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

[wizard-of-roz]

3 minutes ago, lindaler said:

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. 

I hope Cindy can share some of what she learned with us. 

 

The Vet told me that Horton is approaching his mid 70's.......such a scary thought of how quickly they age.  He also told me that each dog is an individual when it comes to how their bodies react to the aging process.  Just like human's some dogs are more active, fit and able to handle physical activity than others.  Horton's in the mid-range for activity level.......I'm going to baby him as he goes through his aging process!

[S.S. Cruisers]

8 minutes ago, wizard-of-roz said:

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! 

Don't we all!  The difference with kids is that they can at least express themselves.  Jezzy Lou has been doing some out of the ordinary things.  It makes us wonder if she has/is getting dementia.  She usually does not let one of us out of her site.  Lately we find her in the den by herself.  She also lays outside of Travis' room and when one of us opens the door she will go in and stay with him, sometimes for hours. Never has done that.  She would go in and stay for a few minutes, check things out and come back out.  I went in to get her to lick the ice cream bowl and she wouldn't even come out for that.  Now this girl does not miss an ice cream bowl lick.  I keep watching her.  ❤️ 

[wizard-of-roz]

3 minutes ago, S.S. Cruisers said:

Don't we all!  The difference with kids is that they can at least express themselves.  Jezzy Lou has been doing some out of the ordinary things.  It makes us wonder if she has/is getting dementia.  She usually does not let one of us out of her site.  Lately we find her in the den by herself.  She also lays outside of Travis' room and when one of us opens the door she will go in and stay with him, sometimes for hours. Never has done that.  She would go in and stay for a few minutes, check things out and come back out.  I went in to get her to lick the ice cream bowl and she wouldn't even come out for that.  Now this girl does not miss an ice cream bowl lick.  I keep watching her.  ❤️ 

I hope it's nothing more than a "senior moment." 

 

My girlfriend has a dog that wakes from her naps and then will go and sit in front of a wall [any wall] and just stare at it.  It's such weird behavior.  The dog is 18 years old, in good physical health.  Unbelievable, isn't it?  She comes to her if she rattles her treat bag, she enjoys when visitors come to the house, loves her meals and favorite blanket.  It's just hard to watch her "senior moment!"    

[rangeley]

5 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.  ❤️

 

Thanks Nancy. I do not have any guilt with any of my dogs. Whether we retired Wex or not he would still have the same problem... Loaded with tumors. 😭  Nothing we could do about it. We always said our dogs would never suffer and none have. We are so lucky they have all gone quick. I think thats the best for them. I miss them every day, but like Roz said we have our Oakey now. And we must concentrate on him. 

 

As far as the signs, I'm sure everyone sees changes in their dog. I mentioned a few above. Wex never laid down when we were out. Always huffed and puffed and had his head on someones lap. Seemed nervous and fidgety. When home he was fine. I'm sure every dog is different.  Now Oak, he's a different story. You stop for a second and he's down.  Lol  Never seen a dog lie down so much. He goes for a walk with John and never pants, even in the heat. Incredibly relaxed in any situation. 

[rangeley]

5 hours ago, Caribbean Chris said:

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. 

One place I really want togo but never will. 😢  Hope you have a great time.

 

I'm actually excited to go back to Holland America. Half moon cay is one of our favorite places. We managed to nab the handicapped cabana for the day. 

[wizard-of-roz]

Brenda was tough.  She didn't like dogs.  If she was around them she would lunge for them, pulling on her leash and practically pulling me off my feet.   She had actually graduated with a woman in a wheelchair who had her for 3 months and called CCI to come and get her because she couldn't handle her.  Brenda was full of "attitude" and although she was extremely quick to learn new commands she was very stubborn.  CCI recognized her brilliance and felt she deserved to go out into the world to make a difference in someone's life. 

 

I went to CCI looking for a dog leader in my life and she was on her last chance before becoming a "Change of Career Dog."  She and I were a perfect match, our personalities were so similar! 

