Page 4 | Holiday with friends and their dog

Nothingelsetobedoing · 11/01/2024 08:45

We have taken our dogs on holiday before and, will the best will in the world, it’s a VERY different type of holiday. You will definitely be limited with where you can go as many places dont welcome dogs. As to whether or not you can leave the dog in the cottage for long periods will depend very much on the dog. For example, we have never successfully left our dogs in a holiday cottage, but then we don’t tend to leave for long periods full stop. It’s made for fairly boring holidays if I’m honest and I would be reluctant to take the dogs away again unless it was just my husband and I.

Clearinguptheclutter · 11/01/2024 08:47

I’ve def stayed in airbnbs where dogs are allowed/welcome but the expectation is definitely that when you go out the dog goes with you.

JenniferJupiterVenusandMars · 11/01/2024 09:04

We take our dog with us and plan our holiday accordingly. We enjoy walking and quiet places so she doesn’t inconvenience us or anyone else. We never leave her in the cottage, take big sheets to cover furniture in case she gets on the settee etc. We also clean up after ourselves.

VenusClapTrap · 11/01/2024 09:56

When I go on a uk cottage holiday, I always visit NT places and historic gardens. Most of those don’t allow dogs, so it wouldn’t work for me. I do like going for walks, but I want to do more than that. If the trip is to the coast, I wouldn’t want to be limited to finding dog beaches either.

A pp mentioned heatwaves when dogs can’t go out. This is a very valid point if your holiday is during the summer.

Others have said you just do your thing and they do theirs, but to me that defeats the object of going on holiday with someone - and I’d feel compelled to cut back on the activities I wanted to do in order to join them and be sociable. It would be a no from me.

As to whether they would be offended by you raising this; depends on the person. I think most would understand and be fine about it, but I personally know at least a couple of dog owning friends who would be upset and offended.

ZenNudist · 11/01/2024 15:16

I holiday with friends with dogs. I let them find the dog friendly property. They pay the pet fee. I don't go on holiday with anyone expecting to be glued together. So I may well choose different activities from them in the day or eve. You can usually find dog friendly pubs or cafes but if there's shops, an art gallery, museum or restaurant you want to go to without them don't sweat it.

Just say its no problem to bring the dog but I hope you don't mind if we do some different activities without you.

Nw22 · 11/01/2024 15:40

@Scottsy200 why on earth would you someone not be able to take their dog on a uk holiday? If I agreed to go on holiday with one of my friends who has a dog I would expect the dog to be coming too

Overtiredmam · 11/01/2024 16:18

Depends on the dog tbh recently went away for a few days with my partner two children (2 and 5months) at the time with my friend her husband and 2 children who were 2 and 4 and they brought their 2 dogs they usually got up and walked the dogs while we made breakfast and then we all went to the beach, most restaurants, bars in the area were dog friendly so that wasn't the issue but we had discussed the dogs coming in advance as I spotted the Airbnb was dog friendly and asked her if she was planning to take them she only would with my permission and I knew these dogs are very well behaved so didn't see an issue

Gymnopedie · 11/01/2024 16:24

A lot of PPs are telling the OP to do her own thing during the day. But isn't the point of going away with friends to spend the time together and do things together? If you're doing your own thing you might as well go on your own.

The dog will hugely both change and limit what you can do. Its need will have to come first and rightly so. But that doesn't mean you have to shape your holiday around them. I think you'd be completely justified in saying that it changes the whole feeling of the trip and that perhaps you should do it another time when they feel comfortable leaving the dog in kennels. If they are arsey about it then you know you've done the right thing because it would be all dog, dog, dog - and if they're fine about it you get the holiday that you thought was planned all along.

JadziaD · 11/01/2024 16:30

Surely when you plan holiday with friends, the first part of the discussion is where you want to go and what kind of holiday you want? And on that basis, the dog discussion would come up and you'd all agree if this works or doesn't work?

It's not clear how far down the planning route you are, but I think it's reasonable to ask these questions. Eg, if you really want to stay in a boutique hotel and eat at fancy restaurants, then perhaps either they leave the dog behind or you don't go on holiday together. If the plan was a cottage by the beach, lots of walks, outdoor trips with the kids, then perhaps you don't care so much?

