Have Dogs, Will Travel - Part 2

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In Part 1 of “Have Dogs, Will Travel”, we talked about getting out of the country with your pup, so if you haven’t read that, click the link and take a gander.

In this installment, I want to talk about the fun stuff…exploring European cities with your 4 legged companion. As a disclaimer, I have been to a grand total of 2 European countries with Fin pups, and from talking to others, experiences differ country by country, and even city by city. So by no means take my word as the gospel truth, but at least I can tell you how things went for me.

Let’s start out at the highest level…if you’re unsure whether traveling with your dog is worth all the hassle, let me put your mind at ease, IT’S FREAKING AWESOME!!!! Absolutely 100% recommend. There was literally nothing better than hiking through the forests of Bavaria, with my best friend by my side. I can’t even describe the feeling of sheer contentment that instilled. Now for the details.

Where to Stay with Your Dog

Almost anywhere. No for reals. Almost every hotel is pet friendly. Sure, check their policy on their website to confirm, but I was doing the whole call in advance (American) thing and the receptionists were all like “ok whatever”. The hotels in Europe were just so much more blasé about the dogs.

We also explored some AirBNBs with a mixed bag of results. One thing to be aware of, a lot of European countries have a “Summer Holiday” where literally everyone goes on vacation at the same time. This means a lot of people rent out their own homes during that 4 - 6 week period to other vacationers. You might be totally fine with this, but we found it really weird to be living in a total strangers’ home with all of their personal effects around (read toothbrush and underwear). Beyond that, people have a different level of clean for their own home vs. a rental home, and so we also had our worst AirBNB experience in one of these (spent less than 4 hrs at the place). Honestly, in the US I try to find AirBNBs because they’re less likely to give me a hard time about the dogs than a hotel, but in Europe that’s really not necessary. Plus the hotels have the added benefit of routine cleaning :) just food for thought.

Getting Out and About

Just like the hotels, most of the cities are super blasé about the dogs. In fact, not once did I have a random stranger squeal “doggy!!!” and run up to pet Fin. Check the rules on your destinations, a lot of the tourist spots that offer tours do not allow dogs. That being said, there is so much cool architecture, and plenty of gardens to explore that you can probably find plenty to do with your dogs in tow.

You’ll also find that many of the shops and restaurants are pet friendly. You can pretty much guarantee that any restaurant with an outdoor seating area will allow pets on the patio. Just make sure your pup is a good ambassador, and can lay quietly at your feet while you enjoy your meal and folks pass by. My recommendation is to ease into this, since a lot of American dogs don’t get the opportunity to practice chilling at a restaurant. We started by having a beer on the terrace, before working our way up to a full meal. This limits the number of times servers come to your table (dogs think this is weird “stranger approaching my human!”), and it’s a relatively short duration so if your dog starts to get antsy you can leave quickly. I’d also recommend taking treats or any other re-inforcer so that you can reward the behavior you want. By our second Euro trip, both dogs had totally acclimated to the restaurant scene, and quickly and easily chilled at our feet. I never got up the courage to actually take a dog inside a restaurant or store, although we saw plenty of other people who did…maybe next trip.

The Scoop on Poop

I’m separating this out because it’s an easily overlooked but super important consideration. When you’re out exploring the city, be conscientious and pick up your poop and watch where your dog pees. We don’t need poor potty behavior propagating the rude American stereotype. This presents a conundrum though, as much of Europe is plastic bag free. If you head to the grocery, you have to pay for plastic bags, and they are comically big for using as pooper scoopers. Germany was amazing for traveling with dogs, as there were free poop bag stands literally everywhere! But I’d recommend stocking up on poop bags before you go. Those little rolls are so small and can easily fit in your carry on.

Things Actually Close and Drugs are Hard to Find (not those drugs)

This point is less specific to traveling with dogs, and more about the cultural differences between the US and Europe in general. You know how everyone complains every year when Walmart stays open on Thanksgiving? Yeah…that doesn't happen in Europe. Things actually close for holidays. Like everything…including pharmacies and grocery stores. And not just holidays, but also Sundays, and also days in between holidays, and also at 6pm on a Friday night. We learned this the hard way when we rolled into a new AirBNB on Good Friday and stayed until after Easter Sunday. We figured things would open on Saturday at least…yeah not so much. So if you are traveling over a holiday, be prepared ahead of time with food in the kitchen and any supplies you may need.

Another important thing to note is each country has different rules about what over the counter drugs are available to the general public. Denmark is incredibly strict, and while you can buy cigarettes and booze in the grocery store, you can’t buy anything stronger than saline nasal spray and Claritin at the pharmacy. That means no Benadryl, no pseudaphed, no NyQuil (now ask me how I know and how miserable I was). My own discomfort aside, this has somewhat scary implications for our pups. When you’ve had dogs for a while, you learn all the quick tips to self medicate and avoid a Vet visit; bee sting - Benadryl, ate something - peroxide, diarrhea - immodium. But if you don’t have those things with you, you won’t be self medicating… and god forbid something happens on a weekend, I can’t imagine how hard it would be to find an ER Vet (see above about things actually closing). So in short, pay attention to your emergency medical kit, and make sure you have everything you could want. If you have it, you won’t need it!

Don’t let that last paragraph scare you off traveling though! It truly was an amazing experience, and I can’t wait to explore more! Keep an eye out for the next installment where I’ll talk about trialing and training abroad!

Grace HeckAugust 23, 2019Comment