy packing in your suit case.

Really we have never had a problem with putting Shadow's box on our balcony.  The purser is the one to see.  Princess was the only one with an issue.

On ‎10‎/‎20‎/‎2018 at 4:33 PM, wizard-of-roz said:

 

Thank you so much for sharing the wonderful pictures.  I don't like when people reach out to pet or shout out to him, that is definitely distracting, but when we're sitting around and people come up to us to ask questions and I give Horton the command to let him know that he's not working......I do allow for patting.  I'm a very social being and so is Horton.  I love to talk to fellow passengers and Horton loves the extra love and attention.  I know when "enough is enough" and I let the public know.

Agree totally.

On ‎10‎/‎22‎/‎2018 at 2:18 PM, Sumacs Momma said:

Thanks for the info, we took my dog last April on a 15 day cruise to Hawaii and I was in tears for the first 4days... you can search my previous post and since then I am scared to take him again. We are looking at the same cruise again next fall and was wondering which cruise line can you put the potty box on the balcony? Princess?

Not princess, but maybe you can talk them into it once you get there.  We have been trying different lines too to see which one we like best - so far Carnival.

2 minutes ago, HenryKisor said:

I went and studied the online photographs of Princess ships, and it appears that they are straight-sided, with neither flare nor tumblehome to the tiers of decks. If Princess was claiming stuff can go over the side, that's a load of codswallop. (Flare means widening above the hull. Tumblehome means narrowing above the hull. Codswallop means what it sounds like.)

 

 

I know, right?!!

30 minutes ago, HenryKisor said:

Barb, I can't speak to the "wind tunnel" on Celebrity ships or St. Lucia, Grenada, Barbados, Dominica and St. Kitts, but I can say that there is no reason to avoid taking a service dog to Costa Rica or Colombia. Trooper and I have had a good time in both those countries on our cruises. The Colombians especially were hospitable. I wrote ahead to the Aviario Nacional de Colombia just outside Cartagena before visiting, and it said we would be welcome—and provided a veterinary student to guide us around and yank us out of trouble if trouble appeared.

 

The paperwork required for Costa Rica and Colombia is not particularly difficult, and APHIS has all the forms needed.

 

If you mean the feral dogs endemic south of the border, well, that is a problem everywhere, but if you are alert you can avoid them.

 

Good to know - my vet said they might not let our dog back into the USA if we took him to Colombia (even if we did not let him off the ship) - but it wasn't worth it.  Stayed with a housesitter and became very depressed.  Temp vet also was going to charge us $600 for 3 health certificates (each port allowed) - never using THAT vet again.

On ‎10‎/‎24‎/‎2018 at 7:15 PM, Miki_moto said:

I’m curious how many other service dogs were on that ship.  How many used the potty box you used?

I am just glad they are starting to "get it."

Princess does not allow potty boxes on the balcony for the stupid reason that the ship is tiered opposite of the normal shape of ships and they seem to think that "stuff" can go over the side.  Have they never seen one?  I don't even know how a human can make it over the barrier.  Carnival was great about it and so was Celebrity and NCL.  It must be OUR job to educate . . . and so we shall;  its worth it.

We have cruised on numerous lines (trying to decide on our favorite) and find the following to be true:

• We always book a balcony, mid ship.  It is the most conveniently located, the potty box goes on your balcony - easy peasy. 
• The first cruise will take the dog a bit longer to figure it out, then he will when the need is great.  You don't want the box in a public area on deck - too many looky lous to distract your fur baby.
• DO NOT let everyone pet your dog - simply say "Please don't - he's working"  It is dangerous for  you if the dog gets distracted when his vest is on.  If you want to allow him to socialize, take the vest off first.
• Our dog Shadow loves the travel.  And he is so striking that people can't keep their hands off him.
• He's great on tenders.
• Did NOT take him ziplining.
• Good on shore excursions - jumping into the bus.
• The only cruise we couldn't take him on was Panama Canal because of ports we went too - too dangerous for Shadow - found out at the last moment (his vet wouldn't sign off) so he stayed with a friend who housesat for us.

We have cruised for many years with our service dog,  Never a problem - although the first time he was extremely excited to see dry land.  Took him about 36 hrs to "go" and then it was fine.  Always get a balcony for his relief tray.  Only had a problem going to the Panama Canal because it was dangerous for HIM at these ports because of their particular diseases, and of course cannot go into UK owned ports i.e. Barbados.    There is a deck above Lido that works well for exercising big dogs.  Always have your dog "dressed" in public, don't let everyone pet him (that's hard) - he should not be distracted.  For more info:  see www.mrpaws.com

Wizard-of-Roz, thanks for all the helpful information. I am organizing a cruise for the Guide Dogs of Texas (GDTx) in January on RCCL. We have 22 people going so far, including two visually impaired people bringing their guide dogs. The potty box info was especially helpful as that is something people really want to know. I've read that other guests on a cruise would ask the dog's owner where the dog "went " After being told the would take an "excursion" to the potty box to see what it like. As I understand it the guide dog teams will be allowed to preboard and will be given a tour of the ship, to include the potty area. Thanks for the idea of the sign. I'll make one up with the cute saying about butts. :)

 

I've also requested a room be available each night for an hour for our group to gather and let the dogs run about.

