Has anyone taken their dog to a dog friendly holiday cottage and are the holiday company strict with their rules about leaving the dog in the cottage unattended? I've read in brochures that you can't leave the dog unattended in the property but we don't want to take the dog everywhere we go. I'd be interested to know anyone's experiences.

Thanks.

Just wanted to say that it might be a bit hard on the dog, settling into what he/she will think is a new home, they might be upset, and therefore possibly mess or be destructive? I can see the cottage owners point of view, but also know it's often impossible to take your dog everywhere with you, so understand your point.
Good luck finding a cottage though - would love to take Sky on holiday with us one day - we just need to find somewhere that will let the KIDS in! :D
Lisa
xx

Hi.
I always take my dogs with me on holiday when we go either to Wales or the Lake District. I stay in holiday cottages or houses. The experiences I have had have been great. No, you shouldn't leave your dog in the cottage unattended, you will be liable for any damage they cause whilst you are not there, should they do any. You will be expected to pay for each dog you take usually around £15 per week per dog, most only allow one or two, although I take 3 with me and have been fortunate to go to places we have been before, or very dog friendly properties. The last house we went to in the Lakes was brilliant for the dogs, everything was geared up for them, you could take as many as you liked and they were FREE!! If you were thinking of going to the Lake district or wales, I can give you some addresses of companies for you to try.
Dawn.

We have considered renting a cottage - although it would have to wait until pup is 100% chew free :) What do you do with your dogs during the day ? Are you restricted to walking etc ? Can you visit 'stately home' type places ? Have never been very sure that this type of holiday would work out well, as if the weather is hot, can't leave the dogs in the car, so must be able to take them everywhere.

Daisy

hello,
dawn b please could you give me details of the place that allows more than 2 dogs?
thanks martin

Thanks all for your responses. I've got a Parson Russell Terrier (long legged Jack Russell), he has gone past the stage of chewing and he only messes indoors if we haven't spotted "the look" to go out! If we do decide on a holiday cottage we would take him out with us during the day but would probably want to go out at least one evening on our own, so would probably only be leaving him for a couple of hours or so.

Dawn - can I take you up on the offer of some details of places in the Lake District please?

Thanks again.

We rented a place through country cottages www.english-country-cottages.co.uk (not sure how to link this properly) in Devon. They allowed one dog in the house we rented, but you can do a search by pets allowed. We had the dog's bed in the kitchen and when we wanted to go out just made sure he was quite tired and well fed. He is good in that he doesn't seem to mind where he sleeps - possibly something to do with his three different addresses in the first week we had him!

Try these.
www.greenbank-cumbria.co.uk Very dog friendly, huge private secure wood, large back garden etc..

www.lakelovers.co.uk

www.heartofthelakes.co.uk

www.cumbriancottages.co.uk

www.coppermines.co.uk

The above 4 have loads to choose from.
Dawn.
p.s I take 3 Border Terriers with me!

Alastair goes on organised walking holidays, staying in various hotels - the company that organised them ensures that the hotels are dog-friendly - and Al takes a folding crate with him so Gypsy (lab) has her own "quarters" at night or if the group are going to a non-dog friendly restuarant or pub!

We'd love to go to the lakes with tilly next year so will be taking a look at those websites you posted dawn! Only thing is neither of us can drive! So we'd hafta go on the train, which isn't too bad as we're in bolton and it's not a really long train journey, but are dogs allowed on trains? I should know this as my dad works for first north western! doh!
Can i just ask... the long legged jack russel... are they also known as miniature jack russels? we had 2 when i was little and my dad said they were miniature jacks but i've never seen one since, only the rather tubby stubby ones! (they're still lovely though)
Thanks
Lynz and Tilly

Lynz, here's a thread all about [link http://www.champdogsforum.co.uk/cgi-bin/board/topic_show.pl?tid=23085&hilite=virgin#162035]Train travel[/link] with a dog, you could get a train to Windermere in the South Lakes or if you wanted to go to the North you could go to Penrith and get a bus - yes you can travel on those too :)

edited to take a slash out of my link :)

Thanks so much for that link isabel. I love windermere, me and tony have been there twice, stayed in a lovely little hotel that accepted well behaved dogs at a fiver a night. But i'd feel mean taking her to a hotel. At least if we wanted to go out for a while without her while staying in a cottage she'd have the run of the house, and hopefully feel settled there and not feel trapped in one room, and we wouldnt be leaving her at mealtimes and so on.
OOh now i'm dreaming of the lake district instead of revising for tomorrows exam!!
Lynz and Tilly x

Hi Lynz

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you - only just had a chance to look at the site again!

A Parson Russell Terrier -although very similar to a Jack Russell - has longer legs than the JRT and (according to the books) is the original breed founded by the Reverend John Russell (my PRT stands about 12-14 inches from floor to shoulder). The main difference is the obvious difference in the length of leg and as such they are recognised as two separate breeds.

Mine is by no means show standard and can be a real nightmare (typical Terrier!) but is a very good looking dog! ;)

J :)

we took our dog up to scotland on the train from coventry which is about 6 hours, we wouldnt have done it unless we had too but she was fine, we took water for her and some food (not a lot because there are no toilet breaks) She was well behaved all the way alls we did was warn people who wanted 2 sit down that there was a dog under the table :-)

Hi Dawn B

Just wondered whether you could recommend a dog friendly holiday cottage in Wales (Snowdonia area perhaps)? Don't intend to go abroad next year as will have a young dog ... but should really think about booking now I guess if we want to find somewhere nice. If you can think of anywhere in particular that stood out do let me know!

