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Beware, because you may get a lot of that here. For some readon these threads attract strong views. People can react without knowing your personal situation.Any discrimination or negativity from other pilgrims?
I''ve never walked with a dog, but have twice been around those who successfully have. Good you are asking these questions, because from what I gathered preparation is key.
Beware, because you may get a lot of that here. For some readon these threads attract strong views. People can react without knowing your personal situation.
So, to start this out with a gentle request: if anyone has an opinion, that's not what the OP needs or has asked for. Someone with recent post-covid pads on the ground experience, though? That would be interesting to know.
Thank you, that is helpful!If your dog loves long one-day treks and needs one or more days to recover afterwards, the camino is not for him or her.
I had a sheperd who loved long day treks, but 20 km was the max. After that, he took at least one day off, or two, and that was fine with me.
Walking 25 km each day is a totally different league. Walking 25 km each day for six weeks in the heat is yet another league.
You can't fit your dog into your schedule. You have to build your trip around the dog and his needs & loves. Does he adjust easily to different food for instance? Is he protective of you and will stand guard all night? If so, when will he sleep?
Try a few multi day trips near home and see how it goes. The dog who insisted on walking a camino hasn't been born yet, it is the folly of the owner that will drag him along.
If Owen Jenkins still returns to this forum, you might get some useful tips from him. His dog, Millie, was a Jack Russel and an experienced multi-day hiker and survivalist. They slept under the stars btw.
https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/walking-with-a-dog.45071/#post-474169
Unfortunately that is true.Beware, because you may get a lot of that here. For some readon these threads attract strong views. People can react without knowing your personal situation.
Thank you, Tincatinker! That is a very useful tip@MacMac, as usual, Gronze is your friend. As far as places that will permit dogs, You need to look at the details page for each individual accommodation as listed. Under the listing for Albergue-Camping Urrobi, Navarra, as an instance you’ll find Admitten Mascotas.
Happy searching
Take a look here:I am looking for pilgrims who have walked the Camino Frances with their dog.
I have walked the Camino from StJPdP to Santiago and Finisterre 4 times and know the way very well. Next time am thinking of taking my dog with me, because I can’t leave him at home. He is a Labrador, very friendly, and has accompanied me on some long one-day treks.
In case some one has experience, I have lots of questions
1. Accomodation in albergues: Were you able to find albergues which allowed you to have the dog with you, for e.g. letting him/her stay/sleep in the courtyard or garden? Or find accommodation in general?
2. How did you handle food? Is pet food available in shops on the way? (My dog would carry a backpack, but I would like to keep the weight below 3kg, so max 1kg for food).
3. Did your dog manage average 25km a day? Any physical challenges or health issues?
4. Any major issues on the way with other dogs, especially locals whose villages you had to pass through?
5. Any discrimination or negativity from other pilgrims?
6. Did other pilgrims avoid you or were you able to have normal social interaction?
7. How did your dog handle the overall experience of no home, continuously changing environment and people, long walking for many days etc?
If someone has experience, would appreciate a response. I could also give you a call if the topic isn’t interesting to others or typing a lot is a burden
Cheers!
Gronze’s list doesn’t have info about dog friendliness of a place. (Oopst. Just read post above, maybe I was wrong about Gronze, apologies!). I find Buen Camino actually has a logo for pet friendly, as well as stables for horse! (note: some of the hostels listed on BC may not have a pet friendly logo but they actually are...)Gronze is your friend.
I’m followingI am looking for pilgrims who have walked the Camino Frances with their dog.
I have walked the Camino from StJPdP to Santiago and Finisterre 4 times and know the way very well. Next time am thinking of taking my dog with me, because I can’t leave him at home. He is a Labrador, very friendly, and has accompanied me on some long one-day treks.
In case some one has experience, I have lots of questions
1. Accomodation in albergues: Were you able to find albergues which allowed you to have the dog with you, for e.g. letting him/her stay/sleep in the courtyard or garden? Or find accommodation in general?
