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

[MDTrip]

We have never gotten turf for our seeing eye dog, just mulch.  But, we have never requested it either. 

[rpclmc]

I got my turf from Amazon.  They have several choices.  Most already have drainage holes in them.  And if you have Prime, free shipping.  I get my stuff within 1-3 days of ordering.

 

Linda and Halo

[HenryKisor]

Can you specify exactly what you ordered and what size it was? There are so many choices. I am looking for something lightweight enough to be rolled up and stashed in a suitcase.

 

[wizard-of-roz]

On 2/12/2019 at 6:27 AM, rangeley said:

 

Oops!! 

What a handsome picture.  Wexy brings tears to my eyes.  He had a wonderful life, rest in peace wonderful boy.  Thank you for being in all our lives!

[S.S. Cruisers]

9 hours ago, wizard-of-roz said:

What a handsome picture.  Wexy brings tears to my eyes.  He had a wonderful life, rest in peace wonderful boy.  Thank you for being in all our lives!

Wexy said "But Mom, I am cleaner than some peoples that sits here!" ❤️

 

[rpclmc]

19 hours ago, HenryKisor said:

Can you specify exactly what you ordered and what size it was? There are so many choices. I am looking for something lightweight enough to be rolled up and stashed in a suitcase.

 

For the life of me I can't find my turf order.  It might be on my old amazon account.  I have friends coming over for our weekly cocktail time.  I will look later.

 

I think it was a 2x4 which was smaller than the relief box they provided, but worked great for our 85 pound dog.  I trained him on it, washed it, rolled it up, put it in a garbage bag.  I carried it on, it was not heavy and then left it when the cruise was over.

 

Linda and Halo

 

[rangeley]

10 hours ago, S.S. Cruisers said:

Wexy said "But Mom, I am cleaner than some peoples that sits here!" ❤️

 

And believe me he was! 

[wizard-of-roz]

From dreary, rainy, water drenched Los Angeles; Happy Weekend everyone!  

 

Horty and I had to go out and get provisions.....I'm shopping very differently these days.  Instead of shopping for a few days, I'm now picking up enough stuff for a week or two.  Who wants to venture out in this cold rain?

 

Well,  Horton is official, he's now using his ramp for entering into the back of my SUV.  I have a warm, cozy bed there for him.  He lays down when we move and when we stop he picks up his head, sits up and looks out all the windows.  He hops out easily instead of me having to put the ramp up again. 

 

Although the ramp is not light, it's easy to manipulate because of the handle on the side.  It's an expandable, wanding type ramp.  It rests on the back bumper solidly and there's no worry that it won't hold his weight.  I bought it from Drs. Foster & Smith years ago for Brenda.

 

I can't imagine going out on my adventures without Horton and now, with the ramp in tow, I don't have to!

 

 

[S.S. Cruisers]

5 hours ago, wizard-of-roz said:

From dreary, rainy, water drenched Los Angeles; Happy Weekend everyone!  

 

Horty and I had to go out and get provisions.....I'm shopping very differently these days.  Instead of shopping for a few days, I'm now picking up enough stuff for a week or two.  Who wants to venture out in this cold rain?

 

Well,  Horton is official, he's now using his ramp for entering into the back of my SUV.  I have a warm, cozy bed there for him.  He lays down when we move and when we stop he picks up his head, sits up and looks out all the windows.  He hops out easily instead of me having to put the ramp up again. 

 

Although the ramp is not light, it's easy to manipulate because of the handle on the side.  It's an expandable, wanding type ramp.  It rests on the back bumper solidly and there's no worry that it won't hold his weight.  I bought it from Drs. Foster & Smith years ago for Brenda.

 

I can't imagine going out on my adventures without Horton and now, with the ramp in tow, I don't have to!

