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

[wizard-of-roz]

29 minutes ago, lindaler said:

Well, 21 days to go before we are on the ship. Today Chavela got her new micro chip since the old one quite. She also got an update on her Rabies and we talked about what she would need if we take another cruise to Mexico. I got her 7001 signed. I made copies of everything, and sent an email to HAL with the information and I am sending them hard copies to hold in their hands and add to her file. Vet assures me that there is nothing else and she ordered us to have a good time. 

 

I'm so tired of people I care about having earthquakes, heat waves, hurricanes and more. Time to stop all that bad stuff, so I don't have to worry.  I am so ready for this cruise. Thanks again everyone for your help and support. I would have given up a long time ago. 

Sounds like you're all set.  I would recommend that you make at two more copies of all your paperwork.  One for you to keep [the originals to show to the Immigration authorities who may want to meet you and Chavela at the first port of entry] and one to give to registration before boarding.

 

Please come back and remind us of your leaving so that we can wish you a Bon~Voyage.

[wizard-of-roz]

On 7/7/2019 at 11:55 AM, puppycanducruise said:

Sending prayers to Roz, Horton and all your neighbours.  Hope the earthquakes are over.

Thank you for your prayers.  I welcome all good thoughts and prayers.

[rangeley]

  I have "caution tape" in my purse

 

Ummm very strange Roz. ⚠️👛😳

 

 

 

 

[HenryKisor]

A number of folks have voiced concern about the visibility of their dogs in the theater seating areas of cruise ships. I am wondering if a little collar flasher, available in several kinds on Amazon.com, would be a good idea, especially if one's dog is black and hence almost invisible in dark areas. On the other hand, these flashers might be so bright they might annoy others in the audience. Presumably some of them can be turned down to limit the visibility. Anyone?

[lindaler]

My personal experience is when we were in Disneyland we put glow sticks on Chavela's reflective vest to make her more visible at night. It didn't work. People are too busy looking up to see the lights or are so conditioned to lights marking aisles and such that they do not notice.  I like the idea of caution tape. 

[wizard-of-roz]

9 hours ago, HenryKisor said:

A number of folks have voiced concern about the visibility of their dogs in the theater seating areas of cruise ships. I am wondering if a little collar flasher, available in several kinds on Amazon.com, would be a good idea, especially if one's dog is black and hence almost invisible in dark areas. On the other hand, these flashers might be so bright they might annoy others in the audience. Presumably some of them can be turned down to limit the visibility. Anyone?

I'm pretty sure folks would NOT like the strobe effect or disturbance that the light may cause to them.  I place myself and Horton in the best place for him and, again, I use the caution tape if I think it's necessary.

[wizard-of-roz]

10 hours ago, rangeley said:

  I have "caution tape" in my purse

 

Ummm very strange Roz. ⚠️👛😳

 

 

 

 

It is a bit strange!  But, it works! 

[allies_daphne]

10 hours ago, HenryKisor said:

A number of folks have voiced concern about the visibility of their dogs in the theater seating areas of cruise ships. I am wondering if a little collar flasher, available in several kinds on Amazon.com, would be a good idea, especially if one's dog is black and hence almost invisible in dark areas. On the other hand, these flashers might be so bright they might annoy others in the audience. Presumably some of them can be turned down to limit the visibility. Anyone?

We have the clip on lights from Amazon.  They have an option of steady light, slow flashing or quick flashing light.  We typically use the steady function on them, especially walking places at night, where people may not be looking down at all.  If we are in a theater, we leave the light on while people are getting seated, but will turn it off when the show starts.  We always sit on the end, and if someone is coming out of the row, we say there is a service dog tucked behind my daughters legs to inform them.  He can have a pretty ‘in the way’ tail sometimes though.  Once the show is getting ready to end, we will turn the solid light back on again to exit the theater, until we are back into a lighted environment.  

[wizard-of-roz]

10 minutes ago, allies_daphne said:

We have the clip on lights from Amazon.  They have an option of steady light, slow flashing or quick flashing light.  We typically use the steady function on them, especially walking places at night, where people may not be looking down at all.  If we are in a theater, we leave the light on while people are getting seated, but will turn it off when the show starts.  We always sit on the end, and if someone is coming out of the row, we say there is a service dog tucked behind my daughters legs to inform them.  He can have a pretty ‘in the way’ tail sometimes though.  Once the show is getting ready to end, we will turn the solid light back on again to exit the theater, until we are back into a lighted environment.  

When I enter the theatre I look for a handicapped area [Princess has HC seating in the rear of the upper seating areas] I sit and reserve a seating area next to me for Horton.  I use the caution tape if there's a possibility that folks will walk into him, when the lights go out.  Horton is a big dog, with a huge tail.  If I sat on the aisle seat he'd definitely be stepped on.  If there's no HC seating I head for a middle of the row seat, where there will be little chance of someone walking by or over us.

[Algebralovr]

What a week!

The neighbors finally stopped setting fireworks.  Scooter doesn’t mind most of them. But the giant BOOMS make him bark.  That is WRONG!  

