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

[Quampapetet]

Has anyone had their SD get sea sick while cruising??

 

No, but SDs can take prevention meds, too. Ask your vet about how much Dramamine or similar substance your dog should take. There is also the herbal remedy MotionEaze that is for both people and animals. You rub a few drops behind each ear on humans and in a similar spot for dogs. I don't know if it really does anything or not, but I did put it on my SD once every day of our cruise just in case. I put it on myself, too, sometimes more than once a day if I started feeling yucky or the motion of the ship got stronger. (I also took Bonine once each day, as I do get motion/seasick. That stuff really helped! I only felt sick a few times and it was tolerable - and no feeding the fishies.)

[wizard-of-roz]

Great suggestions Quam and "feeding the fishies" how funny is that? :D

Brenny has never been sea or car sick. I don't know what we'd do if she was. We're always in our car or on a cruise. We just did a road trip from L.A. to Eugene, Oregon. She did very well.

And, cruising is my life........

It's very important to allow your SD time to potty and to walk a bit. It helps in "grounding" them either while their on a boat or in the car. On long road trips I stop every 2 hours and allow her some "motionless" time!

[Andar]

Bailey has never gotten car sick so I will keep my fingers crossed. We just moved and so now I have to research and find a new vet. I am not looking forward to that experience. In addition to finding one that understands the needs of a SD, I have to get one that understands Whippets as a lot of vets don't understand their heart sounds and rate. :( Also they are very sensitive to medications.

[Quampapetet]

Great suggestions Quam and "feeding the fishies" how funny is that? :D

I can't take credit for "feeding the fishies" - it is a phrase I've read elsewhere on these boards. :)

[Quampapetet]

Bailey has never gotten car sick so I will keep my fingers crossed. We just moved and so now I have to research and find a new vet. I am not looking forward to that experience. In addition to finding one that understands the needs of a SD, I have to get one that understands Whippets as a lot of vets don't understand their heart sounds and rate. :( Also they are very sensitive to medications.

 

If you moved too far from your current vet (more than 45 min. drive is likely too far), find out if there is a Whippet rescue or breeder in your new area and see if they can recommend somebody.

 

Also, try searching the AAHA site for an approved vet first - or the VCA site, if you're an IAADP member wanting to use the discount card.

[Andar]

Bought a life jacket for Bailey today. PPE had 50% off Outward Hound jackets. Now we are totally ready! :)

[wizard-of-roz]

Darcie: Good job....that's the one that "Brenny" has! They look so cute in them....But, when I think about her chance falling into the ocean or God Forbid a real emergency....these vests will certainly keep them afloat. ;)

[Andar]

It sure looks like it will do the trick. How can we ask them to help us with our life and not take equal care of them? I am getting excited now, but there is still over 100 days to go...

[wizard-of-roz]

Darcie: I so agree........................

BRENDA - HEALTH UPDATE: SHE'S BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The amazing, wonderful, laughing, giddy, playful, perky, bouncy, jumping-into-and-out of-the SUV girl IS BACK!!!!!!!!

She's eating, drinking, peeing, pooping and most of all working like her old self, again!!!!!!! It was 5 weeks of pure HELL for her..........

:) Thank you to everyone who had her in their thoughts and prayers!:)

I'm exhausted from it all but so, so thankful that it's behind us now.

We're cruising in November and I wasn't so sure it was going to happen......but, the plans are going to remain the same and I'm looking forward to it more than ever!

I hug her a little harder, (if that's possible), and I look at her with different eyes now!!!!!!!!

[JNCRUISEBUMS]

Darcie: I so agree........................

 

BRENDA - HEALTH UPDATE: SHE'S BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

The amazing, wonderful, laughing, giddy, playful, perkIy, bouncy, jumping-into-and-out of-the SUV girl IS BACK!!!!!!!!

 

She's eating, drinking, peeing, pooping and most of all working like her old self, again!!!!!!! It was 5 weeks of pure HELL for her..........

 

:) Thank you to everyone who had her in their thoughts and prayers!:)

 

I'm exhausted from it all but so, so thankful that it's behind us now.

 

We're cruising in November and I wasn't so sure it was going to happen......but, the plans are going to remain the same and I'm looking forward to it more than ever!

 

I hug her a little harder, (if that's possible), and I look at her with different eyes now!!!!!!!!

I have been keeping up with Brennie and SO glad she is back to her normal wonderful self! What was her diagnosis? Take care! Nancie

[wizard-of-roz]

Nancie: The beginning of June I took Brenny to the doctor to get a yearly check-up. Simple, so you would think!!!! It turned into a NIGHTMARE!!!!! He checked her ears and couldn't believe what he was seeing, he said both ear canals were extremely inflamed. He took a culture....came back into the room and said she has the most extreme case of a yeast infection, in both ears, that he has seen in a very long time!!!

