Holidaying with Your Dog: What to Know Before You Go

Many of us dream of taking our dogs on holiday with us, yet it's not always that straightforward.

I have always enjoyed travelling with my dogs, and over the years, I’ve developed various tips and tricks to make holidaying with dogs much more enjoyable and a lot less stressful.

Preparation is Everything

Most importantly, preparation for your holiday starts way before you leave.

Teaching loose lead walking, settling, and working on reactivity are not overnight fixes. So if you're going to be negatively impacted by these on your trip, start working with a trainer as soon as possible.

Consider what your dog will actually be doing while you're away.

• Are you planning to explore towns?

• Will you be hiking around wildlife or livestock?

• Will you encounter lots of dogs or people?

• Are you expecting your dog to settle in new environments?

• Will there be pub or café stops?

• Is your dog a good traveller?

These are all very important considerations. If your dog isn't a frequent traveller in the car, start building up journey times now. If your dog isn’t used to settling in a pub, build up those skills ahead of time. And if they’re unfamiliar with urban environments, start carefully exposing them to the things they’ll see and hear.

It’s one of the primary reasons I regularly visit towns and train in pubs and cafés with my dogs. When we go away, we do a huge variety of things. It typically involves lots of hiking, but inevitably includes visits to towns or cities and a few pub stops. Without this preparation, my dogs wouldn’t have handled it well—making it stressful for everyone.

Travelling Abroad with Your Dog

I’ll be doing a more in-depth series of posts on the intricacies of travelling abroad with your dog, but if you’re considering heading to mainland Europe, allow plenty of time to ensure your dog has the necessary jabs and paperwork.

There are plans to reinstate the Pet Passport scheme, which disappeared after Brexit, although the release date for that is yet to be announced.

Also, if you use training tools, be aware that many European countries have various bans on certain equipment. You may want to consider conditioning your dog to tools you can legally use in that country ahead of time.

Finding Dog-Friendly Properties

Finding dog-friendly properties isn’t always straightforward, though they are becoming increasingly common. Most will happily allow one, sometimes two dogs. Once you go to 3+, it becomes a little trickier—but I’ve managed to book places with 4 or 5 dogs with just a smidge more planning.

I’m a big lover of Airbnb, and they have an easy pet-friendly filter. I use Booking.com too. When requesting to bring multiple dogs, I always emphasise that my dogs are crate trained, which I think really helps hosts feel safer about their house not being trashed.

I’m a massive advocate for crate training dogs anyway, but it definitely makes finding accommodation simpler. It also gives your dog a familiar, home-from-home setup, which is especially helpful for dogs who struggle with change.

There are also a wide range of dog-friendly property websites with specific filters for number of dogs, enclosed gardens, etc. Personally, I haven’t used these much, but they’re a great option too.

Just Because Dogs Are Allowed, Doesn’t Mean It’s Dog-Friendly

Bear in mind: many properties permit dogs but aren’t really “dog-friendly.”

Some will have heavy restrictions on where dogs can go in the property. A lot also don’t have gardens. For that reason, I highly recommend teaching your dog to toilet on command. For my fussier dogs, this has been a complete lifesaver on cold, dark, and wet evenings with limited toileting options!

Hotel Chains and Hidden Costs

Lots of hotels charge up to £20 per pet, per night, which can really add up and in some cases, it ends up being more than your nightly rate.

I sometimes use chains like Ibis, Days Inn, Travelodge, Best Western, and Holiday Inn if I need a quick overnight stop.

• Ibis and Days Inn are the most reasonable on dog charges.

• Travelodge, Best Western, and Holiday Inn are typically on the higher end.

Many of them now allow dogs in the dining areas too, which makes life a little easier when you’re travelling alone or with multiple dogs.

Final Thoughts

Travelling with dogs can absolutely be done and done well, but it takes some prep work to make it enjoyable for everyone. With the right training and a bit of planning, your holiday can be just as relaxing for your dog as it is for you.