 

 

❤️ Good job Mom and Horty.  I bought Reno's ramp from Drs. Fosters and Smith, also.  After Renie left us and we were staying in the RV park, I saw a fellow RVer with 2 giant great danes.  They were having to hop up the step into the RV.  It looked dangerous and scary.  I asked if he would like the ramp and told him about Renie and how he would love to pay it forward.  The dad graciously accepted it.  A few days later, I saw it on the steps and the boys were going up and down it with ease and no hopping.  Made my ❤️ happy that it got some more use for the big boys. 

[Caribbean Chris]

20 hours ago, S.S. Cruisers said:

Wexy said "But Mom, I am cleaner than some peoples that sits here!" ❤️

 

So true! 

[Caribbean Chris]

4 hours ago, S.S. Cruisers said:

❤️ Good job Mom and Horty.  I bought Reno's ramp from Drs. Fosters and Smith, also.  After Renie left us and we were staying in the RV park, I saw a fellow RVer with 2 giant great danes.  They were having to hop up the step into the RV.  It looked dangerous and scary.  I asked if he would like the ramp and told him about Renie and how he would love to pay it forward.  The dad graciously accepted it.  A few days later, I saw it on the steps and the boys were going up and down it with ease and no hopping.  Made my ❤️ happy that it got some more use for the big boys. 

 

What a lovely story!

 

Roz, I’m so glad Horton adapted to the ramp. I’m filing that plan away in my mind for the day when Raylene balks at jumping in.

[rangeley]

17 hours ago, wizard-of-roz said:

From dreary, rainy, water drenched Los Angeles; Happy Weekend everyone!  

 

Horty and I had to go out and get provisions.....I'm shopping very differently these days.  Instead of shopping for a few days, I'm now picking up enough stuff for a week or two.  Who wants to venture out in this cold rain?

 

Well,  Horton is official, he's now using his ramp for entering into the back of my SUV.  I have a warm, cozy bed there for him.  He lays down when we move and when we stop he picks up his head, sits up and looks out all the windows.  He hops out easily instead of me having to put the ramp up again. 

 

Although the ramp is not light, it's easy to manipulate because of the handle on the side.  It's an expandable, wanding type ramp.  It rests on the back bumper solidly and there's no worry that it won't hold his weight.  I bought it from Drs. Foster & Smith years ago for Brenda.

 

I can't imagine going out on my adventures without Horton and now, with the ramp in tow, I don't have to!

 

 

Glad he finally gave in and is using the ramp. Go Horty!! 

[Judie]

On 2/14/2019 at 11:16 AM, HenryKisor said:

How have experiences been with SDs on Carnival ships? I'm looking at a cheap voyage out of New Orleans. Can you get turf for the relief box?

 

What are SDs?   I love this thread.  So much great information.

Edited February 17, 2019 by Judie

[HenryKisor]

Sorry! Industry shorthand for Service Dog. SDIT=Service Dog in Training. RSD=Retired Service Dog. Etc.

 

[mmarq1992]

On 2/15/2019 at 7:28 PM, wizard-of-roz said:

From dreary, rainy, water drenched Los Angeles; Happy Weekend everyone!  

 

Horty and I had to go out and get provisions.....I'm shopping very differently these days.  Instead of shopping for a few days, I'm now picking up enough stuff for a week or two.  Who wants to venture out in this cold rain?

 

Well,  Horton is official, he's now using his ramp for entering into the back of my SUV.  I have a warm, cozy bed there for him.  He lays down when we move and when we stop he picks up his head, sits up and looks out all the windows.  He hops out easily instead of me having to put the ramp up again. 

 

Although the ramp is not light, it's easy to manipulate because of the handle on the side.  It's an expandable, wanding type ramp.  It rests on the back bumper solidly and there's no worry that it won't hold his weight.  I bought it from Drs. Foster & Smith years ago for Brenda.

 

I can't imagine going out on my adventures without Horton and now, with the ramp in tow, I don't have to!