 

CCI felt I could handle Brenda and for 10 years she worked beside me at my job and had finished 15 cruises.  We were great for each other!  You all know how I felt about her.  She was my hero!!!!!  She and my husband Morey became very close and until he passed away they were great buddies.  She lived to be 14.

 

When Brenda needed to retire, I was really concerned about bringing another dog into our home.  What a perfect dog to graduate with......Horton.....  His personality is so chill, warm and friendly that she allowed him to live with us because he, in no way, was going to infringe on her space without doing it with love.  She would push him with her nose in the direction that she wanted him to go and he would GO and he was twice her size! 

 

He would try and engage her in play and she would give him a "look", poke him slightly with her nose and he would immediately back off.  Sometimes she would allow him to throw a ball at her [she was obsessed with tennis balls, he could care less.]  When she wanted to stop playing she would go to her bed and he knew to stay away. 

 

Brenda's been gone since 2014 and he still will NOT go up on her couch. They NEVER engaged in growling or fighting of any kind.  He respected her and I adored them both.

 

The day she passed he put his nose on her nose and through some sort of magic language they said "goodbye and thank you" to each other.  I'd like to bring another Successor home for Horton to have in his life.  I just have to plan it.  Honestly, I'm NOT ready to make him the Number 2 dog.  He's still my Number 1.     

[rpclmc]

On 7/16/2019 at 12:59 PM, wizard-of-roz said:

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! 

Do you think that is because our doggies can't verbally communicate to us?  And, I know Halo does this, does not show his extent of pain?

 

I hope that is it.  I use that reasoning so I don't feel guilty about not feeling so guilty about how I raised Riki.

 

Linda and Halo

[rpclmc]

22 hours ago, rangeley said:

One place I really want togo but never will. 😢  Hope you have a great time.

 

I'm actually excited to go back to Holland America. Half moon cay is one of our favorite places. We managed to nab the handicapped cabana for the day. 

My favorite place is Half Moon Cay hands down.  I go in November with my daughter.

 

Linda and Halo

[rpclmc]

21 hours ago, wizard-of-roz said:

Brenda was tough.  She didn't like dogs.  If she was around them she would lunge for them, pulling on her leash and practically pulling me off my feet.   She had actually graduated with a woman in a wheelchair who had her for 3 months and called CCI to come and get her because she couldn't handle her.  Brenda was full of "attitude" and although she was extremely quick to learn new commands she was very stubborn.  CCI recognized her brilliance and felt she deserved to go out into the world to make a difference in someone's life. 

 

I went to CCI looking for a dog leader in my life and she was on her last chance before becoming a "Change of Career Dog."  She and I were a perfect match, our personalities were so similar! 

 

CCI felt I could handle Brenda and for 10 years she worked beside me at my job and had finished 15 cruises.  We were great for each other!  You all know how I felt about her.  She was my hero!!!!!  She and my husband Morey became very close and until he passed away they were great buddies.  She lived to be 14.

 

When Brenda needed to retire, I was really concerned about bringing another dog into our home.  What a perfect dog to graduate with......Horton.....  His personality is so chill, warm and friendly that she allowed him to live with us because he, in no way, was going to infringe on her space without doing it with love.  She would push him with her nose in the direction that she wanted him to go and he would GO and he was twice her size! 

 

He would try and engage her in play and she would give him a "look", poke him slightly with her nose and he would immediately back off.  Sometimes she would allow him to throw a ball at her [she was obsessed with tennis balls, he could care less.]  When she wanted to stop playing she would go to her bed and he knew to stay away. 

 

Brenda's been gone since 2014 and he still will NOT go up on her couch. They NEVER engaged in growling or fighting of any kind.  He respected her and I adored them both.

 

The day she passed he put his nose on her nose and through some sort of magic language they said "goodbye and thank you" to each other.  I'd like to bring another Successor home for Horton to have in his life.  I just have to plan it.  Honestly, I'm NOT ready to make him the Number 2 dog.  He's still my Number 1.     

What did you do with Brenda if you had to travel after you retired her?  Halo just turned 4 and I know he is a long way away from that, but it is probably my biggest concern.

