Houseboat Pets - animals like cats and dogs enjoy living aboard house boats?

Houseboat Pets - animals like cats and dogs enjoy living aboard house boats?

by Gilly
(From CA, now in FA)

Houseboat Pets - Do animals like cats and dogs enjoy it?

We're looking at houseboat pets, and do animals like cats and dogs enjoy living aboard house boats? The reason we ask is, my fiance and I are considering buying and living on a houseboat in the Florida Keys.

We're really excited at the prospect of the new lifestyle, however we/I have a (very well behaved) 6 year old, 50 pound shepperd/mutt and 3 dog-like cats. Is it ridiculous to think the 5 of us could live happily on the water?

And what about hurricane season? We would live in a rented live-aboard slip, as the houseboat we are considering does not currently have a motor. We're pretty green at this (however we are both familiar with boats and water, and have surfed our whole lives), but we're adventurous and want to give it a go....

I'm looking for advice from anyone who has it! Has anybody here lived on a houseboat, with pets? Known someone who has? What should we expect? Is it do-able? Or fair to the animals?

Thanks for any help, Gilly.

Reply - Answer
Well Gilly, welcome to the houseboat forums, and glad to hear that you want to bring your cats and dogs with you on your houseboat adventure.

Now, possibly my opinion is a little biased, since the picture above is of one of my dogs (don't laugh, she's a poodle) who goes everywhere in the boat with me. We actually have two dogs (both poodles, I know, my wife wanted poodles) and they love living on the boat.

They love the water, swimming, fishing, taking the afternoon snoozes in the sun, and they both sleep like babies on the boat, even in bad weather.

As a matter of fact, in my next life, I'm coming back as a poodle, as they have a great life, no payments, no worries, daddy takes them fishing all the time, and some nights they get to be rocked to sleep with us on our bed. I don't know about you, but it sounds like the "good life" to me :)

Now before I lose my "macho manly image" with my readers, I have to say that I have had many dogs and cats, big and small, and they all enjoyed the boating life. I think it has to do with the energy and karma that is transmitted from the owner/master. If you're comfortable and not nervous around boats, neither are they.

Now from a safety point of view, even though my dogs love to swim, and are great swimmers, I always throw on their life jackets, since in the dinghy, they tend to casually walk around the exterior of the tubes as I am flying around the lake, this way, if they fall in unexpectedly, there's no panic.

The life jackets go on around the houseboat, since we are the last dock/slip at the end, and I find that if they jump in the water, they can't get back out, since the docks and boat freeboards are too high, so they seem to just go round and round swimming looking for a way out, and if there is one nearby, they would swim endlessly until there is somebody to pluck them out.

And for some reason, dogs and cats always seem to want to get out of the water, in the general vicinity where they went in, which isn't a problem if they went in via the shore, but not when they go in by jumping or falling off a dock.

Like I previously said, they have a great life, and my wife spoiled them at PetSmart, she bought them special non-spill bowls, a boat dog house, special steps to get up on the bed, and my wife also got them some great water toys.

As you can probably tell, my opinion is a little biased, since I love our dogs, and they truly love living on the boat, I am however also curious as to how other houseboaters experiences have turned out with their pets? If you have pets other than cats or dogs of course, do tell us about it also.

Lastly, hopefully some of our readers will share and post comments about their houseboat pets or animals experiences on board. Feel free to use the "Click here to post comments." link found near the bottom of this page.

Thanks again for sharing, IAN - from www.all-about-houseboats.com

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Houseboat Pets - animals like cats and dogs enjoy living aboard house boats?

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Question for Russell about Congo African Grey
by: Anonymous

This question is for Russell or any other person who has experience with birds on boats.

I was very excited to hear that you had a Congo African Grey parrot on your live aboard boat! I am thinking of saving money and moving onto my 25-foot sailboat with my CAG. I live in Southern California.

My main question or conern is how to keep him warm enough in the winter. I have an electric space heater with a thermostat, but several people have cautioned me against leaving it turned on while I am not on the boat in case of fire.

How do you keep your CAG warm enough?

Thanks! Sunny So Cal :>)

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Moose the Aqua Dog
by: Anonymous

I've taken my yorkie (moose) out on my friends Beneteau sailboat a bunch of times, and the little guy is normally terrified of water but he loves being on the boat, probably becasue he catches on to the fact that we're having a good time so he decides to have a good time too.

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Houseboat Live Aboard Pets
by: Anonymous

We have been live aboards for 6 years ...... and have two bichon frise (girls).... they are both pee pee pad trained, and love the boat.

Since they are both small (9 lb and 14lb), they love to run from one end of the boat to the other playing ball. They love to go in the dinghy, but wear lifejackets. They love the boat and are very comfortable with their "retired" lifestyle.

We have had a couple of OOPS ........ someone fell overboard ......... usually a missed step when jumping off the boat to dock ........ we wear harnesses on both, and the boat hook fetches them back.

The girls love to swim as long as we are in the water ...... they love going in the dinghy.

We also had a canary for a few years ........ he sang constantly ...... loved the sound of the water especially when we went through locks.

I would recommend pets on board ...... we have friends that have their cats on board and never had a problem. Since cats don't need to be walked, they can be easier than dogs to have on board.

I have been told that be careful when your small dogs are swimming ........ BIG FISH like little paws .......

