Cruising With A Service Dog....everything You Ever Wanted To Know!

Roz, have a great cruise.

I have been reading the comments about your work. Everyone is making wonderful comments. I have limited WIFI and haven't been able to comment. Becki said things wonderfully. Just know I am supporting you also.

We took Halo to the beach, for the first time. It was a no pets beach, so we kept him on a leash and in his vest. As walking past another "service" dog, the comment was made, "oh look another that has learned to put a vest on and get their dog in places". This from the family with the dog that lunged and barked at Halo and wouldn't listen to the handler. As Halo glanced at the dog and kept walking with us, no sound, no pulling, etc. Good thing I didn't hear the comment, might have gotten an earful. I don't think it was a real service dog, but I don't know and it is not my place to say so.

We have been traveling for 3 weeks now. I have seen several service dogs, only 1 has not lunged and barked at Halo. Wow, I would be so embarrassed if my service dog behave like those.

Linda and Halo

Have a great cruise Roz!!!!

 

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Thank you Cindy! ♥

Roz, you and Horton will have a wonderful sailing and will enjoy Hawaii.

Thanks Walt, I'm almost there!!!!

Roz, have a great cruise.

 

I have been reading the comments about your work. Everyone is making wonderful comments. I have limited WIFI and haven't been able to comment. Becki said things wonderfully. Just know I am supporting you also.

 

We took Halo to the beach, for the first time. It was a no pets beach, so we kept him on a leash and in his vest. As walking past another "service" dog, the comment was made, "oh look another that has learned to put a vest on and get their dog in places". This from the family with the dog that lunged and barked at Halo and wouldn't listen to the handler. As Halo glanced at the dog and kept walking with us, no sound, no pulling, etc. Good thing I didn't hear the comment, might have gotten an earful. I don't think it was a real service dog, but I don't know and it is not my place to say so.

 

We have been traveling for 3 weeks now. I have seen several service dogs, only 1 has not lunged and barked at Halo. Wow, I would be so embarrassed if my service dog behave like those.

 

Linda and Halo

Thanks Linda, my first SD, Brenda, had a horrible habit of lunging at other dogs.......I had a difficult time with her doing this and would shy away from places that I knew would have other dogs in it.

The trainers at CCI tried to give me all kinds of suggestions to help her stop but it didn't always work. As she got older she stopped, thank goodness. Horton NEVER lunges, he's so huge he'd pull me off my feet if had that bad habit!

Every dog has their bad habits. It's our job to continuously work with our dogs to keep them from making those bad habits too much to bear!

I will be a mermaid on the sea and let the winds and waves and carefree days TAKE ME AWAY!!!!!

 

I love you all and will talk to you again on the 19th. Take care of each other please ♥ :*

Have a great cruise Roz!

Dianne

Thanks Linda, my first SD, Brenda, had a horrible habit of lunging at other dogs.......I had a difficult time with her doing this and would shy away from places that I knew would have other dogs in it.

 

The trainers at CCI tried to give me all kinds of suggestions to help her stop but it didn't always work. As she got older she stopped, thank goodness. Horton NEVER lunges, he's so huge he'd pull me off my feet if had that bad habit!

Every dog has their bad habits. It's our job to continuously work with our dogs to keep them from making those bad habits too much to bear!

Even if I may question, in my head, I never say it outloud, if the lunging, barking dogs are truly trained service dogs, I don't know a person's disability and just keep walking.

Halo's bad habit is groaning when he is tired of working or not happy with a situation. Pretty distracting when in a quiet meeting.

Linda and Halo

One of the wisest things Trooper's trainer told me, after I expressed worry about a bad habit, was: "Dogs are not robots. Sometimes they will be dogs. Don't worry about an unfortunate incident, but keep on with the dog's training." And so that's what I do. For instance, Trooper will sometimes bark if an elevator door opens in our condo and someone is standing there, a rare occurrence. Now, just before the door opens, I offer a treat to get his attention on me. Soon, every time the door opens, he will look at me hopefully and ignore anyone who may be standing in the door. His follow-up trainer suggested this ploy during her visit last winter.

Roz,

I'm sure I missed you, but Have a great trip! Can't wait to hear all about it!

We've had a crazy few days, but I got the ramp to my porch at least partly painted and got non-skid coating put down on it. Need more paint on the sides and rails, but some is better than none. I HAD to get the non-skid down before the weather turned, and today was probably the last day. Would have done it last week when I had time off, but Mom is using a walker and needed the ramp to get from the driveway to the house. I'll need it myself in a few months, so need to make sure it is safe.

All this talk about our dog's bad habits makes me feel better. Since I've at least partly owner trained Scooter, I'm particularly nervous about his bad habits. He wants to turn and see the other dogs we walk by, but he doesn't bark at them - just looks. I was so proud at him the other day, though! I had him in a down on the front porch while I put the first coat of paint on the ramp. A guy walked by, walking his dog. Scooter sat up, looked at the dog, looked at me, and stayed put! The other dog barked at Scooter and pulled on his leash to try to come visit, and Scooter just looked at him. Scooter didn't move off the rug on the porch or bark! Success! Scooter's bad habit is wanting to pull toward young women. He thinks they are going to stop what they are doing and rub his belly.

