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

[Quampapetet]

My husband is so funny....he literally wants to taste everything that Brenny puts in her mouth......so, you guessed it, he had to taste her kibble! He said, he thought it was tasteless but smelled good!!!!!

 

:eek: Oh yuck! Hehehe.

 

Hmm, if you start feeding an all-natural food, especially a canned or dehydrated one, you might have to put a lock on the cabinet you keep it in so your hubby doesn't eat it all 'cause they really do look good (and I say that as someone who can't even eat meat)!!! ;)

[Quampapetet]

Issue: Travelling with those darned bottles of fish oil (like Welactin) that tend to spill everywhere.

 

Solution: Fish oil capsules. Unfortunately, although Welactin now comes in capsule form as an option, they are not (yet) under the IAADP freebie program. So, you'll have to purchase a bottle to use while travelling - but you can still use the free liquid version at home, of course. I bought a bottle of a different brand of fish oil capsules, as I found one that is organic from only salmon (Welactin capsules are from salmon and other unnamed fish ... unnamed/generic fish is not a good thing to see on ingredients lists). It is from The Wholistic Pet company, I think http://www.TheWholisticPet.com is their site. Now there will be no worry about stinky, greasy fish oil spilling inside the suitcase! :) They are softgels, BTW, not hard capsules. I don't know if you can cut them open to spill the liquid out or not, as I haven't tried it. And this organic brand has no fishy smell even with their liquids. I'd have bought a year's worth, but I just refilled the Welactin six-month order from IAADP, so I only bought the 100-count bottle for my next two trips.

Edited November 24, 2009 by Quampapetet

[giggleykim]

Finolly getting things under control that we are able to sit down and catch up with CC.

We where one of the lucky people to be invited to go to the Carnival Dream Naming ceramony. We then stayed for the C2N.

Our experience with Kali (our golden retriever) was SO.... much different this time, then in August on the Holiday. When we asked where would could find the litter box, the answer surprised us. Where ever is convient for the dog and her owner! For the first night, we had it is a staff area that contained a elevator (for staff only) but this ended up being a very busy spot.

 

 

 

 

The next night (C2N) due to our room being on the 11th floor Spa area, we then had to have the box moved. This time it again was in a staff area, but it only lead somewhere by means of stairs, so only once did we someone in there!!).

Kali had no intension in using the box the first night, due to it only having carpet in the bottom. (our room stewest has never had a dog before and know nothing about litter, she was sure the Dream was only using carpet. Well Kali knowing that carpet is a a BIG NO NO, she held on to it all (and she drank lots!!) for more then 28 hours. Day number 2 we discovered in the new litter box litter. Kali then had no probem using her new friend.

Between the two cruises we where able to get off the ship for a few hours and discover NYC for the first time. 1 1/2 blocks away from the ship to Kali's excitment (after the longest and biggest relief moment) we stumbled upon a Dog park. She was so excited to trade in that harness for play time with no grass!!

A few other moments that I have to brag about with Kali is the HORRIBLE stormy weather. Never had I felt so bad rocking. (we hit the tail end of huracaine Ida). On the first night of C2N the boat was rocking so bad you could not sleep. We had a inside room (more on that in a bit). Kali was able to tell something was wrong, but of course she had no idea what it was. She started to pace the floor really bad. The bed being beside the wall on two sides, was hard. I got up, thinking that she finolly needed the washroom (at this point it had been 22 hours since last pee. I got up and dressed. She continued to pace the bed (she is my husbands service dog). I then did the BIG no no, I picked her up and put her on the bed with my husband. He did not want to talk to her, and have her play. She still was tense and unrelaxed. I tryed to calm her, but to no success. Finolly Jimmy told her to calm down and everything was ok. In a second Kali was alseep on Jimmies feet for another 3-4 hours. She just needed to know that Jimmie was ok.

