Motorhoming with The Dog - Where to Go? (1 Viewer)

[IanRJ]

Hi Folks

This might at first seem a silly question, but our dog (a Border Collie) is a big part of our lives, has been travelling with us for the last 6 years through Europe and spending quite a bit of time in Southern Spain. It's been great having him with us, and so far we have had few locations where he is not welcome, but to be honest we have lately found ourselves limited in what we can do and where we can visit compared to what we would like to do and see. In the past Sue and I used to tour Europe by motorcycle, getting to visit lots of sites and spots often inaccessible by regular vehicles. We particularly loved chateaux and castles and the like, and we sort of gave that up when we got the dog.

Now as motorhomers, we still love the freedom and find lots of spots with beaches, lakes and rivers, ideal for dogs, but it's usually not possible for us to visit those historic and special sites anymore (castles etc) without leaving the 'lad' in the van - probably for longer periods where we need to take local transport to the sites. We are happy to leave him for a couple or three hours at a time, but where the possibility exists that we might get stuck away from the van for whatever reason, we choose not to do it.

So recently, instead of beating ourselves up about missing out on those types of places, we thought we would turn the tables, and look for places that are great for dogs as a first issue, yet also have something for us too. The kind of place I was considering was the Scottish 500, or North / South Ireland as examples, but anywhere in Europe would be fine too. I have a hankering to visit Saxon Switzerland National Park, for instance, I'm sure dogs would be fine around the park but getting into the actual stones and structures will probably be off-limits to animals - though probably easier to park a van close to the site rather than having to leave it in a campsite somewhere.

I'm certain others will have had the same or similar experience as us and looked for / found how to get the best out of travelling with their dog?

Your suggestions and comments would be very gratefully received!

Cheers

Ian

 

[DBK]

We had a year without a dog and did lots of cathedrals etc in that time but since being "re-dogged" with Charlie then the historic stuff has been less frequent.

We've found the best idea is to visit such places while travelling. By that I mean not mounting an expedition from a campsite or wherever but to do the visit while driving during the day. This only means finding somewhere to park not somewhere to overnight and the options are usually wider and closer to the place you want to visit.

But we do have a PVC which is relatively easy to park.

 

[IanRJ]

That's a good suggestion John. Seems we don't actually get to those places unless we plan and organise the hell out of the journey though . At 8m the van does fit lots of car parks of course, but I'm sufficiently sensitive to others I don't like to take-over several spaces unless it's right on the edges of the park or others are doing similar. I like my van and my fun, but I'm unhappy if I come over as inconsiderate to others! Thanks for your input John.

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[ambulancekidd]

Hi Folks

This might at first seem a silly question, but our dog (a Border Collie) is a big part of our lives, has been travelling with us for the last 6 years through Europe and spending quite a bit of time in Southern Spain. It's been great having him with us, and so far we have had few locations where he is not welcome, but to be honest we have lately found ourselves limited in what we can do and where we can visit compared to what we would like to do and see. In the past Sue and I used to tour Europe by motorcycle, getting to visit lots of sites and spots often inaccessible by regular vehicles. We particularly loved chateaux and castles and the like, and we sort of gave that up when we got the dog.

Now as motorhomers, we still love the freedom and find lots of spots with beaches, lakes and rivers, ideal for dogs, but it's usually not possible for us to visit those historic and special sites anymore (castles etc) without leaving the 'lad' in the van - probably for longer periods where we need to take local transport to the sites. We are happy to leave him for a couple or three hours at a time, but where the possibility exists that we might get stuck away from the van for whatever reason, we choose not to do it.

So recently, instead of beating ourselves up about missing out on those types of places, we thought we would turn the tables, and look for places that are great for dogs as a first issue, yet also have something for us too. The kind of place I was considering was the Scottish 500, or North / South Ireland as examples, but anywhere in Europe would be fine too. I have a hankering to visit Saxon Switzerland National Park, for instance, I'm sure dogs would be fine around the park but getting into the actual stones and structures will probably be off-limits to animals - though probably easier to park a van close to the site rather than having to leave it in a campsite somewhere.

I'm certain others will have had the same or similar experience as us and looked for / found how to get the best out of travelling with their dog?

Your suggestions and comments would be very gratefully received!

Cheers

Ian

We don't go anywhere that our border collie's can't go, so I can clearly see your problem.

We've found that dogs are allowed in most of the pubs or foody places in the Lake District.
South west Scotland is similar, lots of ancient sites & castles to visit & some very dog friendly towns etc, Castle Douglas is especially dog friendly.

Frankly I feel that places who ban dogs are missing a trick & UK motorway service stations are a disgrace, your unable to leave your dogs in a hot car & they're not allowed into the buildings, so if you want to eat, your limited to fag ash city eating area's outside & smokers have an awesome ability to sit where their filthy reek blows in non smokers faces (oops I digress, rant over).

 

[IanRJ]

Thanks for that Robert, good thought - and I agree with your sentiments entirely!

 

[138go]

We're in the National Trust. Virtually all their grounds allow dogs and there are some fabulous places to explore. The National Trust beaches are also usually dog friendly.

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[IanRJ]

Good point Vicky thanks. I'm more looking for a general area with attractions (for us and the lad) but of course, there are NT and all over UK.

