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

[rangeley]

12 hours ago, wizard-of-roz said:

Feet, maybe!  But it was when he would slide his face up my chest and rest his beautiful nose under my chin that I loved the most.  I thought it was going to drive John crazy, he didn't like when Auntie Roz encouraged "Oleander" to do whatever he wanted to!

 

I'm like the great aunt that you invite to dinner and has all the kids saying bad words and acting like little imps.......Love it!!!!

 

Oleander loved his Auntie Roz. Especially when she let him do bad things. As for John, he got over it. Haha 

[Algebralovr]

Happy New Year!  I’m spending this evening at home, in my PJs, on the couch with Scooter watching TV.  Having a glass of champagne while I watch TV.  We brought back a bottle from a cruise last year and it has been in the refrigerator since.  Decided to open and enjoy it!

[S.S. Cruisers]

Happy New Year to all my cruise and service doggie friends!! 

[wizard-of-roz]

3 hours ago, S.S. Cruisers said:

Happy New Year to all my cruise and service doggie friends!! 

Right back at you and EVERYONE who adds to this amazing thread.  And, to those who like to read but have not responded yet, we welcome your input.

Edited January 1, 2020 by wizard-of-roz

[wizard-of-roz]

Why do some folks think it's necessary to set off fireworks in areas where it's AGAINST THE LAW!!!!!

 

I have a difficult enough time at the 4th of July when, again, it's AGAINST THE LAW but they insist on setting off the stuff. 

 

Poor Horton just shudders at the popping noises.  Part of his job is to alert to such sounds and he can't calm himself through it all and get relief from the urges to consistently "alert" me.  It's exhausting to watch his frustration.  I have found if I give him the "release" command and then ask him to go to one of his beds and then simply ignore him, he eventually calms himself, while laying and staring at me.  It does no good to be too affectionate to him at this time!

 

Thank goodness the weather was so windy and cold that it was difficult for the moron's to continue and at about 1:00am it finally stopped.

 

Horton is ultra sensitive to sounds in his environment.  I love him for his work ethic but it's very difficult for him.

 

 

 

   

[rangeley]

4 hours ago, wizard-of-roz said:

Why do some folks think it's necessary to set off fireworks in areas where it's AGAINST THE LAW!!!!!

 

I have a difficult enough time at the 4th of July when, again, it's AGAINST THE LAW but they insist on setting off the stuff. 

 

Poor Horton just shudders at the popping noises.  Part of his job is to alert to such sounds and he can't calm himself through it all and get relief from the urges to consistently "alert" me.  It's exhausting to watch his frustration.  I have found if I give him the "release" command and then ask him to go to one of his beds and then simply ignore him, he eventually calms himself, while laying and staring at me.  It does no good to be too affectionate to him at this time!

 

Thank goodness the weather was so windy and cold that it was difficult for the moron's to continue and at about 1:00am it finally stopped.

 

Horton is ultra sensitive to sounds in his environment.  I love him for his work ethic but it's very difficult for him.

 

 

 

   

Poor Horty!! Johns first sd was terrified of fireworks and thunder. It was awful. 

[wizard-of-roz]

3 hours ago, rangeley said:

Poor Horty!! Johns first sd was terrified of fireworks and thunder. It was awful. 

My first dog, Brenda could have cared less about the fireworks........Horty doesn't like it when someone walks by our front door or someone carries on a conversation by my front door.  He's the ultimate "alert" dog.  I have so much respect for his intensity at his job but I feel badly for him because it absolutely drains his energy.

[rangeley]

Well change of plans for us. We are leaving tomorrow instead of Sunday. Some weather might be coming in. Normally this wouldnt be to much of a concern but we had asked a neighbor to drive our van to the airport to drop us off. Being that its at 430am and possible snow, we decided to just change our flight. In mass we have something called "the ride" which is a handicapped van that you can take, but it was to early to get that so we asked someone. Not fair to him to drive us in snow. So after scrambling to change flight and find somewhere to stay, we are ready to go. Well maybe not ready. Lol I now have 1 day to do everything. I don't even have the usda paperwork yet. 😱

[puppycanducruise]

Hope everything works out for you.

[Caribbean Chris]

18 hours ago, rangeley said:

Poor Horty!! Johns first sd was terrified of fireworks and thunder. It was awful. 

Raylene shares Horton’s feelings about fireworks noise. She awakened me right at midnight on NY Eve, so I took her out for a pee -  the noise was over pretty soon, thank goodness. The 4th of July is awful - just goes on and on.

[Caribbean Chris]

3 hours ago, rangeley said:

Well change of plans for us. We are leaving tomorrow instead of Sunday. Some weather might be coming in. Normally this wouldnt be to much of a concern but we had asked a neighbor to drive our van to the airport to drop us off. Being that its at 430am and possible snow, we decided to just change our flight. In mass we have something called "the ride" which is a handicapped van that you can take, but it was to early to get that so we asked someone. Not fair to him to drive us in snow. So after scrambling to change flight and find somewhere to stay, we are ready to go. Well maybe not ready. Lol I now have 1 day to do everything. I don't even have the usda paperwork yet. 😱

I think you are smart to get out early. We did that once - heard the weather report and jumped in the car after lunch - drove south On I-95 from our former home in NC, a day earlier than planned, and finally stopped for the night  at a motel. Next morning, all the frozen, slick roads that developed overnight were just above us, according to weather reports. Whew! Dodged a bullet, and went on down to Florida for our cruise.

