Lists of dog-friendly aubergues

[Jakke]

I would not advice anyone to take a dog along, but that is besides the point.
On our Finnish Camino group (FB) there is a discussion about walking with dogs.
What kind of resources are there along the camino? Do we, e.g., have a list of places where dogs can stay overnight? Addresses of vets?

 

[caminka]

not as far as I know.

generally, if an establishment has a web page, it usually states whether they accept dogs (pets), what sizes and on what conditions. for example, many gites d'etapes in france do accept dogs, but the dogs must remain outside. sometimes you can have a dog with you if you have a private room. sometimes you can camp with a dog in their garden.
there are some albergues in spain that accept dogs, but they are not many, I am afraid. hostales and hotels are a better bet precisely because you have your own room.

those few pilgrims I have met who were walking with a dog, usually took a tent and slept outside where possible.

 

[Camino Addict]

Hi Jakke,

The last time I completed the Frances, there was one Spanish pilgrim I met that brought his boxer. I spoke with him in depth as to how his pilgrimage was going, and I must sadly say that it was very difficult for him, and especially his dog. Most albergues turned him and his dog away because they did not want to deal with the liability/responsibility of having an animal on the property. So he had multiple 40+ km walking days just to find lodging that would accept both of them, and he believed that most of the albergues that did let him stay only did once they saw how exhausted he and his dog looked.

He said the albergues that did let him stay were a mix of private and "public" albergues, though none of them officially allowed pets, but were more willing to make exceptions for service animals, and some let him stay at the albergue because a resident of the village/town he was in would let him keep the dog at their house/yard. He even mentioned that one night he stayed in a barn with his dog. He also mentioned that accommodations that accepted horses would take the two in, but they were pricey, and the distances between these places was quite far, unless of course you were going by horse.

As for his dog, I recall seeing it twice. I met it first in on the road in Rioja, and the dog was as happy and cheerful as anyone would expect a dog would be. Then I met it in an albergue outside of Burgos. That time, I remember it being so exhausted, it did not move from its bed all night, and I don't think it didn't have the strength to even eat anything. The owner was concerned and he said he was planning to take it to a vet the next day. We made it to Burgos the next day and I did not see the pilgrim, but one of the other pilgrims did have his contact info and told us that the vet said the dog was very ill and could not go further, so they both went home back to Madrid.

As for vets on the Camino, the pilgrim did mention that he had vets check his dog multiple times while they were on the Camino. He didn't mention having a list, but he did say that all he did was ask the host at the albergue how to find a local vet, and he never had trouble getting one.

I hope someday that the Camino will be more dog friendly, and perhaps someone else will have a better story to tell about this subject.

 

[MinaKamina]

Hi Jakke, a list of dog-friendly albergues on the CF can be found on the website of Camino con mi perro:

http://www.caminoconmiperro.com/de_santiago/alojamientos.html

Camino con mi perro has lots of tips and advice, all in Spanish. General idea is that you walk what the dog can walk and enjoys walking. I've written about this before. In my case, walking with my German shepherd *, that would have meant walking 15 kms per day, keeping out of the heat, and then take a rest day every other day.
It is comparable with walking with young children. Keep the child or the dog happy and you'll be happy. This also means that if you are in a place where the dog has to sleep outside, you sleep outside too, to keep your dog company in an unknown environment.

 

[Jakke]

Hi Jakke, a list of dog-friendly albergues on the CF can be found on the website of Camino con mi perro:

http://www.caminoconmiperro.com/de_santiago/alojamientos.html

Camino con mi perro has lots of tips and advice, all in Spanish. General idea is that you walk what the dog can walk and enjoys walking. I've written about this before. In my case, walking with my German shepherd *, that would have meant walking 15 kms per day, keeping out of the heat, and then take a rest day every other day.
It is comparable with walking with young children. Keep the child or the dog happy and you'll be happy. This also means that if you are in a place where the dog has to sleep outside, you sleep outside too, to keep your dog company in an unknown environment.

Great! Thanks!

 

[fmsoares]

I would not advice anyone to take a dog along, but that is besides the point.
On our Finnish Camino group (FB) there is a discussion about walking with dogs.
What kind of resources are there along the camino? Do we, e.g., have a list of places where dogs can stay overnight? Addresses of vets?

I agree, leave your dog at home.

 

[Tia Valeria]

Many hotels etc do not allow dogs. Those that do often charge about 10 Euros extra per room per night and have strict rules about not leaving them alone. We saw one lady eating alone by the bar as her dog was not allowed in the restaurant area and could not be left alone in her room. Sad all round

 

[Ungawawa]

The free TrailSmart app lets you filter accommodation by whether they allow dogs or not. It's not the easiest app to use though.

 

[Ad van Brunschot]

I would also not stay in an albergue with a dog. They smell!!!