Thanks

Jo

Hi Jo.
Of course I can!!

The last place in Wales I stayed in was in "Golan" just outside Porthmadog, so right in the heart os Snowdonia.
Don't know how big your family is but we stayed in a 4 bedroom Edwardian farmhouse. Part of a farm, had access to over 150 acres, brilliant. It did of course have sheep (which farm in Wales doesn't!:D) and we had cows close to us but I loved it, right up my street!

The company we booked through was Quality cattages. www.qualitycottages.co.uk
Have a look, they have a lot of "dog friendly" properties in there.
Dawn.

Last year, hubby, daughter and I took our older dog on a narrowboat with us. It was a brilliant holiday - we have been on narrowboats loads of times before, but this was the first with the dog. The advantage over a holiday cottage is that you are travelling around all the time and the dog comes too :) Ours loved it - he was fascinated at all the wildlife on the river banks, met lots of other lovely dogs and enjoyed the pubs that we visited along the way - (you can moor for the night right outside most of them :) ). Walks were simple - drop one (or two) people plus dog off on the towpath and pick them up further along when they have walked far enough :) As our dog is fairly well trained ( cough :) ), he sat beautifully while we operated the locks - but if I had a younger/unreliable dog, I would leave it in the boat, as locks can be dangerous places. Some days we took him with us for trips further afield (he loved the Worth Valley Steam Railway) or left him in the boat while we went for longer shopping trips etc.

Thoroughly recommend it for anyone who hasn't tried it :)

Daisy

Yep - its a brilliant holiday. Infact, I bought a narrowboat today! :)

I've always fancied a narrowboat holiday. If you're down on the Oxford Canal at any time I'll join you in the pub. I guess you'll be able to use Will to pull the boat!!!! ;)

Thats the plan - who needs an engine?! :D

Pub & drink would be great :)

Thanks Dawn. I actually meant to say we intend to go next year, but clearly my typing fingers weren't working yesterday!

Thanks

Jo

Hi,

I've used various holiday cottages - last time we took 4 dogs with us, between me and 2 friends - and we've thoroughly enjoyed ourselves every time. However, rules or no rules, I would NEVER leave the dog unattended even for 10 minutes, and have always taken cages for them to sleep in at night or if we left them for an hour.

In a different environment, you can't guarantee what any dog will do, as shown by our last cottage where we walked in with a 4yo dog, a 2yo dog and 2 puppies ........... and it was the 4yo that promptly pee'd on the rug, much to our amusement at the expense of her owner. (And yes, we did run to immediately ensure it was very carefully cleaned up, while laughing :D )

Only common courtesy to stick to their rules really, there are enough places that ban dogs without careless dog owners increasing them.

M.

you cant 'not leave a dog even for 10 minutes' thats impossible... unless it gets in the bath with you... nips to the shops with you...! No need to take things that seriously i'm sure most adult dogs would be ok for an hour or so after the first day is spent settling him in.
IMHO
Lynz and Tilly

tilly...its not impossible, you just put them in the car! i take 5 on trips away to trials every year...they all sleep in the landrover...I wouldnt dream of taking them in a holiday cottage.
meanwhil if anyone knows a nice cottage near morpeth, please let me know.

Sam what do you do in hot weather, as sometimes it is impossible to find somewhere safe to park if you go out for the day. I think this is the one great situation for crates. You can leave a dog for an hour or two crated in the accomodation without it being damaged/dirtied. The first real use for mine I have ever had was when staying in a hotel. I came up after breakfast to find chambermaids cleaning our ro9om with the dogs quietly in their crates causing no worry, and being safe.

You will find that in every instance you are not allowed to leave your dog alone in the property for even 5 minutes. The last house I stayed in offered a dog sitting type thingy, whereby the owner of the property (who lived next door) would stay in your house (you were renting from them) and keep your dogs company if you wanted to go out for the evening. No cost to you and for a couple of hours or so if you were going for dinner or something may suit many people.
Dawn.

Brainless...my holidays are combined with working trials, and as trials are only held in October and march, then heat isn't a problem. If it were, then there is a tail gate guard in the landrover and two sliding windows which open 2 feet in length, so when I am at shows they are still very cool.

Right gotcha. Must say I have seen some awfully hot dogs dragged out for the family outing to the seaside at Minehead, and am sure the dog would rather have not had to walk in the heat and been left behind.

Actually Lynz, I'm quite a practical person, and I really am serious! Obviously, I don't go on holiday alone, so if I was just popping upstairs or to the shops, there would be someone else with the dogs, and if we went to the pub for an evening they would be in their crates and 100% safe.

I also comply with the requirements that under no circumstances do my dogs get on the furniture (although they do at home), and I feel that all these aspects ensure that when I want to go next year, some kind soul will let me rent their lovely cottage because people have been careful.

The idea that anyone would rent a cottage and leave their dog with the run of the house is, 'in my humble opinion' extremely irresponsible. However, not going to get into an argument over it, so hope that if you do this in the future, you and Tilly enjoy your hols and don't have any problems.

M.

Edited to clarify that am not saying I would never leave them for 10 minutes, but if they were not being watched they would be in crates and would not be loose.

I always take my dog (German Shepherd) on holiday with me and have stayed in a few different cottages (usually in the Scottish HIghlands) from http://www.cottages.co.uk

They have all been very dog friendly and in great locations - although you will find that most (if not all) cottages request that your dog or dogs aren't left alone in the cottage - which is fair enough. My holidays tend to revolve around my dog and walking anyhow - so she comes everywhere with me.

Where in the country are you thinking of visiting? Good luck in your search.

Kirsty