 

 

 

 

Good job Horton! Service dogs are so confident, they catch on to new things so quickly!

[DUTRAVEL]

On 2/14/2019 at 5:37 PM, HenryKisor said:

Can you specify exactly what you ordered and what size it was? There are so many choices. I am looking for something lightweight enough to be rolled up and stashed in a suitcase.

 

 

This is what we bought to take with us to Europe. I needed something to roll the grass up in (it has a waterproof outside shell). I used a yoga mat strap to carry it. I wanted something we could use on the airplane if necessary.

 

http://pupgearpetproducts.com/products/Pup-Head_Lite_Dog-Potty

[Miki_moto]

32 minutes ago, DUTRAVEL said:

 

This is what we bought to take with us to Europe. I needed something to roll the grass up in (it has a waterproof outside shell). I used a yoga mat strap to carry it. I wanted something we could use on the airplane if necessary.

 

http://pupgearpetproducts.com/products/Pup-Head_Lite_Dog-Potty

Thanks for this information!  What size did you order?

 

I looked at ordering some plain Pup Grass here

http://www.pup-grass.com/products-pupgrass/

but it’s very expensive.  20” x 20” wouldn’t begin to be big enough!  

 

Both of my dogs have been on a plane for over ten hours without a problem, although

I always carry piddle pads - just in case.  I was thinking I could stick one of those under

the pup grass.

 

I need to see if anyone will split a 3’ x 5’ piece with me!

 

ETA - they sell replacement pads here -

 

http://pupgearpetproducts.com/products/Pup-Head-Replacement-Mats

It’s for the “regular size” Pup Head - 20” x 30” and it’s $29.99 USD.  

 

Edited February 19, 2019 by Miki_moto

[DUTRAVEL]

3 hours ago, Miki_moto said:

Thanks for this information!  What size did you order?

 

I looked at ordering some plain Pup Grass here

http://www.pup-grass.com/products-pupgrass/

but it’s very expensive.  20” x 20” wouldn’t begin to be big enough!  

 

Both of my dogs have been on a plane for over ten hours without a problem, although

I always carry piddle pads - just in case.  I was thinking I could stick one of those under

the pup grass.

 

I need to see if anyone will split a 3’ x 5’ piece with me!

 

ETA - they sell replacement pads here -

 

http://pupgearpetproducts.com/products/Pup-Head-Replacement-Mats

It’s for the “regular size” Pup Head - 20” x 30” and it’s $29.99 USD.  

 

 

I got the 20"x 30" size. Its not cheap, but I think you could use any kind of artificial grass when you need to replace the grass part. My dog was fine on the 10-hour fight and we didn't need to use it. If we had used it on the airplane I would have put a puppy pad between the grass and the shell, that why we would not have had to wash the shell.

 

Dianne

[wizard-of-roz]

On 2/19/2019 at 1:47 PM, DUTRAVEL said:

 

I got the 20"x 30" size. Its not cheap, but I think you could use any kind of artificial grass when you need to replace the grass part. My dog was fine on the 10-hour fight and we didn't need to use it. If we had used it on the airplane I would have put a puppy pad between the grass and the shell, that why we would not have had to wash the shell.

 

Dianne

The following is information on synthetic grass that I purchased from Amazon, delivered to my front door within a few days, and is very good quality:  LITA Realistic Deluxe Artificial Grass Synthetic Thick Lawn Turf Carpet - 3.3 FT x 5 FT.   [16.5 Square FT].  $36.88.   

 

I use it for Horton's potty box which sits on our patio.  I use wood shavings as the base, which sits on top of a plastic lining, with the grass on top.  Horton uses his potty box on a daily basis and is extremely comfortable with it.

[rpclmc]

20 hours ago, wizard-of-roz said:

The following is information on synthetic grass that I purchased from Amazon, delivered to my front door within a few days, and is very good quality:  LITA Realistic Deluxe Artificial Grass Synthetic Thick Lawn Turf Carpet - 3.3 FT x 5 FT.   [16.5 Square FT].  $36.88.   

