With the Great British holiday season drawing to a close, many families are beginning to cast their minds to their next big adventure. Some may even be feeling the pressure to finalise holiday plans for their household. But for the near-third of adults who own a dog, holiday season can be uniquely stressful.
Many holiday plans preclude the bringing of pets, meaning a heart-wrenching goodbye to Fido before you leave – or a costly trip to a dog hotel, of course. However, there are myriad pet-friendly holiday solutions that can enable you to keep your whole gang happy as you kick back. What are some of the best? Let’s find out…
Camping
Camping is the quintessential summer holiday experience for families on the lookout for something a little more intrepid from their trips. Camping holidays are widely beloved, as a chance to get cosy and enjoy the best of the great outdoors, or shield from it when it inevitably begins to rain torrentially…
Camping trips are also a fantastic way to include your dog in your holiday plans. Whether you plan a wild-camping holiday in Scotland or seek out one of the many pet-friendly campsites across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, you can be sure to spend a great deal of quality time with all the family. You can also be assured that your dog will be having even more fun than you; just think of all those pastures they could be roaming!
That said, the wild nature of camping means you should prepare for every possible emergency to ensure your dog’s safety. This involves scheduling a vet appointment so your dog can have the most current vaccinations to prevent them from getting ticks and fleas, and also provide them with an advanced microchip or tracked collar.
Road Tripping
Camping isn’t the only way for you to experience the joys of the UK’s countryside on holiday with your dog, though. Why not go bigger and better, and plan out a cross-country road trip? With a motorhome, you can make multiple stops in some of the most stunning locations across the nation without having to worry about repeatedly pitching your tent.
The whole family, dog included, can discover and explore some amazing places together. All you need to worry about beforehand is sorting out your motorhome insurance, ensuring your licence is relevant and making sure the motorhome is fit for travel.
All that said, the standard final paragraph precursor arrives; canines aren’t as equipped at dealing with long journeys as people. Let’s be realistic here; your dog can’t read or listen to music to pass the time, and they can’t turn on the air conditioning to cool themselves down when they’re hot. All in all, taking a long car trip can be uncomfortable for dogs that aren’t used to them.
A smart strategy is to take smaller journeys to ease them into the process. Steadily building from thirty minutes to an hour-plus should ensure they can go for extended periods without getting stressed out.
You also need to plan your route in advance. By doing this, you can stop off regularly to let your pet out to stretch their legs and go to the toilet. This will help them cool down from the stuffiness of the car, too. And yep, we realise that was three paragraphs.
Read: 4 dog-friendly tips for your summer holiday
Holiday Parks
The road-tripping lifestyle isn’t for everyone, though. Moving from site to site can be a stressful experience, not in the least for certain demeanours of dogs that may benefit from a little more stability! With this in mind, there are some excellent options for a low-stress, low-stakes holiday that can include the dog.
One of the best examples of this kind of holiday is that of the holiday park. Holiday parks are mainstays for summer holiday travails, especially amongst families with younger children. There are pet-friendly holiday parks all across the country, from seaside resorts to rural getaways, that are more than happy for you to bring your beloved pooch along for the ride.
Country Cottage Rental
Of course, your ideal holiday may be something a bit more secluded than a communal holiday park scenario. The UK is still your oyster if you’re looking for a family-only pet-friendly retreat, with dog-loving holiday lets stippling the country’s rural landscape.
Country cottages are another holiday institution in the UK, providing a safe homely space to retreat from the stresses of everyday life. Country cottage holiday lets are available throughout the year, and a large number of them are more than happy for you to bring your dog along. The National Trust alone have hundreds of options, that place you a stone’s throw away from some of the most remarkable locations in the country.
And with that, we hope your next year’s summer holiday is full of adventure and fun for all the family.