My next exciting moment was in the dinning room on the last night. I was VERY tired of telling people not to touch the dog, and hearing there stories of how they had to leave there dogs at home. Due to the set up of the table, Kali was not able to sit between Jimmie and I, but beside me and the half wall. Kali was sleeping under the table for most of the meal at this point. All at once she just jumped up like lightning and went to the lady that was sitting back to back with me. When I turned around she was touching the dog. I told her rudly please do not touch the dog. "Can I please tell you something, Again I asked her not to touch the dog. Please let me tell you something. As I roll my eyes and sigh!! I begin to listen to her. She then proceded to tell me that she takes Major panic attack. The second that she started her husband told her the dog jumped quickly and came to her, to calm her down. I know these dogs are trained for that. But to see Kali do it, from a dead sleep to someone she has NEVER met before so impressed me. We where so proud of her.

Now for our bad experience with Carnival Dream. The C2N we had a inside accessible stateroom. By all means it was accessible. No step into bathroom, wide doors, wheel in shower. BUT..... floor space did not go into the floor plans!! Jimmie is in a power chair and could not get into bathroom. The bathroom door and the front door met when they opened, and there was a closet in between the two. Jimmie was not able to get in the room enough to be able to have the front door closed and still open the bathroom door.

We had Carnival in our room for two hours discussing (not so polietly) what accessible is and what reality is. They (as most of you know first hand) do not meet hand in hand!!. There solution was a manual chair would work (not sure since my husband is a tiny man and has a tiny wheel chair. I would want to think that a manual is larger since the wheels are on the outside not under him. Since I am super strong and he is able to bear his weight a bit (Carnival not knowing this) we told them forget the manual -- means another transfer in and out of a extra chair) we would mange for two days.

 

Oh ya there is one other bad (negative) experience that we ran into. We had the anytime dinning. Due to the wheelchair and dog we where very restricted on where we could get to in the dinning room, once people where already seated. We found we had to wait longer then most people for a table. Once I spoke with the Maitadee we got a table pritty quick!!!.

I will end by saying the Dream is accessible for the most part for the public areas. Jimmie had no problem getting to where he wanted to be.

We are now looking forward and counting down our days till next big cruise in Febuary!!.

[S.S. Cruisers]

Mornin' all:

Kim: Thank you for telling about your cruise. It is hard to believe that Carnival would not make sure that the room steward knew what was required for a service dog. It sounds like you had a good room steward that was willing to learn and accommodate. I am sure she will know next time she has a SD on board and will grow from this experience. As for the box with just carpet in it? Are they kidding me? I guess if they never had animals before they just didn't know. It sounds like they were willing to make it alright.

As for the lady in the diningroom, hopefully she learned something from this. Maybe she will apply for a "therapy dog." It sounds like Kali is a sweetheart and definately wants to make sure "dad" was okay and even a stranger.

Thanks for the pictures, too! I'm a visual kind of gal and need to see or know how things work, to get it! Next cruise will be a breeze. Hopefully you have staff that is willing to get things done for you, Jimmy and Kali.

Peter: Thanks for the update on your family. I hope you do not mind, but I use Cameron and Werin as examples of what can really be done for special needs kids by using service dogs. I know you are so proud of him. It sounds like he has taken flight and is well on his way, thanks to Werin. I get chills just imagining Cameron giving speeches, marching in bands and just being a kid!

Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving. Don't eat too much! Yay, right. We had a potluck at work yesterday, I think I am still stuffed. We did Carne Asada, Mexican Lasagna, Mexican caserole, refried beans, tortilla's, chips, red and green salsa's and all kinds of desserts. Yummy, my favorite food, mexican.

Nancy

[rangeley]

Well I have been gone to Connecticut for a few days and I see The doggy poop problem has ended up in a dog food feud. John took Wexler to the vet and he said we didn't keep him on the chicken and rice long enough. He said hes fine, but when they have problems it really irritates their insides really bad. He is now on the rice for 4 days then we introduce food into the rice for a few more days. He also gave us some pills incase he doesn't stop going. I am just glad we had him checked out.

