Is it safe to take my dog on the Camino del Norte

[Valeriege]

Hi everyone,

I Would love to take my dog on the camino del Norte, but only if it's safe for him. I Am a little bit scared of stray dogs. I am happy to take a tent with me as I am aware that Dogs might not be welcome everywhere. If you have walked the Norte in the past I would love to hear your advise on this.

Muchas gracias . Valerie

 

[grayland]

My advice from observed experience is to please leave him home.

1.There are many local dogs and working livestock dogs along the way. They do not tolerate strange dogs in their territory. These are very tough hombres. It is not a safe place for strangers if you are a dog.
2. Most, if not all, albergues and other accommodations will NOT allow him inside and he will need to be tied up outside all night.
3. It is a problem at bars, stores, etc.
4. Your camino will be mostly about finding a place for the dog.
5. The camino is very tough on a dogs pads. They suffer a great deal after day by day walking. Our shoes protect us..but we still have problems.

These are just things I have observed on various caminos and things that folks with dogs have shared.

 

[anniethenurse]

I would NOT bring my dog along with me on the camino

 

[CaminoDebrita]

Grayland, your advice is always so good. With two dogs, four cats, twenty-two chickens, four tame ducks, and livestock (cattle), I was preparing to hire someone to farm-sit for us, but my husband is not called to the Camino, so he will be at home. I know how much people love their dogs, but can you imagine having your dog attacked by a dog defending its turf--with no way to break up the fight? Seriously, one of our family labs was attacked by a border collie--which was about its size--and I was so scared that I tried breaking it up. I was badly bitten, and to top it off, the dog's owner was angry at me for whacking her dog on the head with a stick....Sigh.

Moral of the story: it is dangerous in farming country to bring in a dog of your own. I would never bring a dog on Camino with me. I think it's a better idea to find someone to keep your dog for a month and then pay them or take them out to dinner, or some other barter.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Blog of a woman and her dog (in winter, which did not help her):

http://kaybeetravels.blogspot.com/2009/01/friday-16thalbergue-closed-camp-in.html

 

[wayfarer]

Welcome Valerie, very good advice above.

 

[Valeriege]

Thank you all very much for you advise and wise words... I Have decided to leave my dog at home where he is safe!

 

[ChuckE]

I think it would depend on your relationship with your dog, whether your dog could handle it (nature and training) and how much research you'd be willing to do.

Just dropping you and your dog out on the Camino would be foolish at best.

Strange dogs take their cues off of your dog who takes its cue off of you. If you would generally be worried in a situation like this, so will your dog and so will the strange dog. And that will just be a recipe for disaster. If you're worried about yourself or whether your dog trusts you in these types of situations, it's probably not the best place to find out. But if you've spent a great deal of time training your dog and it trusts you, then if you ignore it, your dog will ignore it and the strange dog will get bored and move on.

If your dog is not breed or trained to handle a long day of walking, then you're probably going to have a problem. But many working dogs were breed specifically to spend a full day in the woods. They make really good treatments for toughening pads (for hunting), they make really cool boots for dogs, but even still just as much as you would care for your feet, you should be at least prepared to wax your dogs pads every evening.

I've done some research and was quite surprised how pet friendly parts of the Frances have become. I wouldn't be surprised how much you could find on the Norte. Logistics are probably going to be real important. Food (you really don't want to put your dog off its diet out in the middle of the wilderness), shelter, getting to and from the Camino (the Spanish transportation system doesn't really care for dogs) are just a few things you really have to have your finger on.

And of course don't forget to pick up after your dog. All these posts about pooing on the Camino obviously are not from people who are used to picking up after their dogs.

Whatever your choice, buen camino.

 

[Deleted member 12253]

Hi everyone,

I Would love to take my dog on the camino del Norte, but only if it's safe for him. I Am a little bit scared of stray dogs. I am happy to take a tent with me as I am aware that Dogs might not be welcome everywhere. If you have walked the Norte in the past I would love to hear your advise on this.

Muchas gracias . Valerie

No no no. Unless you want poor dog shot or poisoned. Lots of farming land and live stock and mad big local dogs

 

[KinkyOne]

Hi everyone,

I Would love to take my dog on the camino del Norte, but only if it's safe for him. I Am a little bit scared of stray dogs. I am happy to take a tent with me as I am aware that Dogs might not be welcome everywhere. If you have walked the Norte in the past I would love to hear your advise on this.