 

The house next next door was condemned a couple of years ago by the city.  Last year, the university purchased it.  Ever since, all the police departments in the region have been using it for training.  That gets interesting!

The other day, one of the police departments included a K9 officer.  We came home for lunch (as we do almost daily) and spotted the K9 right as he spotted us walking up the sidewalk to our house.  He started to pull his handler toward us.  The handler wasn’t expecting it.  I didn’t know what to expect, since some maintain their training better than others.  Chief had forgotten to let the training team know there was a family living next door with a SD.  Whoops!  All is well, but we had a surprise!

 

i can’t wait until that house comes down!

 

Scooter is otherwise doing well.  I’m still trying to get this bad ankle to heal, and the Dr refused to write another Rx for PT, so I’m not thrilled about that. Time will tell.

[wizard-of-roz]

14 hours ago, Algebralovr said:

What a week!

The neighbors finally stopped setting fireworks.  Scooter doesn’t mind most of them. But the giant BOOMS make him bark.  That is WRONG!  

 

The house next next door was condemned a couple of years ago by the city.  Last year, the university purchased it.  Ever since, all the police departments in the region have been using it for training.  That gets interesting!

The other day, one of the police departments included a K9 officer.  We came home for lunch (as we do almost daily) and spotted the K9 right as he spotted us walking up the sidewalk to our house.  He started to pull his handler toward us.  The handler wasn’t expecting it.  I didn’t know what to expect, since some maintain their training better than others.  Chief had forgotten to let the training team know there was a family living next door with a SD.  Whoops!  All is well, but we had a surprise!

 

i can’t wait until that house comes down!

 

Scooter is otherwise doing well.  I’m still trying to get this bad ankle to heal, and the Dr refused to write another Rx for PT, so I’m not thrilled about that. Time will tell.

Well, at least you know who your neighbors are!!!!  I hope your ankle completely heals soon.  

 

 

[wizard-of-roz]

We're now having a heat wave here.  It's really hot.....nice and quiet......no shaking but boiling hot!  Air conditioning running day and night.  We have a pool but Horton's not crazy about it and it's way too hot to just lay out in the sun.  Brenda loved the pool and loved to take a dip.  Horton, not so much!

 

[rangeley]

5 hours ago, wizard-of-roz said:

We're now having a heat wave here.  It's really hot.....nice and quiet......no shaking but boiling hot!  Air conditioning running day and night.  We have a pool but Horton's not crazy about it and it's way too hot to just lay out in the sun.  Brenda loved the pool and loved to take a dip.  Horton, not so much!

 

Oak loves the pool. We actually just bought a cool fold up one. Wex hated it, of course. 

[rpclmc]

8 hours ago, wizard-of-roz said:

We're now having a heat wave here.  It's really hot.....nice and quiet......no shaking but boiling hot!  Air conditioning running day and night.  We have a pool but Horton's not crazy about it and it's way too hot to just lay out in the sun.  Brenda loved the pool and loved to take a dip.  Horton, not so much!

 

I think you might have spoken too soon about the shaking.  I saw a friend post that there was some more shaking last night.  Hope you are ok.

 

Halo thinks the pools are just large water bowls.  He just doesn't get it.

 

Linda and Halo

 

[wizard-of-roz]

5 hours ago, rangeley said:

Oak loves the pool. We actually just bought a cool fold up one. Wex hated it, of course. 

So cute to see these dogs in a kiddie pool!

[wizard-of-roz]

1 hour ago, rpclmc said:

I think you might have spoken too soon about the shaking.  I saw a friend post that there was some more shaking last night.  Hope you are ok.

 

Halo thinks the pools are just large water bowls.  He just doesn't get it.

 

Linda and Halo

 

The earthquakes we're feeling are nothing compared to what we had and I hope it stays that way!!!!!! 

 

When I was a kid our dog also used the pool as her water bowl and she lived to be 17 years old.......I swear it was the chlorinated water that preserved her!

[wizard-of-roz]

Happy Weekend Everyone!  To all our friends who are affected by the hurricane and drastic weather please take care.

[wizard-of-roz]

Well, it's time to set-up Horton's visit with the Vet for our cruise in November.  I know it seems early to book the Vet visit but I'm now just a few weeks away from final payment,  and Horton's Vet is very popular, I need to book him early.  I remember the Vet telling me, last December, that I should consider letting Horton retire soon......and, here we are 7 months later and I'm still working "Ole Horty!"  

 

I'm pretty sure that this cruise will be Horton's last "hoorah!"  He's not terribly fond of me walking him more than a few blocks and then he wants to go home and take a nap.  You all know how much walking is involved in cruising, including the getting on the ship and the getting off.  I'm really going to watch him and make sure that I'm not pushing him too much!  

 

It's the toughest reality when it comes to our Service Dog's, they do have an expiration date........I just NEVER want to face it or deal with it.   

 

I'll tell you this much, I'm going to take formal pictures of him in every venue.........