 

As far as the dog food debate goes, my last lab ate cheap dpg food and table scraps and he lived happy and healthy til he was 15yrs. That is a long life for a lab. Rangeley and Bailee ate Ole Roy dog food from Walmart and both have table scraps. Rangeley lived over 13yrs and Bailee is 12 now. So that said, I don't know how much better these expensive foods are. My dogs have always been free of health problems. It's a debate that will go on forever. They are both on Eukanuba now because thats what Wex was on and it's easy to give the same food to both of them.

 

Roz sorry I missed you but I hope you have a great Holiday!

 

Everyone else, have a GREAT TURKEY DAY!!!!!

 

Cindy

[dvdfreakmc]

Kim, Wow I know that first 24 hours are tough, as Werin does the same thing, even with the grass. Somehow she knows it isn't real and will try to wait until we get off for some real stuff.

 

Nancy, that's sweet - use us to tell stories anytime. Yeah, Cameron has come a long way and amazes both Susan and I every day. He is getting more independent around us as well - ha, ha, but that's just growing up. No more kisses in public - he's getting too cool for that.

 

Roz, great to hear about all your adventures as always. And I think the Great Food Debate of 2009 is somewhat hilarious. Regardless of what we put in Werin, I usually have to pick it up in a few hours. Ha, Ha.

 

Our cats definately rule the house. Werin is so polite that she moves out of her bed when one of the them comes around. We have been working on it, to show her that she is in charge, but she hasn't quite gotten it yet. She just growls a little if they try to take her food. Getting the cats did solve her finicky eating though. Now she wolfs it down.

[Quampapetet]

When we asked where would could find the litter box, the answer surprised us. Where ever is convient for the dog and her owner!

 

That's great! :)

 

Kali had no intension in using the box the first night, due to it only having carpet in the bottom. (our room stewest has never had a dog before and know nothing about litter, she was sure the Dream was only using carpet. Well Kali knowing that carpet is a a BIG NO NO, she held on to it all (and she drank lots!!) for more then 28 hours. Day number 2 we discovered in the new litter box litter. Kali then had no probem using her new friend.

 

Poor Kali!! Carpet?! Seriously, Carnival?!?! :eek: Even if your steward had never had a dog, your telling him a trained dog is not gonna "go" on carpet should be enough for them to change the substance!

 

How large was the box? I'm bringing my own stuff for the cruise, but I'm curious as to what Carnival gave ya for size.

 

 

I then did the BIG no no, I picked her up and put her on the bed with my husband. He did not want to talk to her, and have her play. She still was tense and unrelaxed. I tryed to calm her, but to no success. Finolly Jimmy told her to calm down and everything was ok. In a second Kali was alseep on Jimmies feet for another 3-4 hours. She just needed to know that Jimmie was ok.

 

Why is that a big no-no for your husband? I'm glad she just needed to know he was okay, though! And glad you guys didn't get sick, too!!

 

 

She then proceded to tell me that she takes Major panic attack. The second that she started her husband told her the dog jumped quickly and came to her, to calm her down. I know these dogs are trained for that. But to see Kali do it, from a dead sleep to someone she has NEVER met before so impressed me. We where so proud of her.

 

That's really great!!!

 

Now for our bad experience with Carnival Dream. The C2N we had a inside accessible stateroom. By all means it was accessible. No step into bathroom, wide doors, wheel in shower. BUT..... floor space did not go into the floor plans!! Jimmie is in a power chair and could not get into bathroom. The bathroom door and the front door met when they opened, and there was a closet in between the two. Jimmie was not able to get in the room enough to be able to have the front door closed and still open the bathroom door.

We had Carnival in our room for two hours discussing (not so polietly) what accessible is and what reality is. They (as most of you know first hand) do not meet hand in hand!!. There solution was a manual chair would work (not sure since my husband is a tiny man and has a tiny wheel chair. I would want to think that a manual is larger since the wheels are on the outside not under him. Since I am super strong and he is able to bear his weight a bit (Carnival not knowing this) we told them forget the manual -- means another transfer in and out of a extra chair) we would mange for two days.

 

Yikes! Didn't they consult anybody when doing these rooms?! Of course, I also heard that they accidentally put up a divider on the wrap aft balconies where a divider shouldn't have been, making those cabins not actually wraps. Oops! So, I wonder if the room you were in wasn't also from mistakes? Or if it was that way on the plans.