 

I use it for Horton's potty box which sits on our patio.  I use wood shavings as the base, which sits on top of a plastic lining, with the grass on top.  Horton uses his potty box on a daily basis and is extremely comfortable with it.

I think that is the same I used.

 

Linda and Halo

[BoazTheMastiff]

Stressed out about our upcoming cruise. Need advice on my first cruise with service dog. My vet seems to be confident that we have done everything that needs to be done. He’s done pets to Mexico before but never a service dog for a cruise. Do I need to submit his paperwork to USDA or just carnival? We are not disembarking in Mexico. 

[wizard-of-roz]

46 minutes ago, BoazTheMastiff said:

Stressed out about our upcoming cruise. Need advice on my first cruise with service dog. My vet seems to be confident that we have done everything that needs to be done. He’s done pets to Mexico before but never a service dog for a cruise. Do I need to submit his paperwork to USDA or just carnival? We are not disembarking in Mexico. 

Whether you disembark the ship or not, you will need the following paperwork:

• You must have an Aphis 7001 form filled out by a licensed Vet attesting to a recent Vet visit showing that Boaz is in good health with no skin lesions , is free of fur and skin diseases,  is on HeartGuard and NexGuard [or other flea and tick abatement medication.]  This form MUST be signed and dated within 30 days of travel.  Your Vet may charge you for filling out this form on top of the normal Vet visit fee.  
• The form will ask for recent immunizations and MUST show that Boaz is current on his Rabies and ALL other Vaccines.  The 3-year Rabies vaccine is good for travel to Mexico.  [Some other world travel spots will require that he be immunized within one year.]  The form will ask for MicroChip information.
• A copy or ID Card from the Org. that trained Boaz is good but not necessary.  His good behavior is proof enough of his training!       
• The more information and/or picture of you and Boaz that you can provide the Cruise line the better.  CCI provides an ID Card to all Service Dog partnerships.  The card has a picture of the handler and the dog as well as an expiration date whereby the team has to attend a re-certification class, to keep the dog sharp and on task.  If Boaz is self-trained you may not have any such ID Card.  That's okay too!  You may be asked questions of what he does for you and/or asked to show a demonstration [I was asked this by an official in Costa Rica.]
• You will be asked to bring Boaz to meet with an Immigration Official, while you're onboard, and before you enter into one of the Ports you will be visiting, usually the first one.  The official will ask to see Boaz's paperwork and may do a minimal or involved inspection of him.

I recommend making 4 copies of ALL your paperwork give one copy to registration when you're boarding [it saves so much time for them to look for a copy machine.]  Have one for the Guest Relations Desk [on board] and have an ORIGINAL copy to give to Immigration upon entering your first port.  Keep one copy for yourself.

 

• Make sure that the Aphis Form is filled out, without using any abbreviations.  Some Immigration officials balk at anything they can't read.  Ask your Vet to please be thorough in filling out this form.  I must tell you that Mexico is a "hit" or a "miss" about what they want.  Sometimes they're extremely fussy and sometimes they don't want anything; not even your paperwork or to meet you or your dog.  Then, there's the Immigration person who took my dog into a separate room and inspected every inch of her body with a rubber glove, including between her toes, inside her ears, etc., etc.  Be prepared, stay calm and most importantly make sure that Boaz is also kept calm.  I told them that my dog and I are NEVER separated and I will accompany her wherever she goes!