[wizard-of-roz]

5 hours ago, rangeley said:

Well change of plans for us. We are leaving tomorrow instead of Sunday. Some weather might be coming in. Normally this wouldnt be to much of a concern but we had asked a neighbor to drive our van to the airport to drop us off. Being that its at 430am and possible snow, we decided to just change our flight. In mass we have something called "the ride" which is a handicapped van that you can take, but it was to early to get that so we asked someone. Not fair to him to drive us in snow. So after scrambling to change flight and find somewhere to stay, we are ready to go. Well maybe not ready. Lol I now have 1 day to do everything. I don't even have the usda paperwork yet. 😱

OMG!  Cindy, what the heck!  Do you think you're 20 years old??????  Talk about living on the edge!  Take one step at a time, easy girl!  I'm thinking very positive thoughts for you and hoping that your cruise is a good one for all of you!

 

Bon~Voyage!  Have a wonderful cruise, try to have fun without me!

[wizard-of-roz]

1 hour ago, Caribbean Chris said:

I think you are smart to get out early. We did that once - heard the weather report and jumped in the car after lunch - drove south On I-95 from our former home in NC, a day earlier than planned, and finally stopped for the night  at a motel. Next morning, all the frozen, slick roads that developed overnight were just above us, according to weather reports. Whew! Dodged a bullet, and went on down to Florida for our cruise.

Amazingly lucky!

[wizard-of-roz]

2 hours ago, Caribbean Chris said:

Raylene shares Horton’s feelings about fireworks noise. She awakened me right at midnight on NY Eve, so I took her out for a pee -  the noise was over pretty soon, thank goodness. The 4th of July is awful - just goes on and on.

😘

[DUTRAVEL]

6 hours ago, rangeley said:

 So after scrambling to change flight and find somewhere to stay, we are ready to go. Well maybe not ready. Lol I now have 1 day to do everything. I don't even have the usda paperwork yet. 😱

I hope you make it to your cruise safely. Have a great time!

 

Dianne

[DUTRAVEL]

2 hours ago, Caribbean Chris said:

Raylene shares Horton’s feelings about fireworks noise. She awakened me right at midnight on NY Eve, so I took her out for a pee -  the noise was over pretty soon, thank goodness. The 4th of July is awful - just goes on and on.

 

Its amazing how the organizations and instructors who train these dogs do such a good job of matching them to the appropriate roles. Henri is fantastic at what she does for me, but she would make a terrible hearing dog. She is not sensitive to noise and fireworks don't bother her in the least. The only thing that makes her nervous is small dogs that bark a lot (we seem to run into a lot of those when we cruise). 

 

Dianne

[rangeley]

2 hours ago, Caribbean Chris said:

I think you are smart to get out early. We did that once - heard the weather report and jumped in the car after lunch - drove south On I-95 from our former home in NC, a day earlier than planned, and finally stopped for the night  at a motel. Next morning, all the frozen, slick roads that developed overnight were just above us, according to weather reports. Whew! Dodged a bullet, and went on down to Florida for our cruise.

 

Wow good move on your part! 

Ya it was the best solution. I think its probably only going to be a few inches, but it would be at the time we were heading to the airport. Not fair to our friend who was going to drive us. 

[rangeley]

1 hour ago, wizard-of-roz said:

OMG!  Cindy, what the heck!  Do you think you're 20 years old??????  Talk about living on the edge!  Take one step at a time, easy girl!  I'm thinking very positive thoughts for you and hoping that your cruise is a good one for all of you!

 

Bon~Voyage!  Have a wonderful cruise, try to have fun without me!

 

Are you calling me old? Well I never...... 

 

I will have fun but will be wishing you were there with us. Oleander will be so lonely without his buddy. 

 

 

[rangeley]

I got the usda paperwork this afternoon so the dog is all set. There was a problem of submitting it to early. We had the date of the 9th which is when we were going to the Dominican. I guess it was more than 10 days out and thats why it was rejected. So she resubmitted on Tuesday and it went through. Because we submitted it twice, we had to pay another 40$. I was not happy about that but paid it and kept my mouth shut. 

[rpclmc]

Gosh, it has been almost a month since I checked out this thread.

 

Sounds like everyone is doing great.  I have booked two cruises so far for this year.  Carnival Inspiration on May 18 to celebrate my daughter and her boyfriend's 21st birthdays.  And Carnival Conquest B2B in September for the annual girl's cruise.