 

Sounds like you otherwise had a good time on the new ship, though!

[Quampapetet]

Well I have been gone to Connecticut for a few days and I see The doggy poop problem has ended up in a dog food feud. John took Wexler to the vet and he said we didn't keep him on the chicken and rice long enough. He said hes fine, but when they have problems it really irritates their insides really bad. He is now on the rice for 4 days then we introduce food into the rice for a few more days. He also gave us some pills incase he doesn't stop going. I am just glad we had him checked out.

 

Glad you got him checked out! Hopefully he'll get all better this time around. It stinks to see them sick - and I'm sure you are not liking having to pick up non-solid number twos!! :p

 

As far as the dog food debate goes, my last lab ate cheap dpg food and table scraps and he lived happy and healthy til he was 15yrs. That is a long life for a lab. Rangeley and Bailee ate Ole Roy dog food from Walmart and both have table scraps. Rangeley lived over 13yrs and Bailee is 12 now. So that said, I don't know how much better these expensive foods are. My dogs have always been free of health problems. It's a debate that will go on forever. They are both on Eukanuba now because thats what Wex was on and it's easy to give the same food to both of them.

 

And a kid can survive on candy bars and potatoe chips, but that doesn't mean it is good for him. All-natural, human-grade foods are definitely better than the cheap stuff. Table scraps are safe to add as long as they're in limited quantity and, of course, not something poisonous to dogs like chocolate, onions, raisins/grapes, certain nuts, etc. and as long as you're not giving extra calories with them (give less dog food for the amount of table scraps) to keep your dog from bein' a butterball (er, maybe more like a peanut butterball, since dogs LOVE peanut butter!).

 

Everyone else, have a GREAT TURKEY DAY!!!!!

 

Same to you! And make sure your pups get a bit o' the good stuff (turkey, ham, etc.) in their bowls! ;)

[Quampapetet]

BTW, did anyone on here see the episode on Monday of "Cake Boss" where they made a giant bone-shaped cake for the dogs at their local animal shelter (since they were making a cake for humans for a fundraiser for the shelter)? The dogs loved it, but it was so funny 'cause the guy who was making it included dog food in the recipe. They took the labels off the can for TV, of course, but it prob'ly was Alpo or something - it was just that mushy stuff.

 

Well, he had that in a bowl that happened to be next to the bowl of chocolate ganache another person was using for some cupcakes. The delivery young man came in and was spouting off to the owner and some others about something else, asked the woman for a cupcake, and then without thinking he picked up a knife and spread topping onto the cupcake before biting into it. He tasted it and his reaction said it all! He topped his cupcake with DOG FOOD instead of the chocolate ganache, LOL!!!!!!!!

 

It was so funny! He was ticked, of course, but the next day he joked about it, so it turned out okay. But, yeah, gotta watch what you put on your cupcakes.... ;)

Edited November 26, 2009 by Quampapetet

[S.S. Cruisers]

Mornin' all:

H A P P Y T H A N K S G I V I N G !!! :D:p:)

Let's get all the furbabies well! Leann Emily ralphed on the carpet yesterday. I think that is the first time in the 2 years we have had her. Nothing after that. She is eating fine and appears to be good. I think she may have eaten her crunchies (dry cat food) too fast.

Everyone have the bestest day! I am dreaming of cruising and checking all possible cruises to see if they have dropped to a ridiculous price that we cannot refuse! So far lowest is about $1400 for a balcony for the 3 of us for 8 days. Hoping I can find better. :o

 

Nancy

[flsunnymommy]

From our family to yours, we wish peace, joy and many happy moments for this Thanksgiving Day!

[S.S. Cruisers]

Sunnymommy: Now that is a snapshot for a card! How cute are they? :D

[dvdfreakmc]

Happy Thanksgiving!

[Quampapetet]

Leann Emily ralphed on the carpet yesterday. I think that is the first time in the 2 years we have had her. Nothing after that. She is eating fine and appears to be good. I think she may have eaten her crunchies (dry cat food) too fast.