Imagine my shock......she never displayed any symptoms!!!!!

The doctor gave her a shot of cortisone, another shot of antibiotic, ordered an ear lavage and prescribed anti-fungal pills and a course of Prednisone.

Brenny is 8 1/2 years old, she's had ear infections before (after all, she is a Lab) and, she got over them. The doctor said that her tolerance to pain is extremely high because this had to have hurt her.

And so the nightmare begins.........

She developed a severe reaction to the Prednisone.....weak/depressed/agitated/joint pain/excessive thirst/frequent urination/sleeplessness/raging fever and on and on. And, you can't just take the Prednisone away, entirely, you have to wean them off of it. It was frightening to watch.........

Her medical chart is now marked "HIGH SENSITVITY TO PREDNISONE!"

It almost killed her! Her ear infections are gone.......she will have to have ear lavages the rest of her life......and be watched closely for any more symptomotology of the Prednisone!!!!!!!!

And, because she has such a high tolerance to pain......I watch for any changes of any kind.........I'll never know if something's wrong, unless I can spot it early!!!!

Very long story-short; she's herself, again and that's the way I like it!!!!!!!!!

[JNCRUISEBUMS]

I love reading your posts Roz, you have to be an amazing lady! Over the last few years I have become handicapped and last Oct. 31, 2007 I took a tumble in my garage and broke my leg. Simple, plate and screws and off to the rehab hospital where an occupational thereapist was teaching me to go from wheelchair to walker one legged and when I got up the chair whizzed out from under me and I slammed bad leg down to stop from falling out of the chair. She had NOT locked the wheelchair and then it was totally broken again and they put 4 huge metal rings around my leg and 16 pins and rods going through the leg. 9 months later, I just had it taken off, thank god and working myself backk to where I was. Now I'm looking forward to a 3 week cruise in November, that was the carrot my hubby held out for me to get better!! Worked for me. I have neuropathy in both feet and traveling up leg, CAGE didn't help. I look forward to everyday and love life, just like you! Enjoy the evening! Nancie:cool:

[wizard-of-roz]

Nancie: Talk about an amazing "heroine" story....You, my dear, win the prize for rehab. Your tale is a novel!!!!

I'm so glad to hear that you are finally on the mend.....Your cruise sounds amazing. You have such wonderful things to look forward to.....YOU'VE EARNED IT!!!!!! :p

[Guest carlogesualdo]

Nancie: The beginning of June I took Brenny to the doctor to get a yearly check-up. Simple, so you would think!!!! It turned into a NIGHTMARE!!!!! He checked her ears and couldn't believe what he was seeing, he said both ear canals were extremely inflamed. He took a culture....came back into the room and said she has the most extreme case of a yeast infection, in both ears, that he has seen in a very long time!!!

 

Imagine my shock......she never displayed any symptoms!!!!!

 

The doctor gave her a shot of cortisone, another shot of antibiotic, ordered an ear lavage and prescribed anti-fungal pills and a course of Prednisone.

 

Brenny is 8 1/2 years old, she's had ear infections before (after all, she is a Lab) and, she got over them. The doctor said that her tolerance to pain is extremely high because this had to have hurt her.

 

And so the nightmare begins.........

 

She developed a severe reaction to the Prednisone.....weak/depressed/agitated/joint pain/excessive thirst/frequent urination/sleeplessness/raging fever and on and on. And, you can't just take the Prednisone away, entirely, you have to wean them off of it. It was frightening to watch.........

 

Her medical chart is now marked "HIGH SENSITIVITY TO PREDNISONE!"

 

It almost killed her! Her ear infections are gone.......she will have to have ear lavages the rest of her life......and be watched closely for any more symptomotology of the Prednisone!!!!!!!!

 

And, because she has such a high tolerance to pain......I watch for any changes of any kind.........I'll never know if something's wrong, unless I can spot it early!!!!

 

Very long story-short; she's herself, again and that's the way I like it!!!!!!!!!

 

And here I was worried about a little ear wax and some grass in my baby's ear. We got rid of that in short order. I'm so glad your Brenny is back to normal.

[wizard-of-roz]

Carl: Thank you! It's such a joy to watch her play and romp on the grass again, chasing her ball and doing her funny little "Brenny dance" when she's walking!

She's such a goof! And, I love it!!!!!! ;)

[dobiemom]

BRENDA - HEALTH UPDATE: SHE'S BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I'm SO glad Brenda is all better. Thank you for letting us know.