 

[7735]

We just take our dog into pubs, we don’t ask, if they say no dogs we say goodbye. Simples! Eventually when they realise how much revenue they are missing they will get the message.
spongy

 

[Mrsambulancekidd]

We really need to see a photo of your boy, maybe you could make him your avatar.

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[CazPaul]

We like quiet CLs for this lady and gentleman.

 

[Speve]

We found Orkney was very good and also did Denmark and Sweden with our two. Also good sites without hassle and lots of places to visit with the boys?

 

[Reallyretired]

We have two border collies, and although they can be left for a few hours we work around them. We find almost all places in France welcome dogs, Spain a bit less.
If we want to look round a building and are on foot with the dogs we do so one at a time, seems to work for us. We do avoid cities though this has nothing to do with the dogs, just don't like them or crowds of people.

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[tonyidle]

I have two Whippets & a Vizsla all of whom are happy in the van alone for three hours or so - long enough for many visits to places they can't go. We close blinds where they might be triggered by people / other dogs / local wildlife but normally when we sneak up for a look when we return they're sleeping in heaps . We don't do cities either.

 

[Mark and Mindy]

We also have 2 dogs, as in the avatar, but our problem is with our terrier (she with the teddy bear face!), being fear aggressive which is triggered very easily by just being able to see another dog it means that going into a pub is a total no-no for us. We can't run the risk of another dog being present and most dog owners take exception at seeing a dog in full on aggressive mode complete with snarling and foaming at the mouth.
Yes, she's muzzled and yes, totally under our control but it makes a stressful situation all round and now we accept that we can't necessarily do everything we might like to together but we can split up and one of us stay in the van with the dogs while the other goes off to see things they like and then swap over another time.
Its a shame because Harry Schnoodle loves people and dogs (as long as it isn't a dog walking pack) and we can happily take him anywhere.

 

[IanRJ]

Thank you all for your input, very useful and confidence-inspiring. I think we will adopt some of your suggestions.

Visiting the Lakes and some of the other areas mentioned sounds like a great plan, some of my work is in Denmark and Norway so I know those areas relatively well, though I hadn't considered them for a trip!

A really great suggestion though was to make visits to attractions (castles etc) a part of the days' route, rather than getting to a campsite, parking up and then using local transport to make a visit somewhere. Stopping off at an attraction and letting Barney stay in the van for a couple of hours at a time - even splitting up and looking around separately if essential.

We already enjoy the dog being welcome in pubs and other places across Europe.

My sympathies with those who have an animal with a disadvantage (aggressive or poorly mobile etc.), Barney is Epileptic and has seizures regularly. Luckily they are always at a similar time, very early morning or very late at night, so we are comfortable leaving him for short periods during the day. Others aren't so lucky I know.

Thanks to all.

Ian

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[Reallyretired]

We also have 2 dogs, as in the avatar, but our problem is with our terrier (she with the teddy bear face!), being fear aggressive which is triggered very easily by just being able to see another dog it means that going into a pub is a total no-no for us. We can't run the risk of another dog being present and most dog owners take exception at seeing a dog in full on aggressive mode complete with snarling and foaming at the mouth.
Yes, she's muzzled and yes, totally under our control but it makes a stressful situation all round and now we accept that we can't necessarily do everything we might like to together but we can split up and one of us stay in the van with the dogs while the other goes off to see things they like and then swap over another time.
Its a shame because Harry Schnoodle loves people and dogs (as long as it isn't a dog walking pack) and we can happily take him anywhere.

Yes it does depend on the dog. Ours are very relaxed in any company and people are often surprised when we leave a restaurant to find there were two largish dogs under our table.( They are both 25kg which is top whack for border collies)

 

[Helen Ariel]

We found France very dog friendly

 

[maison]

We just take our dog into pubs, we don’t ask, if they say no dogs we say goodbye. Simples! Eventually when they realise how much revenue they are missing they will get the message.
spongy

We were astonished, when visiting Porthcawl, to be told by a shop owner, “Oi, you can’t bring a dog in here”.

Astonished as it was a Pet Shop!

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[In a Pickle]

We also find France very dog friendly, we have been welcomed into shops and restaurants. it's just good business sense!

 

[Langtoftlad]

it's just good business sense!

Not necessarily - not if there are more anti dog & higher spending customers staying away because of a liberal dog policy.

I have to watch Kerry very carefully in most pet shops... the assorted biscuits displayed at floor level can be too much of a temptation for even the best behaved hound.

 

[Mrsambulancekidd]

Yes it does depend on the dog. Ours are very relaxed in any company and people are often surprised when we leave a restaurant to find there were two largish dogs under our table.( They are both 25kg which is top whack for border collies)View attachment 354886

They are so beautiful........hello from ours.

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[Reallyretired]

They are so beautiful........hello from ours.View attachment 354960

Turning off the auto flash will avoid the 'devil dog' eyes. Lovely dogs.

 

[tonyidle]

I have to watch Kerry very carefully in most pet shops... the assorted biscuits displayed at floor level can be too much of a temptation for even the best behaved hound.

My Greyhounds speciality was soft toys on Market & car boot stalls. I lost count of the number I had to go back & pay for. At least he got to choose his own .

 

[IanRJ]

The Lad 'Barney'

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