mgfit

We would love to travel on vacation this summer with our Border Collie. We can find many hotels and such that accept dogs, but what we need more information on is what we can see and do with our dog. Many places are not dog friendly..(sites/restaurants etc...). Anyone have any recommendations? We like beach, swimming, antiquing, flea markets, shopping, wineries, etc.... We would love to take our dog swimming...any dog friendly lake areas???? Any suggestions appreciated!

Budman

Where do you want to go with your dog, Vermont, Michigan, or New York?

As much as I loved the pets we've had, I certainly wouldn't let that dictate where I go on vacation. Sounds like a classic case of "the tail wagging the dog."

I would recommend putting the dog in a nice kennel and take your wife on a wonderful vacation and enjoy yourselves.

bm

Take your dog to Dog Mountain in St. Johnsbury. This is artist Steven Huneck's gallery, workshop, and dog chapel. He's got acres of fields for your dog to run around in, a couple of ponds for swimming, some hiking trails, and he even started building a doggie waterslide. http://www.dogchapel.com/site/

If you go to Stowe, you can take the gondola up Mount Mansfield with your dog. Plenty of space up there for him/her to romp around.

Can't think of any "dog friendly" restaurants, as I would assume state health codes would get in the way, but Church Street Marketplace in Burlington has many restaurants w/outdoor seating. Maybe you could get a table by the "edge" of the outdoor seating and have your dog sit on the "other side of the fence"?

Have a wonderful time.

gardengrl

There are many pet travel sites that can give you lists of hotels that accept dogs. Some of them are petswelcome.com, dogfriendly.com, takeyourpet.com, petsonthego.com, travelpets.com, etc.

I don't know if you are thinking about Vermont but bm is right, Vermont health codes do not allow you to bring your pet into a restaurant. But if you really want to travel with your dog, you could do a lot of picnicing.

Good luck in your search!

zootsi

Perhaps the most fun thing you can do with a dog in Vermont is hiking. There are many, many trails at all levels of difficulty, and dogs are frequently on the trails. In many cases, they are unleashed. As for swimming, there are countless swimming holes, and dogs are usually welcome. State park beaches would probably not allow them near the wate, however.
A fun place to stay with a dog might be a farm b&b. There are lots of very scenic and rural farm vacation spots in Vermont where a dog would be welcome. As for wineries, due to the very cold winters Vermont is not exactly wine country. There are a few around, but I think many of them are apple wine. There are flea markets throughout the state, I know of one in Fairlee that happens every Sunday, but there are lots more.

mgfit

Just to follow up.....as far as where we want to go....the dog isn't dictating really. We actually travel alot without the pup - in fact our big trip is to Italy in Sept. I just thought it would be fun to bring her along since we always vacation on our own.

We actually live in Michigan, so that is an option. I have not visited all parts of the state. New York (not the city - just the country areas) is something we are considering. Vermont also does have a lot of hiking...that's another place we have considered.

I just want to map out a rough itinerary of things we can do with our pup. I don't really plan on using any kennels or anything on this trip. We just want to hike, swim, drive, picnic and hang out.

I have consulted many websites about travelling with your dog. The problem is that they focus so much on just pet friendly accomodations - they don't list many things that you can actually do with your dog once you are there. That's what I need help with. I would welcome any recommendations....

Thanks