Roz, could you email me? Address is below.

Marcia

[S.S. Cruisers]

Roz:

WooHoo for Brenny! :D It makes our day when our fur babies are back to their normal, mischievious ways....

Now, you know the cruise will be a "sea breeze" the whole way. Its funny when we know when our fur babies are smiling or sad. Keep up the good work and keep us up to date on the Brenny Tales! One of the first books we read prior to getting our boy said, "A good lab's tail can knock a glass of wine of the table with one swift move." We weren't sure what that meant, but now we know. The tail is usually going and bound to knock something over with its power.

[wizard-of-roz]

S.S.: Thank you for your good wishes. I so appreciate it!!!!!!!!

I know exactly what you mean by the "tail" thing. Being a very smart and well trained Service Dog, Brenny will "back out" of tight situations and not move her tail! She's yet to knock over a nic-nac or a glass of wine!

However, I/they forgot to teach her what to do when a toddler approaches to greet her......Scenerio: Brenny spots the child approaching; the tail is going at great neck speed...the toddler goes to her rear and "wham" gets hit with that powerful, beaver-like, device, that it seems she has no control of when she's playful and happy!!!!! :eek:

Either the child will laugh with glee or scream because it has been thrown to the floor and is now scared to death. While poor Brenny has no idea what happened!!!!!!!!! :o

[JNCRUISEBUMS]

Thanks Roz for your well wishes! The very same to you and Brenny!!!! Nancie:cool:

[sunshine426]

Roz, Thought you might enjoy this story from the other side of service dog training. As you know I work with service dogs in training. Over the past 18months I have worked with one dog off and on. He actually had been placed in service and then returned. I never really heard exactly what happened, but he was traumatised, had difficulty adjusting to a crate etc. Over the next three months I had the opportunity to take him out on numerous outings and sometimes just to play in an agility area. He won a piece of my heart for sure. I had heard that he might not go out into service, but might become a therapy or education dog. OK, he would be great at that, so I was pretty happy. Then I was talking with one of the trainers and they said the people who were going to sponser him in education had backed out, so he might not even be placed that way. I told Mr Sunshine, if this dog was released as a pet, I was in line for him!!

Training camp began and matching took place. I was serving dinner and I saw my four footed friend. He had been placed with a war vet who had been injured by sniper fire. He was lying next to this young man's wheel chair, and as I watched I saw the love between them. Plus, the young wife, was just rubbing her food along his side as they ate dinner. I walked by them, but did not make eye contact. For a brief moment my four footed friend looked at me, sniffed, but then returned his eyes to his new family.

I was so touched and so happy that it looks like it just took some time for this sweet golden to find his forever family. Makes every outing, every counter sufing encounter, every mess to pick up, soooooooo worth it.

Anyway, happy cruising, maybe someday our paths will cross and I can meet Brenda and her forever friends. :D

[dvdfreakmc]

Thought I would give you an update on the traveling "fools", the McClungs on their adventures with Werin

 

Susan, Cameron and I spent the last two weekends travelling with Werin and our sister and nephew. First to Washington D.C., which is great to travel with service dog, especially on the Metro! Residence Inn Rosslyn had a great little run, just behind the hotel which was mulch and Werin LOVED to go to. All restaurants were fine with Werin, with no questions asked. The Safeway however, we were approached by 4 people and then a manager kept yelling out at us that only seeing eye dogs were allowed. We kept explaining, but he didn't get the idea. By that time we had checked out, so we were on our way. I think they get lots of folks that try to bring in their pets to the store, which caused the unusual reaction.

 

Last weekend, thought we would try to stay in NYC in midtown right by Times Square, so that we would be close to everything. Well I was sure that I would find a tree or a scrape of grass somewhere, but after checking with the front desk at the Residence Inn Time Square, I discovered that we were close to everything, but the dog park. Had to walk down 15 blocks one way to Madison Square Park to the Dog Run. Not bad in the daytime, but at 10pm with Werin going for her last walk - it was a bit of stretch. Should have looked it up earlier and planned ahead. Once I returned home, found this great link for those of you visiting the city (even before a cruise), so that you can plan your hotel to be close to one of the dog parks. Trick is there really isn't even a tree or grass spot anywhere else in midtown outside of these parks. We were right across from Bryant Park, but all grass and trees were blocked with wire railings. Oops. Here's the link: http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_things_to_do/facilities/af_dog_runs.html#manhattan

 

We've stayed at the Ritz Battery Park and the Embassy Suites close by to Battery Park, and there is grass and dog runs galore on this end of the city. But you then have to take a cab or subway back up to Midtown. I'll take the close grass at night time to the inconvenience during the day.