Muchas gracias . Valerie

I remember the interview with Slovenian peregrina that has done del Norte with her dog. Not much trouble for the dog but mostly for her. As previous posters emphasized most albergues don't allow dogs in therefore this peregrina has usually slept in some tool-sheds of albergues or similar. Also carrying additional water & food for the dog was another "problem" not to mention getting the appropriate dog food in smaller villages.
All that being said this peregrina was very content to bring her dog with her and all ended really well. Nevertheless I think you decided right not to take your dog with you. Enjoy even in missing loved be it a person or an animal!

Ultreia!

 

[woodswoman]

Thank you all very much for you advise and wise words... I Have decided to leave my dog at home where he is safe!

I am so happy to hear that you have come to that decision.

 

[Kanga]

My experience was a Belgium girl who walked with her dog (on the Frances) and expected him to love the Camino. Instead he was constantly "on alert" and could not settle to sleep or eat properly. She also had difficulty with accommodation, dog food and extra water. After a few days her mother drove down to pick up the dog and take him home.

 

[AlanB]

Agree with a lot of the posts.That said, I met a German lady on the del Norte with her dog and they had a ball.The dog seemed to love it.She had a tent and was quite happy with the scenario. Depends on the dog.

 

[oursonpolaire]

I remember the interview with Slovenian peregrina that has done del Norte with her dog. Not much trouble for the dog but mostly for her. As previous posters emphasized most albergues don't allow dogs in therefore this peregrina has usually slept in some tool-sheds of albergues or similar. Also carrying additional water & food for the dog was another "problem" not to mention getting the appropriate dog food in smaller villages.
All that being said this peregrina was very content to bring her dog with her and all ended really well. Nevertheless I think you decided right not to take your dog with you. Enjoy even in missing loved be it a person or an animal!

Ultreia!

I think that I met this pilgrim and her dog (Wili?) who were both the only exception I ever saw to the pilgrim-dog-bad-idea rule. Of all of the roughly-dozen pilgrim dogs I met over the years, only two seemed to be having a good time-- this particular dog appeared to be cheerful and enjoying himself. He had the quality of making every other dog his friend, and I saw him happily nuzzling the nastiest and most vicious guard dogs I saw along the route. However, the pilgrim had her hands full with dog support and finding accommodation which worked. Most pilgrim dogs I saw were fearful, knowing that they were well out of their territory, and their only happiness was in being with their master (who, for some reason, was dragging them hundreds of km)-- others have commented on the challenges. Were I to take a dog on the Camino, I would likely do the Francese, where hotel accommodations could be more easily arranged and other dogs are more likely to be chained than I saw on the del Norte.

 

[3walkingtoSantiago]

I've seen a few people with dogs on the Frances. In Pamplona, we met a couple of happy dogs who were carrying their own food/water in doggy backpacks. Then there were some Spanish guys who were walking with their 3 dogs, all of whom seemed to be having an absolute ball! That said, these were young guys who apparently didn't mind sleeping rough, which they had to do quite often, I think.

 

[Zordmot]

Thank you all very much for you advise and wise words... I Have decided to leave my dog at home where he is safe!

I support your decision. Having said that on my 3 Caminos I’ve met and chatted with maybe 20 or so people who were walking with their dog. Some impressions: 1) they were all doing well, enjoying the camino, 2) for those who were camping they had no problems with finding places. Many albergues allowed them to camp outside. Some allowed them to come inside and shower, launder, etc. 3) while most albergues wouldn’t accept a dog some did on a case by case basis even if it wasn’t their policy, 4) they expressed the overwhelming positive response to a pilgrim with a dog by other pilgrims, 5) it’s true that most restaurants and stores don’t allow dogs, 6) they all had to adjust their schedule according to the needs of the dog especially on hot days, 7) the last man I talked with last month that had walked with his dog all the way from Ukraine was carrying up to 6 liters of water for the dog, 8) it was clear that the needs of the dog take up a good share of their time, energy, and planning. Having said all that, the dogs were all doing well, the human companions were upbeat and positive and their presence on the Camino was warmly received by other pilgrims.

 

[wayfarer]

FYI 2015 thread