2. How did you handle food? Is pet food available in shops on the way? (My dog would carry a backpack, but I would like to keep the weight below 3kg, so max 1kg for food).
3. Did your dog manage average 25km a day? Any physical challenges or health issues?
4. Any major issues on the way with other dogs, especially locals whose villages you had to pass through?
5. Any discrimination or negativity from other pilgrims?
6. Did other pilgrims avoid you or were you able to have normal social interaction?
7. How did your dog handle the overall experience of no home, continuously changing environment and people, long walking for many days etc?
If someone has experience, would appreciate a response. I could also give you a call if the topic isn’t interesting to others or typing a lot is a burden
Cheers!
Money or time don’t have anything to do with it. My dog has changed owners twice already, and I don’t want to stress him more by making him live with someone else while I am gone.Back in time I read a post on this forum by someone (can't remember who) who had walked the Camino with their dog. They discussed the plusses and minuses of the experience. The one part I clearly remember was that they had to keep changing brands of dog food because of availability issues in each region. How well does your dog do with sudden dietary change?
If the cost of a petsitter is the reason for not being able to leave your dog behind, check out Trusted Pet/Housesitters. Once you pay a very reasonable annual membership fee there's no limit on how many days you can use them at no additional cost.
Good luck whatever you decide.
That suggests that a vest, pack or back harness would also help distinguish a dog looking for play or friends from an aggressive working dog. Those could also carry extra information on to reunite your dog with you in case you get separated. I read on this forum how one woman lost her dog when it ran away in a panic when some fireworks went off.I did ask her to please consider putting a bell on the dog's collar so that I (and others) could hear it coming and so I wouldn't have a heart attack everytime it appeared out of nowhere in my peripheral vision.
Thanks LavanyaLea! I would love to hear of your experiences after your upcoming camino.Hello!
I can tell you very soon as I’m going to do that next week, although just a trial short Camino from Sarria.
the APACA website is helpful. They do have a list of dog friendly places for the major Camino routes although it’s not complete. Their Instagram account is much more up to date than the website, and it has pictures of a lot of pilgrims and their mutts who have completed their Caminoes and getting their doggy compostelas, so it is very reassuring!
There is another IG to follow @turismocanino. This woman did CF from Roncesvalles a few years ago and now is determined to make Spain more dog friendly. She has published 2 books about hiking with dogs in Spain: 1 covers the whole of Camino Frances, the other I think is Northern Spain plus CF from Sarria.
Lastly I have combined the list of dog friendly albergues/hostels from APACA plus those I could find on Instagram for a lot of the main Camino routes. It is an active list so if I find something I’ll add it.
Gronze’s list doesn’t have info about dog friendliness of a place. (Oopst. Just read post above, maybe I was wrong about Gronze, apologies!). I find Buen Camino actually has a logo for pet friendly, as well as stables for horse! (note: some of the hostels listed on BC may not have a pet friendly logo but they actually are...)
I will be doing it with Fuji who is a 25kg lab (my avatar), she will bring a rucksack which contains her food, bowl, poo bags. I carry her water, first aid, towel, etc. There is a Spanish dog who did Primitivo and he had the same food as my dog so the brand is sold in Spain at least. I have bookmarked vets and pet shops in the towns we are passing, but for a 5-day Camino we have all our food plus she will eat meat and vegs. I hope I have trained her paws sufficiently, we’ve done a 130mi Camino in Wales and her paws now look different than before (thicker/tougher). But I have boots in case and we plan to leave early in the day to avoid the heatwave, and plenty of drinking stops and swimming in the river etc to cool her down. I will also bring her cooling vest. And special collar to repel sandflies (vector for Leishmaniasis) - something we don't use in the UK.
The other thing you would need to consider is transport - getting there and back. I will be driving and leaving the car in Sarria. When we get to Santiago, a friend will look after Fuji while I take the bus to Sarria to pick up my car. The Spanish people who have done it with their dogs tend to hire a car - on my google sheet I have a list of companies that let dogs in the hire car. In Spain, dogs >10kg can’t get on public transport.