 

Linda and Halo

[rangeley]

On 7/16/2019 at 3:12 PM, S.S. Cruisers said:

Don't we all!  The difference with kids is that they can at least express themselves.  Jezzy Lou has been doing some out of the ordinary things.  It makes us wonder if she has/is getting dementia.  She usually does not let one of us out of her site.  Lately we find her in the den by herself.  She also lays outside of Travis' room and when one of us opens the door she will go in and stay with him, sometimes for hours. Never has done that.  She would go in and stay for a few minutes, check things out and come back out.  I went in to get her to lick the ice cream bowl and she wouldn't even come out for that.  Now this girl does not miss an ice cream bowl lick.  I keep watching her.  ❤️ 

Wow!  But they do have their senior moments. I'd keep an eye on her. 👀

[rangeley]

2 hours ago, rpclmc said:

My favorite place is Half Moon Cay hands down.  I go in November with my daughter.

 

Linda and Halo

Nice! John says we should just stay there for the week and he'd be happy. 

[rangeley]

23 hours ago, wizard-of-roz said:

Brenda was tough.  She didn't like dogs.  If she was around them she would lunge for them, pulling on her leash and practically pulling me off my feet.   She had actually graduated with a woman in a wheelchair who had her for 3 months and called CCI to come and get her because she couldn't handle her.  Brenda was full of "attitude" and although she was extremely quick to learn new commands she was very stubborn.  CCI recognized her brilliance and felt she deserved to go out into the world to make a difference in someone's life. 

 

I went to CCI looking for a dog leader in my life and she was on her last chance before becoming a "Change of Career Dog."  She and I were a perfect match, our personalities were so similar! 

 

CCI felt I could handle Brenda and for 10 years she worked beside me at my job and had finished 15 cruises.  We were great for each other!  You all know how I felt about her.  She was my hero!!!!!  She and my husband Morey became very close and until he passed away they were great buddies.  She lived to be 14.

 

When Brenda needed to retire, I was really concerned about bringing another dog into our home.  What a perfect dog to graduate with......Horton.....  His personality is so chill, warm and friendly that she allowed him to live with us because he, in no way, was going to infringe on her space without doing it with love.  She would push him with her nose in the direction that she wanted him to go and he would GO and he was twice her size! 

 

He would try and engage her in play and she would give him a "look", poke him slightly with her nose and he would immediately back off.  Sometimes she would allow him to throw a ball at her [she was obsessed with tennis balls, he could care less.]  When she wanted to stop playing she would go to her bed and he knew to stay away. 

 

Brenda's been gone since 2014 and he still will NOT go up on her couch. They NEVER engaged in growling or fighting of any kind.  He respected her and I adored them both.

 

The day she passed he put his nose on her nose and through some sort of magic language they said "goodbye and thank you" to each other.  I'd like to bring another Successor home for Horton to have in his life.  I just have to plan it.  Honestly, I'm NOT ready to make him the Number 2 dog.  He's still my Number 1.     

Awwwww tears in my eyes. I remember it all like it was yesterday. We learned from eachother about transitioning the 2 dogs together. We got Wex and had Bailee here. She certainly did not want to like him. Especially after she had gotten attacked by that Joe dog we had for a few days. That was not meant to be because Wex was waiting for us. You never know whats going to happen in life. And you certainly can't prepare for it. 

[wizard-of-roz]

3 hours ago, rpclmc said:

Do you think that is because our doggies can't verbally communicate to us?  And, I know Halo does this, does not show his extent of pain?

 

I hope that is it.  I use that reasoning so I don't feel guilty about not feeling so guilty about how I raised Riki.

 

Linda and Halo

The Vet explained to me that dogs in particular are extremely brave when it comes to pain.  Most dogs will take a lot of pain and not complain.  We generally won't know if something is truly wrong with them unless we do a thorough exam ourselves.  Not like some humans who complain and whine about every little thing!!!!!  

[wizard-of-roz]

3 hours ago, rpclmc said:

What did you do with Brenda if you had to travel after you retired her?  Halo just turned 4 and I know he is a long way away from that, but it is probably my biggest concern.

