• Practice swimming and rescue drills with your pet. Parrow had already trained her pups to paddle to a swimming platform so they could be helped back on board. "You have to figure things out in advance," she said. "What would you do if. . ." Fill in the blank, then make a plan. Pet and owner should practice drills on a nice day, when it's "play," so everyone knows the procedure.
Pet-overboard drills should also include what to do when underway. As Ed Johnson, who lives aboard his boat at Washington's Gangplank Marina, points out, "A sailboat pulling a dog overboard on a lead attached to a PFD is not quite the same as dragging a pooch two feet behind the props on a cigarette boat doing 40 knots." Frank Fitzpatrick of Rockville has trained his Labrador, Max, to grasp a mouth-size float on a rope so that the dog can be pulled to shore if he falls overboard.
• While docked, rig up a self-rescue system, such as a coiled line or carpet strip hanging into the water at each corner of the boat, to make it easier for an overboard cat to climb back on. A fishnet with a long handle is also helpful in scooping up a drenched cat or small dog.
On Board
• If you must tether your pet, do so in a secure area on a short lead. A body harness with a lifting strap is helpful when your pet is tethered. Never tether a pet at the neck, and never leave a tethered pet unattended on deck or dock.
• Provide traction on deck. There's an ongoing debate over whether wooden decks are better than fiberglass. "Fiberglass is slippery by nature, and even worse after we spend hours waxing it," said Blaine Parks, who cruises full time with his wife and two golden retrievers. The Parkses use ordinary bathroom throw rugs with non-slip backings to help with the dogs' footing. They've even snapped indoor/outdoor carpeting to the floor of their dinghy to give their dogs better traction on bouncy trips to shore.
• Provide steps or ramps for dogs who have trouble navigating companionway ladders. Cats can navigate anything.
• Provide a shady place so your pet can get out of the sun, and find a way to protect their paw pads from hot decks by either cooling the deck with water or making a piece of nonskid carpet available.
• Make sure your pet has a chance to exercise. Cats tend to get all the exercise they need by crawling up, over and through spaces on a boat, but dogs, especially larger ones, need to get rid of pent-up energy. While occasional trips to shore in the dinghy are preferable, they're not always feasible. Parks and his wife use stretching exercises and physical therapy on their golden retrievers to keep the blood flowing. Landry spends 30 minutes throwing a Frisbee to his dogs before setting out on the water.
Swimming is good exercise for dogs, but water conditions and the dog's stamina must be carefully monitored. "Dogs won't tell you when they're tired, so you have to listen to their breathing and watch their strokes," said Landry. He recommends hydrating dogs before letting them in the water -- otherwise they'll drink from the river, lake or bay, and "you end up with a sick dog." Landry has trained his dogs to drink from sports bottles, which are easy to carry on his kayak.
The Scoop on Poop
• Cats have two options: an anchored litter box or using the "head" (the toilet on a boat). Don't laugh. Training a cat to straddle a toilet seat requires tremendous patience, but it can be done.
• For dogs, a box of sod or a piece of AstroTurf may work as a substitute when landfall is not possible. Some people simply train their dogs to go on the bow, giving a whole new meaning to the term "poop deck," but this practice is hazardous in rough water. Whatever method you choose, be sure your pet understands what is expected before setting out.
Going Ashore
• Before pulling up to dock or shore, check ahead -- some marinas (such as the Washington Sailing Marina) do not allow pets, and many parks and wildlife areas do not permit pets ashore.