The reaction of other pilgrims, other dogs and livestock along the route.... I'll get back to you after we've done it. NB: for forum members who are allergic to dogs or would not like to stay in a place that allow dogs then you're welcome to use my list as "places NOT to go".
How my dog will handle it, I hope she will have a great time! She had a great time in our 12-stage camino previously, except cows did not like her and we had 1 pretty scary experience and 1 near miss. But she is VERY easygoing, far more easygoing than me!
@MacMac I’m also hoping to go in 2023, probably around May, with my border collie, most likely the Portuguès Costa route and only the final 100km. I’m intending to do about 10km a day - more for my capacity than my dog’s - with rest days when needed. I’m also intending to come with my campervan that my friend will drive to meet us at the end of each day, so the accommodation won’t be an issue.Thanks LavanyaLea! I would love to hear of your experiences after your upcoming camino.
Your tips and info sources are most helpful! Thank you for taking the time to write all that down.
I had been thinking of transportation to Spain and back too (from Germany). Driving by car and leaving the car somewhere does sound like the most uncomplicated option.
My friend Benji (Lab, 30kg, pitch black so scary for some humans and dogs) is vaccinated against Leishmaniasis and he wears a special anti-flea/tick etc collar throughout the year. In addition the vet gave us a liquid which - applied to his back - protects him against sandflies etc.
Luckily for him and me, he is not at all picky about specific brands of foods. He has never rejected any and we have tried many
At the moment he is still too young for this (and not castrated), so if at all, our camino would be 2023 or 2024.
Have a listen to this podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/8-amanda-frith-2-feet-8-paws/.Thanks LavanyaLea! I would love to hear of your experiences after your upcoming camino.
Your tips and info sources are most helpful! Thank you for taking the time to write all that down.
I had been thinking of transportation to Spain and back too (from Germany). Driving by car and leaving the car somewhere does sound like the most uncomplicated option.
My friend Benji (Lab, 30kg, pitch black so scary for some humans and dogs) is vaccinated against Leishmaniasis and he wears a special anti-flea/tick etc collar throughout the year. In addition the vet gave us a liquid which - applied to his back - protects him against sandflies etc.
Luckily for him and me, he is not at all picky about specific brands of foods. He has never rejected any and we have tried many
At the moment he is still too young for this (and not castrated), so if at all, our camino would be 2023 or 2024.
Did you ever end up trekking with your dog? I am trying to plan to go with my dog.I am looking for pilgrims who have walked the Camino Frances with their dog.
I have walked the Camino from StJPdP to Santiago and Finisterre 4 times and know the way very well. Next time am thinking of taking my dog with me, because I can’t leave him at home. He is a Labrador, very friendly, and has accompanied me on some long one-day treks.
In case some one has experience, I have lots of questions
1. Accomodation in albergues: Were you able to find albergues which allowed you to have the dog with you, for e.g. letting him/her stay/sleep in the courtyard or garden? Or find accommodation in general?
2. How did you handle food? Is pet food available in shops on the way? (My dog would carry a backpack, but I would like to keep the weight below 3kg, so max 1kg for food).
3. Did your dog manage average 25km a day? Any physical challenges or health issues?
4. Any major issues on the way with other dogs, especially locals whose villages you had to pass through?
5. Any discrimination or negativity from other pilgrims?
6. Did other pilgrims avoid you or were you able to have normal social interaction?
7. How did your dog handle the overall experience of no home, continuously changing environment and people, long walking for many days etc?
If someone has experience, would appreciate a response. I could also give you a call if the topic isn’t interesting to others or typing a lot is a burden
Cheers!
I did it, with a very fit and friendly Labrador Retriever (at the time I was training with him for marathons almost every day, so I raised him as a "runner").Did you ever end up trekking with your dog? I am trying to plan to go with my dog.
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