Hi there!! I've been doing a lot of searching for hotels around the Lake District and can only find hotels that allow dogs or small animals. Did anybody find this off putting as well? Is this the norm throughout Italy?<BR>Thanks<BR>

Hi once again<BR>Yes you are right, it is very much the norm, you will probably find every hotel welcomes dogs and no, I don't approve of it at all. While staying in Innsbruck an italian family brought their dog to the breakfast room and this I thought was the absolutle last straw. So prepare yourself.<BR>In my country dogs are forbidden from all hotels and B &amp; B's, farm stays might be a different matter.

Should have clarified, I know Innsbruck is Austria, ha ha but it was the same in both countries.

Thanks Kathy. That's shocking. I suppose we'll have to put up with. Not much good though if you're allergic to them.<BR>

I don't find it off-putting. I don't have a dog but I have 2 cats and am an animal lover. I think it's great that people can travel with their pets and not have to put them in kennels or find someone to care for them.<BR><BR>However, I do understand that for people who are allergic, this can obviously be a problem. When in England, one of the B&amp;Bs had a resident cat, and I thought it was very charming.<BR><BR>I'd keep searching, though. Not everyone wants animals around in hotels, and I would think there are at least some that don't allow them. Good luck!

Hi ryanmk,<BR> I'm afraid that you are going to find that the European attitude toward pets is totally different from that of Americans.<BR><BR> Dogs are permitted in restaurants, but you will notice that they are very well behaved and usually lie under the table and don't bother anyone.<BR><BR> OTOH, you rarely find squalling babies.<BR><BR> It's just one of those cultural differences.<BR>

One other thing to be aware of: If a hotel or B &amp; B in Europe says &quot;no animals&quot;, it's probably because the owners have their own pets on site and don't want them to have to deal with strange animals.<BR><BR>So even a &quot;no pets&quot; policy doesn't mean that there won't be animals there already, although of course, they probably won't be in your room.

I love dogs but am allergic to cats therefore I would not like to share a room that a cat had been in. When in Paris we love to see the dogs in the restaurants. I wish that we could do that in the US but most of them would need to go back to school to learn how to act. The hotel in Paris we stay in had a little dog but the last time we were there the dog was not there. I really missed seeing him! I guess to each their own.

Ryan- Our BnB in Grasmere had Great Danes-as the owners used to show the animals-- While they were allowed in the home, the owners normally kept the pets with them in their home 2 doors away---<BR><BR>In France, we have seen dogs in hotel,bars, and restaurants---the same with Germany.<BR><BR>And like another post said, they were extrememly well behaved and stay under the table....<BR><BR>People in Europe do treat their animals ( at least their dogs) as members of their family and take them everywhere...<BR><BR>Unless you are allergic, it has never been a negative to me as I am a dog lover and travel with my pet in the US whenever we drive on a long trip...I hate to think she would be confined to a 2 x 3 cage for 2 weeks while I am out enjoying myself...LOL

Even though I've traveled in France a lot, I have actually never seen a dog in a restaurant. It doesn't seem that common to me.<BR><BR>I dislike dogs, but luckily haven't had too much trouble in hotels having them. I am not allergic to anything but the reason I don't want them in hotels is the same reason I don't like them that much in general -- they bark and can be very noisy and bark a lot. I think it is extremely inconsiderate for people to take animals that can be noisy to hotels. I had the misfortune of being in a room next to a couple with a dog in Nice and it barked a lot.

In my more than 15 trips to Italy, visiting a number of cities, I've never met a dog in a hotel. While dogs are welcome at the hotels you cite, most travelers choose to leave them home. You might be similarly surprised if you checked the pets-welcome policies of various hotels closer to home.

ryanmk - if European customs upset you so much, then don't go to Europe. If you do go don't bitch about their customs. Instead consider Korea, or SE Asia where they eat dogs.