Reply - Answer
Thanks for sharing your live aboard pet story with us.

IAN from www.all-about-houseboats.com

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Houseboat Pets and Animals
by: Russell

Don't let anything discourage you from having your pets. I went for 9 years without an animal because we traveled across international borders.

I know other boaters who had pets traveling all over the islands but since we had no animals I never asked them about travel restrictions.

Now, we went ashore for about a year and a half. During this time we got a Congo African Gray parrot. She is sitting on my shoulder as I write and watching for spelling errors.

We have had her aboard our houseboat for about four months. The only problem we have had is the local hawk. We can't take her up on deck because this resident hawk has swooped down at her twice.

Other than that we let her have the run of the living room and she wanders into the galley whenever she hears the pots and dishes. She is potty trained and returns to her "potty" from wherever she is on the boat to do her business.

That is unless she is mad at me. This morning I trimmed her nails and cut one a bit to short and it bled quite heavily for about half an hour. I finally grabbed a box of cornstarch and made her stand in it.

The bleeding stopped in seconds. Then she was mad at me and decided to forego one of her potty breaks. Okay, I guess I deserved that one.

Cats do very well on boats. Dogs require a bit more attention and walking also helps. I knew a couple who had three huge dogs aboard a sailboat. This was a mistake. The boats living conditions were less than desirable.

As for getting a live aboard slip in the Keys. I would do some serious checking into that. Take NO ONE'S word on any availability.

If you do not hear it from the very person who has the slip, don't believe it. Don't send money without going down and physically seeing the slip and owner.

Most of the marinas were destroyed in the "05" hurricane season and have not been replaced. Most were sold to investors and are no longer operating.

Faro Blanco is no longer there and several others are also sitting empty. I have heard of people renting slips, trailers and houses that are not there or that the renter didn't own.

My daughter had someone offer her a house for $1,000 a month. They said for her to send the first month and a $500 security deposit to them at their South African address.

I told her not to do it because she didn't even know them. When she refused they offered to drop the price and the security deposit if she would send $600 within three days. It was a scam.

Check with the local tax office to see if the person is the real owner or at least their representive. A real home owner will not mind you checking them out.

Just a thought... Russell

Reply - Answer
Well Russell, thanks a million for the great information on pets, dock slips, and property. And by the way, you should enter your Congo African Gray parrot in a "spelling bee", she'd win first place :)

IAN from www.all-about-houseboats.com

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Submitted by: Russell

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Don't let anything discourage you from having your pets. I went for 9 years without an animal because we traveled across international borders. I know other boaters who had pets traveling all over the islands but since we had no animals I never asked them about travel restrictions. Now, we went ashore for about a year and a half. During this time we got a Congo African Gray parrot. She is sitting on my shoulder as I write and watching for spelling errors. We have had her aboard our houseboat for about four months. The only problem we have had is the local hawk. We can't take her up on deck because this resident hawk has swooped down at her twice. Other than that we let her have the run of the living room and she wanders into the galley whenever she hears the pots and dishes. She is potty trained and returns to her "potty" from wherever she is on the boat to do her business. That is unless she is mad at me. This morning I trimmed her nails and cut one a bit to short and it bled quite heavily for about half an hour. I finally grabbed a box of cornstarch and made her stand in it. The bleeding stopped in seconds. Then she was mad at me and decided to forego one of her potty breaks. Okay, I guess I deserved that one. Cats do very well on boats. Dogs require a bit more attention and walking also helps. I knew a couple who had three huge dogs aboard a sailboat. This was a mistake. The boats living conditions were less than desirable. As for getting a live aboard slip in the Keys. I would do some serious checking into that. Take NO ONE'S word on any availability. If you do not hear it from the very person who has the slip, don't believe it. Don't send money without going down and physically seeing the slip and owner. Most of the marinas were destroyed in the "05" hurricane season and have not been replaced. Most were sold to investors and are no longer operating. Faro Blanco is no longer there and several others are also sitting empty. I have heard of people renting slips, trailers and houses that are not there or that the renter didn't own. My daughter had someone offer her a house for $1,000 a month. They said for her to send the first month and a $500 security deposit to them at their South African address. I told her not to do it because she didn't even know them. When she refused they offered to drop the price and the security deposit if she would send $600 within three days. It was a scam. Check with the local tax office to see if the person is the real owner or at least their representive. A real home owner will not mind you checking them out. Just a thought... Russell <b>Reply - Answer</b> Well Russell, thanks a million for the great information on pets, dock slips, and property. And by the way, you should enter your Congo African Gray parrot in a "spelling bee", she'd win first place :) IAN from www.all-about-houseboats.com

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Pets and Boats
by: Lindy

We live year round on board our 42 foot Tri Cabin Trawler with our Papillon pup, Max. He is now over a year old and has lived on board since he was 8 weeks. We have never had any problem with him being on board.

He has an artificial turf area on the stern for going potty. He kayaks with us and loves to go ashore in the dinghy. He has never been sick in rough seas. We also have a Russian Tortoise who roams the deck when weather permits.

We keep up-to-date health certificates for both pets on board for international travel.

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Houseboat Pets - animals like cats and dogs enjoy living aboard house boats?

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Houseboat Pets - animals like cats and dogs enjoy living aboard house boats?