Roz,

I'm sure I missed you, but Have a great trip! Can't wait to hear all about it!

 

We've had a crazy few days, but I got the ramp to my porch at least partly painted and got non-skid coating put down on it. Need more paint on the sides and rails, but some is better than none. I HAD to get the non-skid down before the weather turned, and today was probably the last day. Would have done it last week when I had time off, but Mom is using a walker and needed the ramp to get from the driveway to the house. I'll need it myself in a few months, so need to make sure it is safe.

 

All this talk about our dog's bad habits makes me feel better. Since I've at least partly owner trained Scooter, I'm particularly nervous about his bad habits. He wants to turn and see the other dogs we walk by, but he doesn't bark at them - just looks. I was so proud at him the other day, though! I had him in a down on the front porch while I put the first coat of paint on the ramp. A guy walked by, walking his dog. Scooter sat up, looked at the dog, looked at me, and stayed put! The other dog barked at Scooter and pulled on his leash to try to come visit, and Scooter just looked at him. Scooter didn't move off the rug on the porch or bark! Success! Scooter's bad habit is wanting to pull toward young women. He thinks they are going to stop what they are doing and rub his belly.

Halo looks at other dogs but doesn't move or pull towards them or make any noise. I thought even looking was bad, my trainer asked if I looked at things/people when I walked pass them. Question closed.

Linda and Halo

Note to all planning to take their service dogs to the Bahamas: We called the Bahamas Dept of Agriculture people today, and they said the OLD address (Box N-3704) as it appears on the current import permit application is STILL valid. They added, however, that it now takes EIGHT WEEKS to process applications. No idea why.

(Big sigh.) All this stuff drives me crazy. Eight weeks. How many canines are clamoring to come??

One of the wisest things Trooper's trainer told me, after I expressed worry about a bad habit, was: "Dogs are not robots. Sometimes they will be dogs. Don't worry about an unfortunate incident, but keep on with the dog's training." And so that's what I do. For instance, Trooper will sometimes bark if an elevator door opens in our condo and someone is standing there, a rare occurrence. Now, just before the door opens, I offer a treat to get his attention on me. Soon, every time the door opens, he will look at me hopefully and ignore anyone who may be standing in the door. His follow-up trainer suggested this ploy during her visit last winter.

Good move! My trainer taught me to say “watch”(treat) when we were approaching/passing another dog to keep Raylene from pulling toward it, and I've had success with diverting her attention back to me that way.

I was reading through a thread on the Celebrity Board ranting about fake Service dogs and read the following quote:

 

"I have been on 2 Celebrity cruises where someone had a true service animal. They could be in close proximity and you wouldn’t even know they were there. Wonderful animals!"

 

 

We were on one of the sailings she is referring to and Henri was the only Service Dog on board - its nice to see someone post something complimentary about her!

 

 

Dianne

Dianne, that's so cool! What a great feeling for you to read that! But not surprising. Henri (and other CCI dogs here) are the real deal.

Good move! My trainer taught me to say “watch”(treat) when we were approaching/passing another dog to keep Raylene from pulling toward it, and I've had success with diverting her attention back to me that way.

I love that one!

Someone's nose has been going nuts today. Apparently the squirrels have been going crazy stocking up and leaving wonderful smells everywhere we go.

I have a baggie of treats in my pocket for the first time today in a while.

Has anyone faxed to the Bahamas recently? We've been trying for days. We called down there and they said no one was there for the fax at the time. Now we tried again and still no luck.

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I suspect the Bahamians are still getting their stuff back together after the recent hurricane.

Has anyone been to Bermuda?

Bermuda requires that you obtain your health certificate within 10 days of arrival and then fax it to them to get an import permit. We will be in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and I won't be able to meet their requirements. Does anyone know how strict they are on the time requirements and do you need a permit if you don't get off the ship?

Thanks, Dianne

Has anyone been to Bermuda?

 

Bermuda requires that you obtain your health certificate within 10 days of arrival and then fax it to them to get an import permit. We will be in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and I won't be able to meet their requirements. Does anyone know how strict they are on the time requirements and do you need a permit if you don't get off the ship?

 

Thanks, Dianne

I don't understand these islands wanting the health certificate before you go. John said the Bahamas wanted us to fax the health certificate with our application. Since we don't get that until the week we leave, it's impossible.

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Mornin' all. Hope all is well with everyone and the Holidays are moving along! :D

Life in mid-Missouri is crazy for me. Getting ready to take off on Saturday!

On the plus, my grading is done and I just have a meeting tomorrow afternoon to finalize, then I can submit grades.

After than, we finish packing, then get a good night's sleep before the drive to the airport. Scooter goes to the vet for boarding tomorrow afternoon. I still need to determine when. My meeting is at 3pm, and the vet closes at 5. As long as I'm out the door by 4 I'll make it.

Be home the afternoon of Dec 25, pick up Scooter on Dec 26. I'm sure he will lose some ground while at the Vet's. Hopefully not too much!