 

Ha, Ha -- Happy travels all!

[Quampapetet]

Roz, I'm glad your dog is better.

 

DVDFreakMC, I recommend looking up your hotel on a satellite photo site like LiveSearch (http://maps.live.com) or GoogleMaps (http://maps.google.com). Then you can see where any grass, open spaces, private areas, etc. are around the building/area.

[wizard-of-roz]

Sunshine: Thank you for my tear for the morning.....what a wonderful story! And, although it makes us cry, it's reality and the job that you do is beyond reality, you bring "hope" not only to a dog who possibly would be turned into a "pet" but to a soldier who will get years and years of "hope" and love from his dog partner!!!!

 

It's always so inspirational to hear the true "beginnings" of these amazing animals and I'm sure that you have lots and lots of stories you could share with us. Please do it! I love them!

 

Peter/Werin & Family: Thank you for sharing more of Werin's Adventures; do you believe the Safeway market? G-d, what is it going to take for the public to understand that not all service dogs work for the blind?

 

I, too, have run into the "where's the plot of grass/dirt/mulch, etc., etc. where Brenda can relieve herself? It can be an adventure in its self! She was trained to "potty" on cement but refuses to do it.....I swear I'm going to carry a baggy full of mulch with me whenever we travel and I'm not sure if there will be a place to "go!" I'll take out my baggy and spread the stuff on the cement and keep circling her over it.....I haven't tried it yet...but, it's in the works!!!!

 

When we go somewhere, for meetings or events, the first thing I look for, while parking my car, is the availability of her going potty!

 

We, who walk with a Service Dog, can all relate!!!!!!

 

Keep traveling and letting us know about what you've done and where you've been!!!!!

 

Quam: Thank you for your good wishes. She's all better and being her "bouncy", "happy" self!!!!!! It's such a joy to watch her now!!!!!!!

[sunshine426]

Sunshine: Thank you for my tear for the morning.....what a wonderful story! And, although it makes us cry, it's reality and the job that you do is beyond reality, you bring "hope" not only to a dog who possibly would be turned into a "pet" but to a soldier who will get years and years of "hope" and love from his dog partner!!!!

 

It's always so inspirational to hear the true "beginnings" of these amazing animals and I'm sure that you have lots and lots of stories you could share with us. Please do it! I love them!

 

Peter/Werin & Family: Thank you for sharing more of Werin's Adventures; do you believe the Safeway market? G-d, what is it going to take for the public to understand that not all service dogs work for the blind?

 

I, too, have run into the "where's the plot of grass/dirt/mulch, etc., etc. where Brenda can relieve herself? It can be an adventure in its self! She was trained to "potty" on cement but refuses to do it.....I swear I'm going to carry a baggy full of mulch with me whenever we travel and I'm not sure if there will be a place to "go!" I'll take out my baggy and spread the stuff on the cement and keep circling her over it.....I haven't tried it yet...but, it's in the works!!!!

 

When we go somewhere, for meetings or events, the first thing I look for, while parking my car, is the availability of her going potty!

 

We, who walk with a Service Dog, can all relate!!!!!!

 

Keep traveling and letting us know about what you've done and where you've been!!!!!

 

Quam: Thank you for your good wishes. She's all better and being her "bouncy", "happy" self!!!!!! It's such a joy to watch her now!!!!!!!

 

I also understand about "relief" areas. Plus, since I work with such young dogs, I can have unfortunate outcomes. Before I plan an outing, I take into account when the last meal was, as well as where I am going to be,etc. Home Depot and Lowe's are great places for outing experiences. No carpet to worry about just in case, lot's of sounds noises etc.

 

Once a dog is placed in service his recepient will figure out those things and not have to plan ahead so much.

 

Roz, you might regret asking me for stories, my family can get a little tired of hearing them. (But they love it when I have a puppy home).

[wizard-of-roz]

Sunshine: Anyone on this particular Board would love your stories....Most them are owners of Service Dogs/Animals and appreciate every single little (big) "thing" that it takes to either raise/train or work with a service animal!

And, I can't say it enough.....THANK YOU!!!!!!!

I'm in the middle of planning an airplane trip, this weekend, to Eugene, Oregon. Brenda will be flying bulkhead. And, then we'll be doing the Golden, Princess to Hawaii (2 weeks), in November.

I'm glad she won't need her Rabies Titer test until October along with the Agricultural Inspection Form. She's been through enough these past 2 months, with Vets/shots and medications. I'm going to give her a little break. :o