 

Linda and Halo

My husband [Morey] and Brenda became very close.  She stayed home with him as Horton and I went off to my job together.  Brenda passed 10 months after Morey.  I'm sure she missed him but as the Vet explained to me;  a 14 year old dog really wants to sleep 20 hours a day and her days were spent on her couch sleeping. 

 

I would have NEVER left Brenda if I felt she was depressed or sad about being alone.  I could have asked a family member or friend if she could spend the day with them or I would have brought her to work with Horton and me.

 

Also, CCI may be able to help with a retirement home for your senior dog.   There are actually folks in our communities who have Senior Retirement Homes for dogs.  These amazing people see the senior dog into death.  How amazing are they?  I couldn't imagine not having my dog with me.  There are some folks who don't have a choice and must find a retirement home for their dog.  I respect their very difficult decision. 

 

Remember:  The law actually allows us to have 2 Service Dogs.  Each dog may perform individual tasks for their owners.  

[wizard-of-roz]

1 hour ago, rangeley said:

Awwwww tears in my eyes. I remember it all like it was yesterday. We learned from eachother about transitioning the 2 dogs together. We got Wex and had Bailee here. She certainly did not want to like him. Especially after she had gotten attacked by that Joe dog we had for a few days. That was not meant to be because Wex was waiting for us. You never know whats going to happen in life. And you certainly can't prepare for it. 

I still remember the frustration in your writings when you were waiting to go to Team Training for Wexy.  And, how excited you were when you came home with him.  Wasn't that yesterday?

 

Enjoy your days and moments with Oakland and each other!

[rpclmc]

1 hour ago, wizard-of-roz said:

My husband [Morey] and Brenda became very close.  She stayed home with him as Horton and I went off to my job together.  Brenda passed 10 months after Morey.  I'm sure she missed him but as the Vet explained to me;  a 14 year old dog really wants to sleep 20 hours a day and her days were spent on her couch sleeping. 

 

I would have NEVER left Brenda if I felt she was depressed or sad about being alone.  I could have asked a family member or friend if she could spend the day with them or I would have brought her to work with Horton and me.

 

Also, CCI may be able to help with a retirement home for your senior dog.   There are actually folks in our communities who have Senior Retirement Homes for dogs.  These amazing people see the senior dog into death.  How amazing are they?  I couldn't imagine not having my dog with me.  There are some folks who don't have a choice and must find a retirement home for their dog.  I respect their very difficult decision. 

 

Remember:  The law actually allows us to have 2 Service Dogs.  Each dog may perform individual tasks for their owners.  

Halo is not CCI.  I totally did not know that I could have 2 service dogs.  

 

Depending on where my daughter is living and what she is doing, he might retire in her home; she just adores him.  If that didn't work, I really didn't know how I would live at my two different place - Florida and Idaho - and transport him.  But if I can still fly him, even in retirement he will still be able to perform getting items for me, just not helping me with mobility - more physical.

 

He wasn't trained to block, but I did decide to start taking 1 client dog for dog sitting at my place (I used to take several at a time, but with my mobility and fear of being knocked down, I stopped.  I now feel ok with one).  The other day a dog was running fast toward me (not aggressively, excitedly) and Halo got in between us and blocked the dog from getting too close.  I really felt good about my decision to start watching dogs again.  I sure missed them.

 

Linda and Halo

[rpclmc]

3 hours ago, rangeley said:

Nice! John says we should just stay there for the week and he'd be happy. 

I wouldn't mind missing the port at this stop.

 

Linda and Halo

[wizard-of-roz]

2 hours ago, rpclmc said:

Halo is not CCI.  I totally did not know that I could have 2 service dogs.  

 

Depending on where my daughter is living and what she is doing, he might retire in her home; she just adores him.  If that didn't work, I really didn't know how I would live at my two different place - Florida and Idaho - and transport him.  But if I can still fly him, even in retirement he will still be able to perform getting items for me, just not helping me with mobility - more physical.

