Doggy holidays are becoming so popular, how about a special doggy holiday forum where people recommend places that are genuinely dog friendly and by that I mean with none of the ridiculous restrictions some places have - e.g. no dogs upstairs etc.  ...What do people think? 

Good Idea this is ours from this year
http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/rentals/combe-martin/211251   Says one dog but we called the owner and 2 were fine

Don't know about other folks but I'm very fed up of finding holiday accommoation listed on 'dog friendly' or 'pet friendly' or similar sites only to find that they're so dog friendly they feel the need to apply a charge to each and every dog you take with you!! Quite often £15 per dog ... times that by 6 (if you're allowed to get anything close to that number :-O ) and that's a significant amount each week to add.

To me dog/pet friendly means just that, with no extra charge applied (there are some, you just have to work quite hard to find them). If a charge is to be applied then that merely becomes - pets accepted, but we're going to charge you through the nose for the privilidge.

Yes, rant over, I think a board is a good idea ... it's often difficult to pick up info from previous posts using the search facility. :-D

If such a board is set up it would also be very nice if posters headed up their recommendations with area/county/town - that would make life easy :-)

I agree, it is a lot to pay on top, however I suppose if you weigh it up against costs of a pet sitter/ kennel costs it is usually a good deal.
Generally they justify it by saying it covers extra cleaning costs, which on the face of it seems daft as I am sure most people leave their holiday homes as clean (or in some cases cleaner!) as they find it.

On the other hand, when I used to do dog friendly B&B, you would be surprised how much hair I would find  on the bedding and furniture after some doggy visitors!

I bought myself a small second hand touring caravan after my husband passed away and me and my girls have a great time! You can generally go where you like, when you like, especially with the caravan clubs as they make no charge for dogs and many offer good dog walks for those morning/nightly trots.

Renting a cottage on your own becomes too expensive - well it did for me  :)

After a recommendation on here we went to Forest Holidays at Sherwood Forest this summer.
We had a log cabin with a hot tub that the kids LOVED !!
The accommodation was clean and very modern.
The walking was great just over the back of the park where they do Go Ape, and I can highly recommend the cafe there - you can sit outside with the doggies and get free wi-fi.
My only complaint would be is that there is no fenced off garden area belonging to the lodge where we could let pup run free - we had to rely on frequent trips out for toileting on lead (but we did take a 6 month old pup so that was to be expected).

I was about to say, most people that holiday regularly with their dogs and show, have touring caravans.
We sold our last one and gave camping a try this year.  Fun but not the same.  We will be shopping for a tourer over the winter(best bargains to be had).  I think the idea of a holiday section is a great idea but could it include dog friendly campsites that let you take more than 2 dogs?  I don't mind paying to take mine but I hate the restrictions on the amount you are allowed.

> you would be surprised how much hair I would find  on the bedding and furniture

I'm horrified at how many people I have seen let their dogs up on seats/sofas/beds etc in trains/pubs/hotels etc Apart from my home and my children's, my dogs stay very firmly on the floor. If it is 'dog friendly' accomodation I would expect a tiled/wood floor rather than carpet.

Well these things are difficult to control in strange environments.  Our own dogs are not allowed on furniture at home and know that.  However they haven't generalised that to other furniture in other places, and when staying in places with them, we would often come downstairs in the morning to find they had settled themselves on the sofas...

To be honest, these places charge such high fees that I think cleaning up after (not-excessively messy) dogs should just be the cost of doing business.

I always take our own throws and bedspreads so that we can all relax. :-)

Yes another fan of the Forest Holidays here as well .

The one in the Forest of Dean is super and we are booked in for 5 days on New Years Eve with a hot tub and wood burner !

The same here with no fenced of garden but the area on the back where the hot tub is fenced off and although a small area my lot have used it for a quick pee or poo which is easily cleaned off with a bucket of hot water with disinfectant in.

Great places near by to eat ( dog friendly ) in Symonds Yat and taxis are dirt cheap around there as well :-)

I too would recommend forest holidays! We went to keldy cabins which had endless walking options from the site suitable for our big dogs. The only gripe I had was that there were no cleaning materials in the cabins. For me a vacuum cleaner and floor mop is a daily norm like brushing my teeth!

So do I.  Sorry but  I do allow my dogs on the furniture.  They are small jrts and I love having them on my lap for a cuddle but I always use plenty of throws and I always bathe my dogs and flea treat them before going away.  I also Hoover all the furniture even though it has been covered in throws just in case (even though to date i have seen no hairs) and have been thanked by email and letter on two occasions for leaving the respective cottages so clean and tidy.  However I would never allow muddy dogs anywhere near furniture an always make sure they are clean first.  My dogs are part of the family and I expect there are many non dog owners who do not pay attention to cleanliness and hygiene! 

What a good idea Maisiemum. I would be very interested. have not had a holiday for 11 years and think its about time. Looking for somewhere for between 1 and 4 dogs in the Staithes/Whitby area if anyone knows of one.

Thank you for your suggestions.  One place I have been to and is run by a friend of a friend of mine is this one.  We went about four years ago but I know it hasn't changed. 

http://www.wauchopecottages.co.uk/

Keep em coming as I'm always on the lookout for something new.  Preferably across the road from a lovely country pub which is dog friendly and serves good food in the bar.  We could make this a holiday revolution!

The lady at the cottage I mentioned is very into agility and has all the equipment there!

Hi Maisie Mum,

There is a facebook group just for this purpose, and their website will launch soon. Look for Tours With Paws.

https://www.facebook.com/ToursWithPaws

They are always looking for information on dog friendly places to stay as well.

I will look at that thanks