For myself, no way would I go on holiday with someone else's dog. I absolutely would not want to be restricted as to where and when we went places, or came back. For a similar reason, I would not go away with friends who had young children.

Thatnameistaken · 11/01/2024 17:41

It might work if you all do your own thing. It will limit where you can stay but it doesn't have to limit your activities, go your separate ways through the day if you want to do things that aren't suitable for dogs.

ForTonightGodisaDJ · 11/01/2024 19:53

The only thing that would bother me about this is if the dog woke up early barking and woke everybody up.

RampantIvy · 11/01/2024 21:04

but am worried this will then limit what we can do whilst we are away?

@MumSparkle24 You agree to do different things during the day, and meet up in the evening.

Will we have to get back to the cottage early, can you leave the dog in the cottage?

No, because you can't leave a dog unattended in the cottage

can we only visit dog friendly places?

If the dog is with you, yes.

Should I speak to her, will I offend her, how do I say it in the right way?

Just say that you have plans to visit NT properties/museums/other non dog friendly places while you are on holiday so you will have to agree that you won't always be able to do things together. Besides, you you probably want space from each other anyway.

user1477391263 · 12/01/2024 03:24

Gymnopedie · 11/01/2024 16:24

A lot of PPs are telling the OP to do her own thing during the day. But isn't the point of going away with friends to spend the time together and do things together? If you're doing your own thing you might as well go on your own.

The dog will hugely both change and limit what you can do. Its need will have to come first and rightly so. But that doesn't mean you have to shape your holiday around them. I think you'd be completely justified in saying that it changes the whole feeling of the trip and that perhaps you should do it another time when they feel comfortable leaving the dog in kennels. If they are arsey about it then you know you've done the right thing because it would be all dog, dog, dog - and if they're fine about it you get the holiday that you thought was planned all along.

I don’t know if that’s always the case - depends on the friendship and on personality. I’ve had holidays where a friend and her family has stayed at the same area and we’ve basically approached it as, it’s a holiday where we meet up regularly, rather than being together all day every day. If the OP is OK with this it could work. But a holiday cottage will get expensive if the cost cannot be split between two families. It might be better for the OP to find a hotel room of her own. It will make for a different type of holiday. I think I would talk to the friend about this tactfully, and see if I could get her to leave the dog in kennels.

Casperroonie · 12/01/2024 07:17

Some places are very relaxed about dogs and you could leave them there for short amounts of time. If we stay somewhere like that I usually take our cage, my dog is cage trained and loves it, he's happy there when we pop out.

In the country you'll see most people with dogs and the vast majority of places will welcome dogs. Maybe just ask what will happen if you all want to go somewhere not dog friendly so they're aware of your concern.

Rainydaze79 · 12/01/2024 07:22

Cancel!!!! Your whole holiday will be centered around the stupid beast. I cannot stand people this selfish - put the dog into kennels FFS.

Mrsttcno1 · 12/01/2024 18:28

Lots of people saying that bringing the dog completely changes the plans etc… it totally depends what kind of trip it is meant to be in the first place as to whether that’s the case.

If you’re going to the Lake District for example and the point of the trip was to do some lovely hikes, walk around, see the sights, maybe a boat trip, breakfast in a cafe on a morning and then pub on a night, then taking the dog would make absolutely no difference to any of those things. We have a dog and have those kinds of trips all of the time, everywhere that we have been in the Lakes has always been crazily dog friendly, more so than anywhere else!

However, if the trip was going to be a weekend in Manchester and the plans were a boozy brunch at Slug & Lettuce, walking around the shops for a few hours, and then bars/nightclub nights, yes taking the dog would massively change the trip.

DailyMNonlooker · 12/01/2024 18:29

We went on holiday with some close friends and they brought their dogs. Didn't really mind though as we were bringing a baby. Although we found out the dogs were a lot more limiting than a 15 month old. Although we took more time to get ready and needed to do nappy changes and stuff. We couldn't just go to any beach, or any pub/restaurant. One dog got a funny belly on the last night and it ruined the whole evening as no one wanted to do what was planned as they were worried about the dog. We went to Wales so luckily very dog friendly but it was definitely a hindrance sometimes.