 

I'm thinking about sending a prepared notice to the Hotel Director on the ship and asking it to be placed in the ship's daily paper. It would say something about visually imparied individuals and their guide dogs being on the ship and asking people not to pet the dogs.

 

We are going to Montego Bay, Jamaica, Georgetown, Grand Cayman and Cozumel, Mexico. The dogs cannot enter Jamaica. Someone will stay with the dogs on board while the visually impaired individuals disembark. We have 3 GDTx staff and 4 puppy raisers (minus their puppies) going on the cruise. Guide dog puppies in training aren't allowed to cruise. :(

 

I believe the dogs will be allowed to get off in Grand Cayman, but I am still working on the exact requirements. I found out that if our ship had gone to Mexico before we went to GC the dogs would not have been allowed to get off in GC. Even if the dogs had not gotten off in Mexico they would not have been allowed off in GC. But we are going to GC first so it will be OK. Mexico should not be a problem for the dogs, but I don't yet know if there are any special paperwork that needs to be done ahead of time. Any info on these two countries. I've contacted their embassies but never heard back from them. I'll try again a little closer to the cruise.

 

What paperwork did you get from your vet before the cruise? I heard that the paperwork is only good for 10 days. So, for a 7 day cruise the paperwork has to be obtained only a few days before departure so it will still be good to reenter the U.S.

 

I'm sure I'll have lots of questions in the future. Do you check this site often? Or are you on an email notification. Thanks again for starting this thread.

Mary

Getting into any UK Island/Country is difficult. Including Bahamas and Barbados. http://www.pettravel.com is very helpful with necessary docs

Thank you for posting this! I just joined this board to ask some questions for going on my first cruise, some of those questions being about cruising with my service dog. It is hard to find people who have cruised with their service dog.

 

I've travelled a lot with my service dog, domestically and internationally, but never on a cruise ship. (Only boats she's been on are high-speed ferries and the rides and Friendships at Disney.) The biggest difference, of course, being no land for pottying on a cruise ship!

 

We'll be going on Royal Caribbean in the spring. I see you haven't gone on them before, but I'll still accept any and all tips from ya. :D

 

RC's Web site says they provide a 4'x4' box of mulch as a potty spot. It doesn't say where or if they give a grass/turf option. I've written the special needs e-mail address, but never got a response. The TA (group trip) is supposed to be looking into the info. for me, but I hear she may forget about it. I think I will call RC myself.

 

Since we are seasoned travellers, I don't have questions about basic travelling or flying or anything. The biggest one is the potty box details. The other is an excursion for Cozumel, Mexico (I already know what I'm doing in Key West and can't get off at the other two places, as far as I have read up on via the Internet [technically I could get off at Cayman Islands, but am not about to spend the time and money {couple hundred} just for less than 8 hours there]).

 

Have you used one of those plastic water bowls that is supposed to keep the water from splashing/spilling out of it? I don't know how well they work and I normally just use the Outward Hound plastic folding travel bowls (the ones that fold up and you could keep the pack of three of them in your pocket), but I figured on a moving boat, it might be worth it to take up luggage space with the non-splashing bowl (I saw one brand with carpet grabbers on the bottom, so think I'll get that one to prevent the bowl itself from sliding/slipping around). I'll still use a folding bowl for food.

 

Any tips or stories you can post will be great! Thanks! :D

Most cruise lines will put potty box on your balcony. Our first cruise took my dog 36 hours to "go" - after that he was fine but certainly happy to see dry land.

Most cruise lines will put the relief box on your balcony (except Princess) This is the easiest way to avoid looky lous and heavy doors. Always ask.

I just learned so much from this forum. Am now convinced that our travel scooter should be handed over at the gate instead of checked luggage. Recently took two flights - one perfect, one with damage (the airlines make it good, but what a hassle) Thank you all.

We have traveled extensively and cruised a dozen times - all with our service dog. Recently we were making the arrangements to go to the Panama Canal. It became impossible because of the ports we were stopping at - EVEN if we left the dog on the boat. Pay Attention: It is not worth it. We are stopping at: Jamaica, Cartagena, Panama City, Limon Costa Rica, etc... but the issue here is his health. There is a screw worm infestation that is a flesh eating virus transmitted by flies. There is no cure and no vaccination. These are dangerous places for Shadow. AND he may not be let back into the US. They can confiscate the dog AND euthanize him. Not Worth It. And we NEVER leave our dog. Our solution became to leave him home with a friend he knows and likes. In the security and comfort of his own home he should be fine - will let you know