 

You will love cruising with your dog.  The paperwork becomes second nature after you've done it a few times - 🚫 NEVER, NEVER, NEVER leave Boaz alone in the cabin without you or someone with him 🚫 - Have fun, allow extra time for fellow passengers and crew to visit with him and ask you lots and lots of questions.  If you're tired of the interruptions just keep walking.  If someone displays fear or anger at you or your dog.....again, just keep walking and remember YOU represent ALL of us when you travel with your dog.  🐾

 

[allies_daphne]

On 2/11/2019 at 11:02 PM, thephantomsgirl said:

 

Disney is WONDERFUL with service dogs.  I've been on 11 cruises, 3 of them with Jagger.  I LOVE how they do the relief box area.   Be sure to call or email Special Services.  I deal with Chris often and he's just the best.  

 

Jagger loves Disney cruises.   If you look him up on FB under:  Jagger the Service Dog  there are many photos of him on Disney Cruises.  We just did one in January.

 

specialservices@disneycruise.com

 

Holly

Holly,

I would love to talk to you about your DCL experience and your service dog.  We are doing the Eastbound Panama Canal later this year with our SD, and would love to hear about your previous experiences.  We have done one DCL with our SD, but it was a short 4 night only going to the Bahamas.  I unfortunately did not have the pleasure of dealing with Chris, but i did speak to him once, and he actually ended up ON our cruise, so we spoke for a while onboard.   I have the same rep for this Panama cruise as I had for the Bahamas cruise, and my standard answer for everything is to contact all the ports and ask all the information myself.  I know that the Dept of Ag websites are the source of truth for what is needed to port in each place, but I also feel like the routes that the cruise lines take, they should have that information for you up front (at the very least, contact information) and provide it.  It's not like no one has ever traveled these routes before with an SA.  

 

I'm specifically looking for info on Grand Cayman, even though we cannot get off there, because we will have ported in Mexico within the previous 10 days, which is an exclusion.  I'm not overly broken up over not getting off, but I am wondering, since it is a tender port, and we don't plan to get off, if we still will be required to obtain the import permit as well the rabies titer that can only be run at UK.  Additionally, everything has to be obtained within 14 days of entering GC, and that port falls on Day 12 of our cruise.  We live in FL, and our cruise leaves out of San Diego, so we have to have a couple of days travel time to get there, so if there is any issue with the IHC and getting it signed by USDA office in Gainesville, we will be in trouble.    Waiting to hear back from the Dept of Ag now, to see if it truly is 14 days from entering GC, or 14 days prior to the start of your travel.  Sometimes the guidelines are difficult to interpret.

 

I'll start combing through the many pages of posts on this thread to find info on some other things I have questions about like safety of the SD in other ports (ie: exposure to roaming, loose animals anywhere) we are traveling to.

 

Denise

[allies_daphne]

On 2/11/2019 at 10:28 AM, mmarq1992 said:

Hello All!

My service dog and I are going on an Alaskan cruise with Disney in May, for which we are all set. Due to a family friend battling cancer, we just decided to do another cruise even sooner in April. I definitely wasn't prepared for this to pop up so quickly and I'm hoping you wonderful people can answer a couple questions for me!

 

The cruise will be going to the Bahamas, both Nassau and Castaway Cay. Do I need to submit for 2 permits or will just 1 cover the 2 stops? And what is the fastest way to submit for the permit? Am I able to fax it to them and how do you suggest sending the payment? 

 

Thanks in advance!

Melissa & Bentley

Melissa,

We were kind of in this same situation when we booked the same cruise on the Dream at the last minute.  We actually paid the Overnight FedEx fee to send the application to them, but requested that the actual permit be faxed back.  I think I paid $60 to overnight the application, and I sent an international money order for the permit fee, that I purchased at the Post Office.  I had the permit in less than 10 days, and it arrived via fax, just like requested.  There is  great post from a blog site called The Boat Galley, that has alot of posts about permits for animals going into other countries.  Most of them are referring to personal watercraft and family pets, but the permit process and applications are the same.  The step by step process from their site was very helpful, and I know they mentioned in the post that some of the contact information on the Bahamas website is incorrect, so I would confirm before you send/fax anything.