[rangeley]

3 hours ago, wizard-of-roz said:

Well, it's time to set-up Horton's visit with the Vet for our cruise in November.  I know it seems early to book the Vet visit but I'm now just a few weeks away from final payment,  and Horton's Vet is very popular, I need to book him early.  I remember the Vet telling me, last December, that I should consider letting Horton retire soon......and, here we are 7 months later and I'm still working "Ole Horty!"  

 

I'm pretty sure that this cruise will be Horton's last "hoorah!"  He's not terribly fond of me walking him more than a few blocks and then he wants to go home and take a nap.  You all know how much walking is involved in cruising, including the getting on the ship and the getting off.  I'm really going to watch him and make sure that I'm not pushing him too much!  

 

It's the toughest reality when it comes to our Service Dog's, they do have an expiration date........I just NEVER want to face it or deal with it.   

 

I'll tell you this much, I'm going to take formal pictures of him in every venue.........

When we were at CCI they did some talking and showed us some videos about retiring your dog. I was shocked Wex was showing alot of the signs that were in the video. It was hard to tell with him because he was always a nervous nellie, huffing and puffing and very fidgety. I felt bad that we put him through that. 😢

[Caribbean Chris]

6 hours ago, wizard-of-roz said:

Well, it's time to set-up Horton's visit with the Vet for our cruise in November.  I know it seems early to book the Vet visit but I'm now just a few weeks away from final payment,  and Horton's Vet is very popular, I need to book him early.  I remember the Vet telling me, last December, that I should consider letting Horton retire soon......and, here we are 7 months later and I'm still working "Ole Horty!"  

 

I'm pretty sure that this cruise will be Horton's last "hoorah!"  He's not terribly fond of me walking him more than a few blocks and then he wants to go home and take a nap.  You all know how much walking is involved in cruising, including the getting on the ship and the getting off.  I'm really going to watch him and make sure that I'm not pushing him too much!  

 

It's the toughest reality when it comes to our Service Dog's, they do have an expiration date........I just NEVER want to face it or deal with it.   

 

I'll tell you this much, I'm going to take formal pictures of him in every venue.........

 

And we’ll look forward to seeing those photos!

[S.S. Cruisers]

Cindy, 

You and John are some of the best furkids mom and dad.  Like you said it is so hard to tell with these guys.  Reno went down hill in the span of 2 weeks.  To this day, I still second guess myself whether or not I did the right thing.  But in our hearts we know we did the best we could at the time and our furkids were number one in any decision we made.  Oak has been given to you guys for a reason and I know he will do fantastic.  I mean the boy is a water lover, right?  Although Reno loved his plastic wading pool that is the only water he comfortably set paw in.  ❤️

 

[Caribbean Chris]

Good news on the paperwork front for our Hawaii cruise to celebrate our 40th anniversary next March - Raylene’s blood passed the rabies titer test.

 

The results now have been posted to the Hawaii Dept of Agriculture’s master microchip list which anyone can download and search. (The Kansas State Lab sends the results directly to Hawaii.) I called my vet and they don’t have the official piece of paper yet.

 

It took a month to get results, and I could have waited until closer to departure, but wanted to allow plenty of time just in case she had to have another vaccination and the test had to be repeated. 

 

Now that our itinerary was changed and the first Hawaiian port of entry is Oahu, the rest of the paperwork should be pretty straightforward. 

[wizard-of-roz]

4 hours ago, rangeley said:

When we were at CCI they did some talking and showed us some videos about retiring your dog. I was shocked Wex was showing alot of the signs that were in the video. It was hard to tell with him because he was always a nervous nellie, huffing and puffing and very fidgety. I felt bad that we put him through that. 😢

We always second guess ourselves don't we?  Can you share with us what CCI feels are some of the signs that a dog should be retired?  If it's too much, don't!  

 

Cindy, you have wonderful doggie instincts.  You have to trust yourself in the decisions that you made for Wex.  Don't make yourself crazy with the "what-if's" of treating him any differently.  He loved his life with you and John, you did what you could and now it's Oak's turn.  We can make ourselves crazy with questioning what we did right or wrong......let him go and clear your mind of any doubt.  Oak will be the lucky one for what you learned through Wex.

[lindaler]

Please do share if you can, what they think are signs the dog needs to be retired.  I have just figured, Chavela is younger then me in dog years and soon we will be the same age. If I can still do it, then I should let her keep doing it. I know that there will be a time but I don't like to think about that time coming. 

[wizard-of-roz]

2 hours ago, S.S. Cruisers said:

Cindy, 

You and John are some of the best furkids mom and dad.  Like you said it is so hard to tell with these guys.  Reno went down hill in the span of 2 weeks.  To this day, I still second guess myself whether or not I did the right thing.  But in our hearts we know we did the best we could at the time and our furkids were number one in any decision we made.  Oak has been given to you guys for a reason and I know he will do fantastic.  I mean the boy is a water lover, right?  Although Reno loved his plastic wading pool that is the only water he comfortably set paw in.  ❤️

 

The "guilts" I get from Horton are triple what I used to get in raising my kids.  I'm constantly second-guessing what I do for him.  

 

I can give myself the worst guilt-trips!