Dog boarding solution?

[robertcl]

Hi all,

I'm looking for some advise. I just got a 307 and am looking for a better way for getting my 90 lb Golden Retriever on and off the boat from a floating dock. I used to have an inboard boat with a swim platform and he would just step on the swim platform and walk through the transom door. This isn't so simple with a boat with outboard engines since the stern has to be much further from the dock with the engines tilted up. One idea is some sort of flat ramp from the transom door area straight back to the dock. It would have to be about 6ft long or maybe more to reach back to the dock. Another idea is a step on the finger pier and a step in the boat. This will be tricky because the finger pier is quite narrow and might slid a bit and become dangerous. Anyone else have a similar situation and a decent solution short of breaking your back lifting the dog?

Thanks, Bob

 

[drbatts]

I don't know exactly what your finger dock situation is. I have 2 goldens and both just hop up and over the gunnel and into the boat from the finger dock no problem. I have a 265 express so they have a large area to jump into. they can also hop out without a problem never needed a step. My biggest problem is getting them in the boat from the water or the beach without a transom door. I assume you are backing into the slip. could you pull in bow first and have him jump or load him in that way?

 

[Tashmoo]

Same problem here, my one year old golden is fine once he is on the boat but he will not board over the swim area through the transom door no matter how close I pull the boat to the dock. I do not want to teach him to jump the gunwale as I had another golden that figured that out and not being the brightest bulb in the circuit if he saw a duck, gull or sometimes even a lobster pot while underway over he would go. Problem was he had no concept of speed, 5-30 mph he did not care so I had to keep him leased while underway.

I am going to continue to work on my guy by cleating the off the stern tight to the finger and try to get him to make the step over onto the transom platform. I am also going to try it by putting another dog on board that he loves to play with and see if that motivates him to take the step.

I will check in and let you know if anything works, please do the same.

 

[robertcl]

I don't know exactly what your finger dock situation is. I have 2 goldens and both just hop up and over the gunnel and into the boat from the finger dock no problem. I have a 265 express so they have a large area to jump into. they can also hop out without a problem never needed a step. My biggest problem is getting them in the boat from the water or the beach without a transom door. I assume you are backing into the slip. could you pull in bow first and have him jump or load him in that way?

My dock has a very narrow and short finger pier and I stern in. Bowing in wouldn't really help with my 307 due to the layout. Maybe the gunwales are a bit lower in your 265? BTW, I've seen some steps that hook onto the swim ladder for dogs getting out of the water but never tried one. I think it's called paws aboard

 

[robertcl]

Same problem here, my one year old golden is fine once he is on the boat but he will not board over the swim area through the transom door no matter how close I pull the boat to the dock. I do not want to teach him to jump the gunwale as I had another golden that figured that out and not being the brightest bulb in the circuit if he saw a duck, gull or sometimes even a lobster pot while underway over he would go. Problem was he had no concept of speed, 5-30 mph he did not care so I had to keep him leased while underway.

I am going to continue to work on my guy by cleating the off the stern tight to the finger and try to get him to make the step over onto the transom platform. I am also going to try it by putting another dog on board that he loves to play with and see if that motivates him to take the step.

I will check in and let you know if anything works, please do the same.

Will do. There has to be a bunch of people here with similar situations and hopefully some will chime in with what works for them.

 

[townvet]

A set of HOT TUB steps or wide plastic steps with a rubberized tread. Can teach the dog to slowly go up the steps and hop into the boat

 

[chub2000]

same problem here...i have a 150lb Saint Bernard and she loved my old diesel boat that had an easy swim platform

 

[journeyman]

Worth a look??? Standard ramp stretches from 39 inches to 6 feet.

Expensive, but I was thinking this would work for use in getting my baby in and out of my F-350. She's almost 16 and has arthritis issues.

http://www.orvis.com/store/product.aspx?pf_id=3713

 

[journeyman]

From one of the reviews on the site...

"The ramp is sturdy and I like the size and the fact that it folds up to a size small enough to store it in the back of the truck.
It didn't work on my particular style of truck. The incline was too steep for the dogs to feel comfortable climbing and descending.
It does however work GREAT on the boat. Easy for the dogs to enter and exit wherever we decided to dock."

 

[tilewave]

i know the topic is dog " boarding " but.... get a dog harness when dog is on boat, they have a handle on top. u can pick up the dog like luggage if they ever fall in water. learned the hard way how valuable this can be.

 

[robertcl]

Worth a look??? Standard ramp stretches from 39 inches to 6 feet.

Expensive, but I was thinking this would work for use in getting my baby in and out of my F-350. She's almost 16 and has arthritis issues.

http://www.orvis.com/store/product.aspx?pf_id=3713

Thanks, this looks pretty good. I wonder what the underside is made of and if it will slid to easily when the dog gets on it or scratch the boat. Would be nice if it was some kind of rubber non-skid.

 

[CWOT]

Worth a look??? Standard ramp stretches from 39 inches to 6 feet.

Expensive, but I was thinking this would work for use in getting my baby in and out of my F-350. She's almost 16 and has arthritis issues.

http://www.orvis.com/store/product.aspx?pf_id=3713

Thanks, this looks pretty good. I wonder what the underside is made of and if it will slid to easily when the dog gets on it or scratch the boat. Would be nice if it was some kind of rubber non-skid.

We have a similar ramp, the ramp folds which helps. Problem we had was that the ramp was slippery so we glued some carpet on.
That helped but one false step with a fall off the side and our dog freaked, never went near it again.

Ramp sits in the garage and the dog sits home.

 

[ahill]

Short of throwing the dog's fav toy in the boat and hope he follows, a secure ramp is the best solution.
I watched a lab at Sailfish Marina in Palm Beach jump off the boat chasing fish and climb back up the ladder.
Did it a number of times so I guess he was trained or learned on his own.

 

[wigginsboater]

These folks make a very nice ramp. It even floats and has optional legs for things like pools. I use the short one from my two Golden's on a GW 300 Marlin.

http://www.petstep.com/petstep-dog-ramp.htm

 

[marucomoruca]

Dog daycare is comparable to kid's daycare. These daycares is produced for the beloved pets. You should choose the full- facility with staff dog kennel for the best

 

[Grog]

I used to have a narrow finger to walk down, my dog fell in and all @$!@# broke loose. Wife was freaking, daughter was screaming, and the dog was swimming away from the ramp. It all ended well (he could have stood in most areas by the bulkhead) but he wouldn't go down the finger again.

The ramps look good but some dogs may freak when they look over the side. Is there a fuel dock or somewhere else you can pull up along-side?