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Dog Vacations?
I feel the need to get away this summer and I haven't been anywhere since I first got Montana and Dakota. 13 years ago. Because I wont leave them. I did it once and it was hard. Yes I'm a lunatic-but lets get passed that. What kinds of things can you do with dogs on vacation and where to go? Keep in mind that China is 10 and since moving into our home when she was already 9-she sticks close to me, cries when I'm away for too long. So...I want to take her along but it has to be someplace where I don't have to crate her for the day, she can come along but like no kayaking...it has to be more like a trip that's easy going, not full of adventure....just looking fro some ideas to see if this is doable. Otherwise I will hire a sitter to come stay with her and keep my vacation on the shorter side of 4 days.
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I go to Greece with Cookie almost every year. Yes, your vacation will be centered around the dog, but there are so many things you can enjoy. I avoid going at the peak of the season because it's too crowdy, so I go mid-September while it's still warm enough for swimming but the beaches are almost empty since most turists are gone.
We always have a great time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxoKOyFzw2g&t=27s
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I am like you, I will not leave without my pups. Samson actually opened my eyes to vacations and now I go to the Outer Banks twice a year because of HIM! For real! I take my mom and sisters family too. We stay on Hatteras Island. It is extremely pet friendly. I rent houses with carpet to make sure Samson is safe. The family likes ocean front so I rent ocean front homes. If you choose ocean side, you'll pay 1/3 the price of an ocean front and you are just yards from the ocean (still hearing the waves) I can't speak enough about Outer Banks- Hatteras Island. It's mess right now due to the storm. The ocean breached the 30ft dunes and washed out highway 12. Scary to see. We stay in Rodanthe or Frisco. It's a 12 hour drive from NEO. The boys are exceptional travelers. Let me know if you want more info on Outer Banks. Not sure if traveling that far is an option for you. 23 days for us!! I'll share pictures of the beach boys.
I took Samson to Camden Maine back in 2014. Longer drive but it was amazing and very pet friendly. I rented a house on a mountain side up there. Was wonderful. OBX is in our hearts though.
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Ever since we got Thor we've only vacationed once without him. I travel a lot for work, often internationally, so when it comes to family vacation time I prefer to avoid airports. Our favorite vacation style is roadtrips and camping which is perfect for a dog! Sometimes we splurge and do dog-friendly cabins or airbnbs. We love National Parks, and usually do a 2 week trip each year. Even though National Parks aren't very dog friendly we've made them work almost every time. I even wrote about how to visit Yellowstone with a dog.
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We also always vacation with Bubba and do mostly camping road trips. We've also stayed on the beach and in the mountains with him, just renting airbnbs. I haven't spent as much time with him on the east coast outside of staying with family so I don't have particular recomendations that are closer to you, except we bring him to my family's lakehouse in maine each year which is probably his favorite place on earth.
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I’m with Berna in recommending September as a great time to go to the beach. We love the Outer Banks also but probably any beach would be the same. It’s still warm, the water is as warm as it will be all summer, and since school is back in session it is much less crowded. I guess since you have a kiddo that might not work.
Not all beaches are necessarily dog friendly, some restrict the hours that dogs can be out on the beach or don’t want them out at all so you should try to determine that before you commit to a place. I’m sure I’ve seen some website that identifies pet friendly places in most states, I just can’t recall what it is at the moment.
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Oh, ha ha, maybe this is the one I was thinking of: DogFriendly.com Travel Guides
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I'm one of those awful people who travels the world without her dogs ;). I used to feel guilty, but then found an awesome dog sitter that I pay out my nose to sit with the dogs 24/7. She sends lots of videos of them playing, cuddling, running around the yard, etc. They love it. But I always take them on vacation also. We spent a few nights around the holidays at the beach, staying in a beach front hotel room, which they loved. I only take them off season so they can run the beach off leash without me worrying about them knocking a kid over or rummaging through someone's picnic. AirBNBs are also good, but this was a last-minute trip, so a hotel was easier. I also take them up to the mountain to play in the snow and hike every year. Often, I'll get an AirBNB for that.
This summer we're heading up to Canada, the Vancouver BC area. I am going up there for a multi-day competitive obedience seminar/camp and rented a small house on a fenced in acre for about a week near the seminar site. We'll explore, hike, swim, etc. in the days after the seminar and the dogs can run around the property while I sip coffee and read a book on the deck, too.
There are so many choices on AirBNB and I have seen a lot of great homes that are perfect for dogs. Whether it's a huge fenced yard, a pond on the property, riverfront, beach front, a home in the woods where the dog can run around and be a dog... It's worth a look.
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We traveled without Kimber lots of times, no guilt there. But we also enjoyed taking her with us to laid back vacations. We found a great house through VRBO on the Florida Panhandle. A week of me, DH, and Kimber, just chilling on the gulf- it was bliss.
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I would imagine renting a home/cabin for a weekend at a local lake might be a great starter.