Take care, all!

I have been on the road since November 13. Halo is an amazing traveler.

I spent from November 27-December 14 in Florida, 1 hour North of Tampa. I love Florida and have wanted to buy a home there to winter in. Guess what? I bought a home.

I am in Georgia right now, my husband and daughter will be joining me for a road trip through some southern states and I will go back to Florida to close on January 2 and go back to Idaho in April.

Linda and Halo

I just returned from a 8 day Eastern Caribbean cruise on Carnival. It was my service dogs first cruise and he did remarkably well. We had a few issues the biggest one being the PEOPLE on the boat feeling feeling they were entitled to stop me for questions, pictures, breed of dog, age, what my disability was and the list goes on. After the 3rd day of non-stop harassment, my patience was overdrawn! We're going on another cruise next year and I'd really like to get more enjoyment out of it. Has anyone else had this issue and what proactive things have you done? I was thinking of making a signt and hanging in on my service dogs neck stating, "pictures $10, questions $5 so that I can pay for my cruise that I'm NOT getting to enjoy!"

I just returned from a 8 day Eastern Caribbean cruise on Carnival. It was my service dogs first cruise and he did remarkably well. We had a few issues the biggest one being the PEOPLE on the boat feeling feeling they were entitled to stop me for questions, pictures, breed of dog, age, what my disability was and the list goes on. After the 3rd day of non-stop harassment, my patience was overdrawn! We're going on another cruise next year and I'd really like to get more enjoyment out of it. Has anyone else had this issue and what proactive things have you done? I was thinking of making a signt and hanging in on my service dogs neck stating, "pictures $10, questions $5 so that I can pay for my cruise that I'm NOT getting to enjoy!"

My husband has a service dog and in January it will be his 9th cruise. We don't mind answering questions and letting people pat the dog. We feel we are ambassadors for the service dog industry. Right now service dogs are getting a bad rap with all the fake ones out there. The more we can educate people the better. Our dog is so social and he loves to meet new people. Hard to deny him that. Yes it does get tiring at times, but my husband is real good about moving along in his wheelchair and not making eye contact. Sorry you didn't have a good time on your cruise

Cindy

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I just returned from a 8 day Eastern Caribbean cruise on Carnival. It was my service dogs first cruise and he did remarkably well. We had a few issues the biggest one being the PEOPLE on the boat feeling feeling they were entitled to stop me for questions, pictures, breed of dog, age, what my disability was and the list goes on. After the 3rd day of non-stop harassment, my patience was overdrawn! We're going on another cruise next year and I'd really like to get more enjoyment out of it. Has anyone else had this issue and what proactive things have you done? I was thinking of making a signt and hanging in on my service dogs neck stating, "pictures $10, questions $5 so that I can pay for my cruise that I'm NOT getting to enjoy!"

I have been on five cruises with my friend and her seeing-eye dog. She loves it when people ask questions because it allows her to meet new people. Some people do have signs on their dog that says "Please don't pet me. I'm working." She does not use this sign because it makes people more reluctant to engage in conversation. She says when you are blind, you can't make eye contact to start a conversation and are often treated like you are invisible.

I do notice that it does slow down our progress on ship, -- getting to wherever we are going, etc., and the questions do get repetitive and tiring, so I completely understand your concern.

On our most recent cruise on Princess, they put a notice on the front page of the daily ship's newspaper that said "Service Dog on Board- please do not distract the dog when it is working, as it can be a danger to the owner" -- or something like that. We noticed that after that appeared in the paper, the number of people asking about the dog decreased. Perhaps on your next cruise you could request a notice like that.

I just returned from a 8 day Eastern Caribbean cruise on Carnival. It was my service dogs first cruise and he did remarkably well. We had a few issues the biggest one being the PEOPLE on the boat feeling feeling they were entitled to stop me for questions, pictures, breed of dog, age, what my disability was and the list goes on.

I have to agree that I don't really mind all the questions and attention my service dog receives when we cruise. I also think of it as an opportunity to educate people on the organization my dog comes from (we are always trying to recruit puppy raisers) and on service dog etiquette. I know that many of the passengers are missing their dogs and I don't mind giving them the opportunity to say hello to my dog. I always try to leave extra time to get from place to place on the ship and I don't have any problem with cutting things short when necessary and saying that we are in a hurry and cannot stop to talk right now.

I also have to agree that it is a good opportunity to meet new people. When you are in a wheelchair sometimes people are reluctant to approach you.

It sounds like asking the ship to put a notice in the daily newspaper about not distracting a working service dog would be helpful.

Dianne

Has anyone faxed to the Bahamas recently? We've been trying for days. We called down there and they said no one was there for the fax at the time. Now we tried again and still no luck.

 

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We applied for a permit Sept. 26, for a November cruises because of ships itineraries were being changed due to the hurricane. Fortunately itineraries did not include Nassau, because we never received any Fax. We sent the $5 Fax fee with a international money order $8.25 and Global stamp $1.25. Would have been better off sending $5 cash! Not worth a International call. That's why we avoid the Bahamas. Can you board ship with out a Bahama's permit if not disembarking?