BooBooDoodle · 12/01/2024 18:29

Depends on what you’re doing. I live in the Lake District and it is almost dog friendly everywhere. Pubs, cottages, cafes and hotels. We spend most weekends out on the fells or in the woodlands and on the odd occasion have pub lunches with our kids and the dog before returning home. Certainly don’t feel limited but it depends on the break you will be having and where. The Lakes is brilliant in this case. Maybe not so much if you go to fine dining establishments but cafes and pubs in general around here are very welcoming of dogs.

stargirl1701 · 12/01/2024 18:32

We've never had any issues with our dog on a UK holiday bar one. In Dorset, you cannot take a dog to Brownsea Island. That's been it in 3 years.

ConsistentlyElectrifiedElves · 12/01/2024 18:44

We went on a dog friendly holiday with family last year. There's still plenty of cottages and accommodation that accept dogs and that are still up to my higher than it used to be standard.

What it restricts mostly is what you can do in terms of trips. We were happy to have a doggy holiday and we were very fortunate with the weather so did lots of trips out to parks, nature reserves, beaches, etc. We even found castles and forts that allowed dogs.

You don't have to do things together every single day. We did a holiday (with no dogs!) with DH's family as three couples and we did some days with all of us, some days with two couples and other days on our own.

If there's something you really want to do that's not dog friendly, you can.

It wouldn't bother me that the friends wanted to bring their dog, but then we're a super dog friendly family, so if I was booking a UK holiday with friends that had a dog I would have either assumed the dog was coming (especially if they usually holiday with their dog), or would have asked from the outset of the discussions.

Abracadabra12345 · 12/01/2024 18:56

I hope the OP will come back, given the time and thought pps have put into their replies

Keeper11 · 12/01/2024 19:24

I have friends with dogs. I have lost count of the times I have been forced to eat in dog friendly places, forced to eat outside in the cold, because the dog is not allowed inside, unable to visit towns/shops/museums/stately homes etc etc. Be aware of the many limitations. I won’t go away with dogs and their owners any more.

Dymaxion · 12/01/2024 19:25

A lot would depend on where you are going on holiday and how much time you expect to spend with the couple ? I personally would hate the idea of going on holiday with another couple if I was expected to spend all my time with them, I would find this far more annoying than the addition of a dog. Fine if you are sharing accommodation, then meeting up for meals, doing certain things you all fancy doing together.
If I go away with a friend we have an understanding that if she fancies doing something and I don't, then there are no sulks or drama, she goes and I don't and vice versa.

Paininthederriere · 12/01/2024 19:46

I think they might be surprised that you are thinking that the dog wouldn’t be included! If their dog is a member of their family they wouldn’t probably ever dream of kennelling it so be prepared. I guess it depends what kind of holiday you’re envisaging & what kind of things you tend to do with these friends when you see them. If it’s city stuff & lots of attendance at museums, galleries, theatre, shopping, evenings out then it’s not reasonable to do those kind of things with a dog. If the focus is more on a cottage in the country/coast, walks, the outdoors & visiting places of interest a dog is in no way a deterrent to what you do as all these places can be dog friendly. And enhanced even in the company of a dog! Presumably they’re a couple so if you do visit places indoors one of the couple would wait with the dog /go for a walk while others in your party browse/shop/visit things & join up again in the dog friendly cafe/pub after. Also you don’t all need to be together at all times during the duration of your stay so if some of you want to visit or see x doesn’t mean you can’t go & do that either with some of your party or independently. But it sounds like you don’t particularly know their dog & so you see it as separate to them as opposed to a member of their unit (pack!) & maybe are not a very dog person. All of which is absolutely fine - no obligation to like other peoples’ animals - but it maybe highlights how differently you & your friends view what they’re expecting to do on a holiday together. Are coastal walks, exploring etc the kind of things you’d envisaged??

Tinkerbyebye · 12/01/2024 20:16

It does limit somewhat depending on what you want to do

if necessary just go off separately and meet back up at home

Holiday with friends and their dog

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