Too often when we go on holidays, we automatically leave our pets behind. Whether at a kennel or with family or a pet sitter. We treat organising for them to be looked after the same way as packing a bag: an obvious step before leaving on vacation.
Up until recently I was the same. My husband and I have an adorable Miniature Dachshund called Schnitzel, but we always left him behind when we travelled. We reasoned that as we lived in Australia, it was just too hard to take him along anywhere. But as we headed to Europe on a long-term holiday and were faced with the prospect of not being able to leave him any longer with family, we took him along with us and haven’t regretted it.
So why don’t you stop for a moment, and consider taking your dog along with you on your next holiday? Here are six reasons you should consider travelling with your dog.
1. They’re Part of Your Family
You wouldn’t ever seriously consider leaving your kids behind when you go on holidays, would you? Well, unless it’s a quick romantic getaway, but not every holiday. Just like children, dogs are a member of your family, and would love to stay together with you.
2. You’ll Chat More with the Locals
Remember how when you last moved house, you met all of the locals during daily visits to the dog park? It’s just like that when you’re travelling, even if you don’t stay anywhere for long. Locals will stop you and want to meet your dog, even if language is a barrier. Before you know it, you’ll work out how to share your pet’s details such as name, sex and age in the local language. While we’re been travelling, Schnitzel has even gotten pats from military police officers armed with assault rifles!
3. An Excuse to Not Visit Endless Museums and Churches
When travelling, it’s easy to fall into a trap of visiting an endless stream of museums and churches, even when you start to suffer from fatigue. After all, aren’t they cultural treasures that can’t be missed? But if you’re travelling with a dog, it’s not easy to visit churches or museums. Most museums don’t allow dogs, unless they’re mainly an outdoor museum, while I’ve never come across a church that permits dogs. So while it still might be possible to visit a few museums and churches, if you have somewhere to leave your dog during your visit (or you take turns), it’s a good excuse to only visit the ones you really want to.
4. You’ll Be More Active
Having your dog with you will encourage you to get outdoors more often and be active. Most dogs will want you to take them for at least a daily walk, perhaps even two. And they’ll love it even more if you spend all days outdoors with them, whether walking about a city, going for a hike, or just hanging in a park. It’s the perfect motivation to keep active on your holiday and work off those holiday ice creams.
5. Things Will Work Out
Sure, you may think that dogs aren’t allowed in most hotels, Airbnbs, restaurants or attractions. But there are places out there, if you look, and for us things have always had a habit of working out. One time my husband and I were wanting to do a long day trip, that included a coach trip that wasn’t dog-friendly. Still uncertain how we could do it, we then found a possible Airbnb to stay at that also offered dog sitting – the perfect solution!
6. Pats and Cuddles
And then there’s the best part of having your dog around. Every day, they’ll be wanting pats from you and to give you cuddles, looking up at you with their puppy dog eyes. And isn’t the unwavering affection of your dog something that you don’t want to miss out on?
This is a guest post from our friend Shandos from Travelnuity. Dog friendly travel. We love taking our fur babies on road trips whenever we can. If you have any questions on traveling with pets let us know in the comments below and we’ll have Shandos pop over and give you some great advice.
Shandos
Founder & Blogger-In-Chief, Travelnuity
Blogging about dog-friendly travel around the world
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Travellers are some of the most financially savvy people you will ever meet.
Travellers are some of the most financially savvy people you will ever meet. Have you ever wondered how people afford to travel, invest & drink take away coffee?
I absolutely love this post, it’s so fun! Unfortunately I don’t have a dog, but I do have three lovely cats, and I’d like to take them on holiday with me one day… Any tips or advice on that? Ha x
Maybe think about getting a dog? 😉
Awh, so cute!! Tell Schnitzel to come visit the Nordics — we are extremely dog friendly! Almost every single restaurant and shop will allow a dog to visit 🙂
I wonder if Shandos will let me borrow Schnitzel so we can come visit….
How cute is your dog! Unfortunately I don’t have a dog, but if I did I would want to bring the dog with me if on a long trip. Taking your dog with you, you get the chance to enjoy lovely walks and it’s great to keep active whilst on holiday. There’s a lovely boutique hotel in the UK which is dog friendly – it’s just finding them 🙂
Sadly not my dog. This is a guest post. But we do love Schnitzel
As the mom of a yorkie, I wish I could take him on every vacation especially since he hates it when I leave. I have yet to travel internationally with him but we have traveled a lot in the US where I live. I learned that he does best when we stay at an AirBnB or rental. At hotels he barks every time he hears people walking past our door which keeps all of us up at night.
Aww this is such a cute post .. I never had any dog but this post makes me wanna have fun. It’s so true that when you have dog people do wanna say hi and know about ur dog.. Does it get tough travelling with the dog ?
This is so wonderful. I don’t have a dog, but I have a cat and I always miss it when I travel. She’s too old now, so I cannot take it anymore with me, it would be too difficult for her to adapt, but I have been thinking that in the future maybe I’ll take a dog.
Aww 🙂 Schnitzel is so adorable.
I do not have a dog because it is not allowed in our apartments.
But travelling with a pet seems so much fun 🙂
Cheers!
Being an animal lover, i couldn’t agree to you more. No wonder you will be more active, and on gloomy travel days, the animal would keep your mood uplifted. Good post!
I don’t have a dog but would love one! So nice to see that you can take the pup with you on your travels, Nice post!