If she's a cat, could've been a hairball. They do that from time to time. It is yucky, but normal. :(

 

Everyone have the bestest day! I am dreaming of cruising and checking all possible cruises to see if they have dropped to a ridiculous price that we cannot refuse! So far lowest is about $1400 for a balcony for the 3 of us for 8 days. Hoping I can find better. :o

 

Nancy

 

$1,400 combined for three ppl or per person? Combined is a good price! Have fun!!

[S.S. Cruisers]

Quam: Yes, Leann Emily is the kitty of the house! :D And it is $1400 for all three of us. We got it down to $399 pp for 1st 2 and can't remember what 3rd was, several years ago. Still hoping.

[rangeley]

Peter, Is that potty box on a HAL ship? If it is, is that grass? And where did they put it?

 

Cindy

[giggleykim]

The box six that Carnival use's is 4x4. Would be nice if it was bigger, but Kali seems to do fine with it. She is in and out realy quick. She is a golden so not a tiny dog by any means.

As for going on the bed. Just a rule that we have for her. She does not go on to our space, and we do not go on her beds. No matter what once she is on her bed we do not touch her. She is really good with this, and has never tryed to sit, or jump on couch or bed (well our bed 38 inches from floor so she does not jump up!!).

Well I am happy to read that other dogs also hold on long times well on cruises as well, I guess next time I will not be worried as much.

I like to be able to read of others experiences on here, so we know what to expect, and know that we are not alone with situations.

[sunshine426]

Adios my friends. Off to the airport in a few hours and then on to the high seas!! Had a wonderful time with my little guy who is getting quite big now. He is very confident on the agility course and is heeling pretty well on our walks outside. Didn't take him on an outing this week. I hope his trainer can get him out while I'm gone. He is going to spend Christmas with us. I'm taking tons of pictures so someday his future recepeint will see him as a puppy and I'll send his Christmas stocking along with him. Mayber even his favorite "teddy bear" as well.

[sunshine426]

Food Wars!! I don't think there will ever be agreement on this subject! JUst like feeding our families, our children, everyone will have a best way. With my service dogs, I feed them what they eat at the training facility.

 

My own dog is back on her regular food for now. (Iams). Once we get her itchy skin back undercontrol, I am going to wean her to a different food.

 

I do bake my own dog treats (used for training). The dogs all seem to really like them better than commercial products, and since I control what goes in them, I know they are healthier.

[rangeley]

Have an awsome cruise Sunshine!!!!!!

[S.S. Cruisers]

Mornin' all:

Sunshine: Hope I'm not too late! Happy cruising. Think about us often, NOT. :D

Everyone have a great Friday.

Nancy

[dvdfreakmc]

Peter, Is that potty box on a HAL ship? If it is, is that grass? And where did they put it?

 

Cindy

 

 

Yup - that is the size on HAL, and it is grass. They bring sod and put it on for the week. On all the HAL cruises we have had this size. This was the first time we had it on the balcony and that was super. The other times it has been on the stern of the ship, in an outside protected area of the crew area.

[rangeley]

Thanks Peter!

[MCDW]

Peter, Is that potty box on a HAL ship? If it is, is that grass? And where did they put it?

 

Cindy

 

Hi All:

 

Just got off Holland America. We did the Panama Canal cruise. Been on HA 5 times in the last few years. HA always did mulch in a 4x4 ft box on a outside public deck for Oz and Oz was fine with that. This time it was on a outside public deck, but it was sod and the box was cut in half, with the two halves a couple of feet apart. Oz took some encouragement to use the sod. I found out at the end of the first day that there were 3 dogs on the ship. I met one who was a small older chocolate lab. The other was a small white dog, who was part of the ship's magician's act.

 

Next cruise is in April to Europe on RCCL. I will need to contact them closer to the date and ask for mulch and not sod. Also, for longer cruises, I ask the cruise line to bring on board enough mulch to change it totally once per cruise. If not it can get problematic when we are around the 14 day mark and the weather is warm and humid.

 

Hope everyone had a good weekend.