 

We went back to where I grew up in Illinois, University of Illinois for Christmas with my parents and 3 brothers.  Sad it will be my last Christmas with one of my brothers (unless there is a miracle).  He has terminal cancer and actually got hospice care Tuesday.  None of this is unexpected, just kind of sad.  We have been lucky to have him this year as we didn't think he would make it through last Christmas.  He had a totally new experimental treatment, that really helped with his pain and extending his time.  But the cancer is growing expentially now and there isn't anything more they can do for him except try to manage his pain.

 

OK, done sharing the sad.  Halo did great on the trip.  I asked him to show my brother some extra attention.  Halo is amazing.  He is not a very social dog to new people and really doesn't know my family well.  Halo sticks by mine or Rich's sides when we are there.  Every time my sick brother was around he would go to him and kiss his hands and just hang out around him.  That brother just loves dogs, but doesn't have one.

 

No big plans until we head back to Idaho the end of April.  Jeff Dunham tickets the last Saturday in April in Idaho and my daughter graduates from college on May 9th, then cruise on May 18th.  We might go to St. Augustine, Florida February or March.

 

I love catching up with everyone.  Sounds like everyone is keeping busy.

 

Linda and Halo

[wizard-of-roz]

4 hours ago, DUTRAVEL said:

 

Its amazing how the organizations and instructors who train these dogs do such a good job of matching them to the appropriate roles. Henri is fantastic at what she does for me, but she would make a terrible hearing dog. She is not sensitive to noise and fireworks don't bother her in the least. The only thing that makes her nervous is small dogs that bark a lot (we seem to run into a lot of those when we cruise). 

 

Dianne

Horton is a wonderful worker and makes my life so much better.  I'm very grateful for his diligence to assist me every day.

[wizard-of-roz]

2 hours ago, rpclmc said:

Gosh, it has been almost a month since I checked out this thread.

 

Sounds like everyone is doing great.  I have booked two cruises so far for this year.  Carnival Inspiration on May 18 to celebrate my daughter and her boyfriend's 21st birthdays.  And Carnival Conquest B2B in September for the annual girl's cruise.

 

We went back to where I grew up in Illinois, University of Illinois for Christmas with my parents and 3 brothers.  Sad it will be my last Christmas with one of my brothers (unless there is a miracle).  He has terminal cancer and actually got hospice care Tuesday.  None of this is unexpected, just kind of sad.  We have been lucky to have him this year as we didn't think he would make it through last Christmas.  He had a totally new experimental treatment, that really helped with his pain and extending his time.  But the cancer is growing expentially now and there isn't anything more they can do for him except try to manage his pain.

 

OK, done sharing the sad.  Halo did great on the trip.  I asked him to show my brother some extra attention.  Halo is amazing.  He is not a very social dog to new people and really doesn't know my family well.  Halo sticks by mine or Rich's sides when we are there.  Every time my sick brother was around he would go to him and kiss his hands and just hang out around him.  That brother just loves dogs, but doesn't have one.

 

No big plans until we head back to Idaho the end of April.  Jeff Dunham tickets the last Saturday in April in Idaho and my daughter graduates from college on May 9th, then cruise on May 18th.  We might go to St. Augustine, Florida February or March.

 

I love catching up with everyone.  Sounds like everyone is keeping busy.

 

Linda and Halo

I'm so sorry Linda that your brother is facing some very tough times right now.  May his journey be as easy as it can be.  I hope that his struggles are not too difficult for him and that you can keep some positive memories of him in your heart and mind.

 

I'm very lucky to have a big family but, unfortunately, it also means that there are lots and lots of challenges that we have to face.

 

Take care of you and I hope that you get to share some good times with each other.

[wizard-of-roz]

3 hours ago, rangeley said:

 

Are you calling me old? Well I never...... 

 

I will have fun but will be wishing you were there with us. Oleander will be so lonely without his buddy. 

 

 

😘

[Caribbean Chris]

10 hours ago, DUTRAVEL said:

 

Its amazing how the organizations and instructors who train these dogs do such a good job of matching them to the appropriate roles. Henri is fantastic at what she does for me, but she would make a terrible hearing dog. She is not sensitive to noise and fireworks don't bother her in the least. The only thing that makes her nervous is small dogs that bark a lot (we seem to run into a lot of those when we cruise). 

 

Dianne

They definitely have different inclinations and skills. The former head trainer at Dogs for Better Lives used to say he looked for potential hearing dogs that demonstrated high energy and would jump up in the middle of the night to do a sound alert instead of rolling over and thinking maybe somebody else would get it.  It made me feel better because Raylene was a VERY high-energy girl when she was young. And she woke me up in the dark in our last cruise when my husband locked himself out of our stateroom yet again!

[Caribbean Chris]

9 hours ago, rangeley said:

I got the usda paperwork this afternoon so the dog is all set. There was a problem of submitting it to early. We had the date of the 9th which is when we were going to the Dominican. I guess it was more than 10 days out and thats why it was rejected. So she resubmitted on Tuesday and it went through. Because we submitted it twice, we had to pay another 40$. I was not happy about that but paid it and kept my mouth shut. 

GRRRR....