First Beach Trip

[bluest]

Hey all, we are taking Ginger on her first beach vacation in a few weeks and I want to make sure we're well prepared. We'll be staying at a dog friendly B&B an hour from home (the drive down should be fine since she does hour-long car rides to my in-laws' often). We'll spend our days at a dog beach if the weather is nice. I'm thinking we'll bring a beach umbrella for her, towels, jugs of water, maybe a frozen kong, and tennis balls. Is there anything else we should pack? For those of you who vacation with your dogs, do you have any tips or experiences to share? Also, how do you prevent dogs from drinking ocean water (other than a "leave it" command)? Not sure she would do this but just in case..

[smartrock]

We take ours to the beach but they don't stay at the beach with us all day. We take them out in the morning before things get too crowded to wear them out some. During the day they would be visiting everyone and not everyone likes to have a wet beast all up in their beach read or sniffing in their coolers. If it's really a dog beach and everyone has dogs there or if Ginger will pretty reliably stay with you, that might be different than a beach that allows dogs but is mainly just a family beach. After some good running and swimming, mine are happy to settle in at the house for some nice rest while we are at the beach.

My older guy drank ocean water the first time we took him, had some impressive diarrhea, and hasn't drunk the water since then. Baby Girl never really drank the water.

Someone else mentioned that her dog's paws got really, really sore from running after balls for long periods on the sand on their first visit plus the sand can get super hot. Watch out for that with Ginger. Make sure she has ID on her collar.

I hope you have a great time!

[arentspowell]

Umbrella is definitely a must. Make sure the bowl is plastic. We use metal at home but those get too hot at the beach.

Be prepared for explosive diarrhea and lots of it! Bring plenty of bags, pick up what you can and cover the rest with sand.

[Georgia]

We take our guys to the beach all of the time! This is what I pack:

Waterproof collars
Waterproof leashes
Small can of WD40 to spray in the clasp of leashes because the sand makes them hard to open
Plastic water bowl and jug of water
Chuck-it
Bumper for fetch in the water
Kong wet Wubba for fetch in the water

Sam gets sore feet from the sand so we've been trying Musher's Secret on his feet to protect them
Towels
Shampoo in case someone rolls on a dead fish

If I think of anything else I'll add to my list 😀

Don't forget dog food (I've done that), a crate if you use one, and lots of poop bags.

[smartrock]

Small can of WD40 to spray in the clasp of leashes because the sand makes them hard to open

Genius!

The leash hooks like this: Lehigh 3-1/2 in. x 5/8 in. 110 lb. Nickel-Plated Steel Round Swivel Eye Bolt Snap Hook-7000S-12 - The Home Depot can get really difficult to open when sand gets in them. I haven't tried WD-40 but that sounds like a good idea.

For leashes I take on the beach, I've hooked the original swivel hook into an additional swivel hook like this: Crown Bolt 3/4 in. x 3-1/4 in. Nickel Plated Swivel Snap Hook-64744 - The Home Depot because they are easier to open when sand gets in them.

[Georgia]

WD40 works like a charm! We picked up a small travel size can that we just leave in the car.

[SoapySophie]

WD40 works like a charm! We picked up a small travel size can that we just leave in the car.

Not sure how likely it would be that the small can could overheat and explode, but please be mindful of this with cans containing substances that are under pressure. Don't find out the hard way - it might really hurt.

[bluest]

All really good info- thanks so much. I had not thought about Ginger's paws and could see this being a problem (they get sore in the winter from salt/ice) so we'll limit her activity on the sand. I may order a can of Mushers Secret to use in the winter!

We haven't visited this dog beach before so I don't know how it will be exactly or how Ginger will behave. She usually stays by our side and has a reliable recall but who knows in a completely new environment. If there is delicious food in sight, she may wander off so we'll just need to keep a close eye on her. It will be an interesting experience for sure.

Do you keep your dogs leashed at all times, even in the water?

[bluest]

We take our guys to the beach all of the time! This is what I pack:

Waterproof collars
Waterproof leashes
Small can of WD40 to spray in the clasp of leashes because the sand makes them hard to open
Plastic water bowl and jug of water
Chuck-it
Bumper for fetch in the water
Kong wet Wubba for fetch in the water

Sam gets sore feet from the sand so we've been trying Musher's Secret on his feet to protect them
Towels
Shampoo in case someone rolls on a dead fish

If I think of anything else I'll add to my list 

Don't forget dog food (I've done that), a crate if you use one, and lots of poop bags.

Sam is so handsome!

[smartrock]

Do you keep your dogs leashed at all times, even in the water?

I do not keep them leashed while swimming, especially if they're in the ocean and there are waves they have to swim through. I don't want them getting tangled in the lead and unable to swim. Plus, even on a 30 foot floating rope, which I've tried, that's a lot of rope to try to manage and reel in and sometimes the bumper or other toy lands a little farther out than the length of rope so you have to decide whether to go in, let go, or halt your pup's progress. We used it on our older guy when swimming in the sound when he was little and his recall not too good but there were no waves to deal with. We wanted him to return to the dock and not swim into the marshy banks where we couldn't see him or sometimes snakes hang out. NEW ENGLAND ROPES Floating Dinghy Tow Rope | West Marine

Keeping them leashed when they're just hanging out and not in the water depends upon the dog. And yes, I have pursued my dogs for pretty long distances down the beach when they saw a bird or something else catches their attention and they cannot hear me over the waves (or they're ignoring me). We eventually trained Chase to an e-collar and he no longer runs down the beach alone. Lark won't go far once she realizes she's getting too far away from us.