 

He wasn't trained to block, but I did decide to start taking 1 client dog for dog sitting at my place (I used to take several at a time, but with my mobility and fear of being knocked down, I stopped.  I now feel ok with one).  The other day a dog was running fast toward me (not aggressively, excitedly) and Halo got in between us and blocked the dog from getting too close.  I really felt good about my decision to start watching dogs again.  I sure missed them.

 

Linda and Halo

Good job Halo.  Amazing how they know just what to do.  

 

Brenda used to place herself in between someone standing near me and herself.  Horton doesn't do this.  And, she ALWAYS had to be facing the elevator door.  She would walk in and turn herself around.  She actually hated elevators and floating staircases.

[rangeley]

9 hours ago, wizard-of-roz said:

Good job Halo.  Amazing how they know just what to do.  

 

Brenda used to place herself in between someone standing near me and herself.  Horton doesn't do this.  And, she ALWAYS had to be facing the elevator door.  She would walk in and turn herself around.  She actually hated elevators and floating staircases.

Wexler absolutely hated any glass elevators. I'm right there with him. Lol  He would be fine in a regular elevator. Floating staircase... Nope. Tried to get him a few steps on NCL, he wanted no part of it. 

[rpclmc]

What is a floating staircase?

 

Halo loves the glass elevators, he loves to watch out it.  He hates escalators; since I am in a wheelchair he really doesn't have to but during training, he didn't refuse, but he hesitated.  He is very treat motivated.

 

Linda and Halo

[wizard-of-roz]

8 hours ago, rpclmc said:

What is a floating staircase?

 

Halo loves the glass elevators, he loves to watch out it.  He hates escalators; since I am in a wheelchair he really doesn't have to but during training, he didn't refuse, but he hesitated.  He is very treat motivated.

 

Linda and Halo

They're very common on cruise ships.  It's any staircase that you can see through the back of.  The stairs actually look like they're floating.

 

On Horton's very first cruise it was so much fun to take the beautiful staircases and use the glass elevators.  I had gotten so used to avoiding both of them because Brenda hated them.

 

Also, it was so much easier when we were in a shopping mall or entering the Princess Reception area in L.A. because part of Horton's training was the use of escalator's.  It took CCI a long time to start training their pups to use escalator's. 

[Cruisefanatic71]

I am traveling this December to the Bahamas with my family and my daughters service dog. I have emailed the Bahams on the email they have on their website asking about the fee for a service dog and I was wondering if this was the correct email address. The address I sent it to was : minagriculturemarine@bahamas.gov.bs

I have not heard back from them at this point. I was also inquiring how far out from my cruise date should I send in the application and am I able to fax it over via sending it over UPS/FEDEX? Thank you for your help. This will be the first time cruising with Teddy and I am trying to ensure it is as seamless as possible for my wife not to worry about it. 

[wizard-of-roz]

1 hour ago, Cruisefanatic71 said:

I am traveling this December to the Bahamas with my family and my daughters service dog. I have emailed the Bahams on the email they have on their website asking about the fee for a service dog and I was wondering if this was the correct email address. The address I sent it to was : minagriculturemarine@bahamas.gov.bs

I have not heard back from them at this point. I was also inquiring how far out from my cruise date should I send in the application and am I able to fax it over via sending it over UPS/FEDEX? Thank you for your help. This will be the first time cruising with Teddy and I am trying to ensure it is as seamless as possible for my wife not to worry about it. 

Go online to:   Bahamas Pet Import Permit.  This is also for Service Dogs.  This site should be helpful in answering all your questions as well as being able to apply online.

[wizard-of-roz]

Happy Weekend everyone.  Stay cool!!!! 

 

Please remember that our dogs need to be in the shade, with lots of water and be careful of the hot cement, asphalt and gravel.    

[Cruisefanatic71]

1 hour ago, wizard-of-roz said:

Go online to:   Bahamas Pet Import Permit.  This is also for Service Dogs.  This site should be helpful in answering all your questions as well as being able to apply online.

Thank you. I will take a look at the site this weekend.