Saturday, July 22, 2017

A Learned Treatise on Dogs on Boats

There follows below, a Learned Treatise on Dogs on (Canal) Boats and Their Owners, and as the author of said Treatise I shall commence by describing my credentials as an expert on the subject.

Our first DogonaBoat was Treacle, our dear little Jack Russell Terrier who we had not long after we got married about forty years ago. Treacle was small even by Jack Russell standards and had little of the bravery supposedly attributed to the breed. She once attempted a confrontation with one of our Guinea Pigs and came off much the worse. Rick and Marilyn invited us for a day out aboard Nb Amos, a converted Ice Breaker kindly lent by a friend of theirs. We travelled from Blisworth and went a long way down the Northampton Arm before turning and going back. Treacle wasn't at all sure about the boat and was keen to join us on the bank while we worked down the many locks. At one of the locks the crew of us and our various children elected to reboard the boat to get to the next lock, which, knowing the flight, couldn't have been very far. Unfortunately we forgot to tell Treacle who was left stranded on the bank, so we called to her, intending that she should follow along the towpath. After a moment's thought she remembered her obedience training and decided she ought to follow us, so against all her instincts she plunged into the water and struck out after the disappearing boat. Her little dogy paddle swimming style was admirable and before long she caught us up and was scooped aboard, never to go near water again.

Our second DogonaBoat was ten years later. Jaz was our gentle and clever Sheltie who had an inbuilt dislike of water. Well with all that long hair I suppose she would. We hired a boat from Weltonfield and cruised down through Braunston and the Oxford canal, getting about as far as Enslow. I don't remember if we had a day without heavy rain, but I think not. Having a bedraggled Sheltie on a carpeted boat is not something I'd recommend, not that she was particularly bedraggled by the rain, more by frequent accidental plunges into the canal as she attempted to herd the ducks. She was a sheepdog after all. She fell off the deck, the roof, AND the gunnel (yes she was stupid enough to attempt that). Her first plunge actually took place before we had actually set off from the hire base, as we were loading our gear onto the boat. But her most spectacular plunge was off the footway across the bottom lock gates at I think maybe Cropredy. She decided to follow me across, then half way thought better of it and attempted to do an about turn. There being insufficient room of course she dived several feet into the canal below. Well she survived to tell the tale and on the return journey she did do something to impress us all. Coming back through Fenny Tunnel (which boaters will know is no longer a tunnel at all but a narrow cutting), we were so close to the bank that she assumed we we about to disembark so she jumped ashore. The boat and its crew continued on, leaving her stranded. Would she do a Treacle? Not Jaz. She thought for a minute then raced along the bank ahead of us and waited at the next bridge. Clever or what?

Moving on many years I won't dwell on the SomebodyelsesDogonsomebodyelsesBoat, except to say that we have survived a number of Thames Tideway thrillers in the company of a large number of large Greyhounds aboard Nb IndigoDream. I think I'm right in recalling there being five of them on board on the trip to Gravesend. More on Greyhounds later.

So we come right up to date with our dog sitting trip this week with Ronnie, our Claire's Chihuahua/ Yorkie cross. Rarely has a DogonaBoat attracted so much attention. I have completely lost count of the number of people who have come up to admire him. Despite never having been near a canal before, he has not fallen or jumped in once, although he has had many opportunities. If I walk between locks he follows me dutifully like a, um, er well like a little dog. Returning to the boat after a walk, once he sees it, he runs ahead to our boat and sits at the rear, waiting to be lifted aboard. What a sweetie. Kath won't want to give him back.

So you can see I am practically a world authority on dogs on boats and I await the call from the people who nominate the judges at Crufts. And so on to my Leaned Treatise on Dogs on(canal) Boats and their Owners, where I shall analyse the most popular breeds and the types of people who own them. However, looking back at the amount I have already written and being aware of the short attention span of readers these days, I'll save that for tomorrow.

1 comment:

Marilyn, nb Waka Huia said...

I keep inviting dogs we see as we cruise along to come and be our boat dog. Sometimes the dogs look interested, and sometimes the owners are keen. But when it comes down to it, following something around waiting for it to poo and then scooping that up in a plastic bag and carrying it to a bin is too big a price to pay for having the companionship of a dog on board.
Anyway, we have Mel - he is a real (stuffed) goat of Australian descent but with NZ citizenship. He travels on the boat and doesn't need to get off to pee or poo and he never needs feeding. No whining to get out/off/on/up/down.
Let me know and I will see if I can find something similar for Kath - I promise she will find it just as cuddly and much more satisfactory as a crew member.
Cheers, Marilyn