[Valentine's Mom]

Hi all, We have returned from our European adventure and have gotten pretty much rested. The trip was GREAT! We did the last Med cruise and the T/A home on board the Carnival Dream. Valentine did wonderfully and was the hit of both cruises. The flight over was long but Valentine did great we had a bulkhead seat and she lain on the floor at our feet and slept most of the way. We were lucky enough to have a young lady who turned out to be a Vet who had been in the US for a couple of months at a conference or something. She loved Valentine and we had a vet just in case. LOL

We always say that Valentine is a 10lb Japanese Chin with a Great Dane bladder. She absolutely refuses to potty until we are safely at our hotel in Civi. About 1 ½ hour from the airport. But when we finally get to our room she does a very quick look around the room (long enough for me to get the pee pee pads down) then look out because she is ready to empty that Great Dane bladder. She runs to the pad and skids to a stop just in time. Funny to see but I worry about her doing this. I even tried taking her to the restroom but no go. She wouldn’t have any of it!

 

We always worry so much about getting all of the paperwork just so correctly. I have been to Europe 3 times now and have NEVER had anyone even know that she was with me! I have her in her roller case and just go through customs like all the other people. I have never been asked for papers David just hands over 2 passports and his customs agent stamps them without even looking at us or comparing pictures. Just kept walking! I have never had anyone ask to look at her papers on the ship either. I guess if some high up person came for a visit then they would have to come looking for me. I always have them in order but wonder how many don’t. I must admit that the agent in NY did look at the papers upon return took about 3 seconds to do it though.

 

Valentine, David, and I had traveled with Todd (cruise director) before so we did ask for him to do us a favor. The director and his assistant have a morning show that plays over and over all day. I asked him to make an announcement that she was on board and was a working dog and to treat her with respect not pet her make noises to distract her and such. IT WORKED GREAT! People were still interested but did give us some space. It worked so well that we will ask for this announcement with every cruise. We were also surprised to find out that there were 3 working dogs on board. ALL SMALL DOGS! One was a Yorkie who traveled either in a bag like Valentine or in a pouch carried in front at chest high. I never did see the other on but the crew said that there were 3 on board.

 

I almost can’t wait for all of those ccers (you know the ones) who say they love dogs but there were 3 tiny dogs onboard that should not have been there. I want to take my dog!!!!!

 

Messina it was raining pretty hard and I really couldn’t deal with the wed dog smell at that time. We put out our sign and ran across the street to get a little memento then right back. In Dubrovnik the ship started telling us that our passports would be checked and this and that and I got that terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. We put out our sign and went to town for our prearranged tour. We had checked all the paperwork and had what they said we needed but, but I’m sure that as a mother of one of these fur babies we are taking no chances so she stayed on board and got some needed rest, As for Bermuda It was plain we had been at sea too long to get the appropriate certificate so she had to stay on board they too. Better as it was pretty cold.

We did have something a little different happen. David wasn’t feeling very well but was up and about. We went to dinner but went to our room earlier than usual. We went to bed and were going to watch a movie. Valentine got up on the bed and started trying to signal David. She finally climbed up on his chest and demanded that he do something. I said “”Have you checked your blood sugar” Of course not! Needless to say it was in the low 50s. I don’t know what I would do without her!

 

We also had anytime dining. We loved it. We asked for a table out of the way so Valentine could lie under the table and do her job and not bother those who do not like dogs. It worked out great because they always knew us by name and where we sat each night.

 

Valentine did great and we loved our cruise. People we just have to ask for what they promised us and take nothing less. The litter that we asked to be in our room when we got there was not in the room so we got on the phone and demanded it. They then didn’t want to leave the bag we were going to be there for 1 month!!! They left the litter needless to say. We did miss the port of Barcelona on the first cruise because we had high seas of 45 feet and winds at 75 mph. That’s hurricanes guys. The Dream didn’t rock too badly but we weren’t going to make the port so they gave us port charges and got 1 ½ days in Monaco. So not too bad!

 

All in All a great cruise!!!!

Edited November 30, 2009 by Valentine's Mom