I had to giggle at the most recent reply, but I recently travelled through Italy and was delighted to see how much the Italians treasured their dogs. They take them everywhere, including restaurants, stores and even offices. <BR><BR>When I travel, these are the things I am seeking to learn - e.g., how other people live. If this is not your goal or you are travelling for business, I suggest checking with a travel agency (American Express comes to mind) who specializes in business travel. Having stayed at some of these hotels throughout my limited travels, they generally take on a more generic (bland!) milieu.

I love the &quot;cafe dogs&quot; in France, and we also encounted dogs in some restaurants in Venice. Italians seem to love dogs as much as the French, probably one of the reasons I like both cultures. At the Antico Capon, on Campo Santa Margherita in Venice, the owner's cute little bassoto (dachshund) was wandering around, making friends, and we didn't find that off-putting at all (if the cute little fella would've tried to lunge for our pizza, that would have been a different matter. <BR><BR>Dogs in restaurants have one great redeeming quality over humans in restaurants: they don't smoke!

In California it's not unusual to see people bring their dogs with them when shopping, dining, or at hotels. I don't think this is something that's limited to Europe. A large percentage of the high end hotels in San Francisco allow dogs and so do the rental homes and cabins surrounding lake areas and other 'weekend' getaway locations. Many restaurants with outdoor seating allow them throughout the state. If we go on a road trip, we usually bring our dogs and have very little difficulty finding places to stay and dine with them. Lots of places even cater to them by providing biscuits, dishes, towels, and 'babysitting' services. Quite a few can be seen in department stores as well!

In Austria they cheerfully allow dogs in most hotels, inns, retaurants and cafes.<BR>I think it is a wonderful practice and I hope they continue to do so. If you are allergic, you have my sympathy and should try to find somewhere that they don't. If you just don't approve then you have an attitude problem and should go to Disneyland instead.

This is an interesting issue. As our upcoming trip becomes closer in time, I'm considering posting and asking for hotels that have dogs. I'm a big doglover and miss my dog when we travel and am so glad to be able to pet and talk with friendly dogs. <BR><BR>Some of my fondest memories are of the dogs I met--the St. Bernard at the Villa de Belvedere in Florence and the Great Pyrenees at the Continental in Barcelona. Although my French, Italian, and Spanish are limited, I have learned how to say &quot;May I pet your dog&quot; in each language. Not only do I get to met the dog, but it's a nice well to get to talk with the dog's person as well. Doglovers all over seem to relate to each other. <BR><BR>I have to admit it was pretty funny when I asked a man in a French cafe if I could pet his dog and the woman sitting next to him responded in English, &quot;You can pet him too.&quot;<BR><BR>Don't worry,ryan--most dogs are smarter than some people and they know when someone doesn't like them and will stay away from you.

Another huge dog lover here!! It is common throughout parts of the US as well, at least in Seattle, to allow dogs inside banks, bookstores, some clothing/shoe stores, even some cafes!<BR><BR>It is usually dependent on whether the dog is well-behaved or not. Happy to say, my dog was. Trained him to volunteer in a nursing home, and they adored him. <BR><BR>I respected people's boundaries about him, and anytime anyone expressed concern or mentioned they were allergic, I quickly brought him outside.<BR><BR>Anyway, sadly, he is no longer here, so I hope I run into some of our furry friends on my upcoming trip to Italy, as I have in the past. Met a woman in Milan 2 years ago, because of her dog, and we are still in touch!<BR>

In Paris last year, came across a restaurant that allows dogs, yet not children. I embrace these cultural differences as they make for a more interesting journey.

<BR>I feel the way Capo does, dogs are fine with me as long as they don't smoke!<BR>We saw so many dogs in Paris, &quot;cafe dogs&quot;, they are so used to people hurrying by, they ignore everyone, they are so cool!<BR>Unfortunately, in the US there are all of these rules and regulations. Dogs can not go into an establishment that sells food. My dog cannot go into the video store because they sell popcorn and candy. But in NYC, he can sit at any outdoor cafe.<BR>In B&amp;B's, when owners have dogs, rarely do those dogs go into guest rooms, they usually hang out downstairs or outside. <BR>My goal is still to get my Pup to be well behaved enough to go shopping with him in Barneys