[BoazTheMastiff]

4 hours ago, wizard-of-roz said:

Whether you disembark the ship or not, you will need the following paperwork:

• You must have an Aphis 7001 form filled out by a licensed Vet attesting to a recent Vet visit showing that Boaz is in good health with no skin lesions , is free of fur and skin diseases,  is on HeartGuard and NexGuard [or other flea and tick abatement medication.]  This form MUST be signed and dated within 30 days of travel.  Your Vet may charge you for filling out this form on top of the normal Vet visit fee.  
• The form will ask for recent immunizations and MUST show that Boaz is current on his Rabies and ALL other Vaccines.  The 3-year Rabies vaccine is good for travel to Mexico.  [Some other world travel spots will require that he be immunized within one year.]  The form will ask for MicroChip information.
• A copy or ID Card from the Org. that trained Boaz is good but not necessary.  His good behavior is proof enough of his training!       
• The more information and/or picture of you and Boaz that you can provide the Cruise line the better.  CCI provides an ID Card to all Service Dog partnerships.  The card has a picture of the handler and the dog as well as an expiration date whereby the team has to attend a re-certification class, to keep the dog sharp and on task.  If Boaz is self-trained you may not have any such ID Card.  That's okay too!  You may be asked questions of what he does for you and/or asked to show a demonstration [I was asked this by an official in Costa Rica.]
• You will be asked to bring Boaz to meet with an Immigration Official, while you're onboard, and before you enter into one of the Ports you will be visiting, usually the first one.  The official will ask to see Boaz's paperwork and may do a minimal or involved inspection of him.

I recommend making 4 copies of ALL your paperwork give one copy to registration when you're boarding [it saves so much time for them to look for a copy machine.]  Have one for the Guest Relations Desk [on board] and have an ORIGINAL copy to give to Immigration upon entering your first port.  Keep one copy for yourself.

 

• Make sure that the Aphis Form is filled out, without using any abbreviations.  Some Immigration officials balk at anything they can't read.  Ask your Vet to please be thorough in filling out this form.  I must tell you that Mexico is a "hit" or a "miss" about what they want.  Sometimes they're extremely fussy and sometimes they don't want anything; not even your paperwork or to meet you or your dog.  Then, there's the Immigration person who took my dog into a separate room and inspected every inch of her body with a rubber glove, including between her toes, inside her ears, etc., etc.  Be prepared, stay calm and most importantly make sure that Boaz is also kept calm.  I told them that my dog and I are NEVER separated and I will accompany her wherever she goes!

 

You will love cruising with your dog.  The paperwork becomes second nature after you've done it a few times - 🚫 NEVER, NEVER, NEVER leave Boaz alone in the cabin without you or someone with him 🚫 - Have fun, allow extra time for fellow passengers and crew to visit with him and ask you lots and lots of questions.  If you're tired of the interruptions just keep walking.  If someone displays fear or anger at you or your dog.....again, just keep walking and remember YOU represent ALL of us when you travel with your dog.  🐾

 

 

Oh wow! Thank you so much! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you so much! I’m seriously printing out this post and keeping it with me. 

 

I’m glad I know now about the immigration visit before our first port and can be prepared for it. 

 

It all really is overwhelming so far but I so appreciate of all of the support here! I’m not sure if the “second nature” was a clever pun referring to the relief box but well played if so. 👏🏻🤣. 

 

Speaking of second nature I’m still unsure about that too. He doesn’t mind the pellets. When I brought the bag home and put the litter out, I told him that I needed him to use this as the potty he has every time now since. I’m just concerned about the area not being private enough for him to retain some dignity & privacy. 

 

We are never separated. 

We have:

 Aphis 7001from the USDA ✅

 Health Certificate to Export Dogs & Cats from the United States to Mexico ✅

His service dog I.D. Card, training, Microchip, Heartguard, flea&tic, rabies, vaccine records ✅

most of all his awesome behavior ✅

 

 

Thank you so much!

Boaz & Chip