ALL ABOUT DOGS and CATS Resource Center for Canine & Feline Lovers
Pet Friendly Travel
Accomodations, Restaurants, Shopping
Having a great, fun vacation with your pet consists of much more than just getting there and finding
a pet-friendly lodging. It includes finding things to do and places to take your pet once you arrive.
French dogs eat out at restaurants with
their owners and are often given their
own chair at the restaurant table, with
their own dish.
A dog sniffs its food in 'Tampopo' in the
center of Kiev. Tampopo is the first
restaurant for visitors with their pets in the
capital of the ex-Soviet Ukraine.
REUTERS/Gleb Garanich , April 15, 2004


Many people think of their pets as full-fledged family members. According
to the American Animal Hospital Pet Owner Survey (2004), 67% of pet
owners travel with their pets. A Starwood Hotels & Resort survey of pet
owners found that 37% of pet owners would travel more with their pets if
they knew more accomodations accepted pets.
Including a pet in your family vacation is not difficult as long as you plan
ahead. Most pets (and especially dogs) respond well to travel. This fact is
now recognized by much of the travel industry.
Thousands of hotels and motels, coast -to-coast in North America offer
pet-friendly accomodations. Airline bookings for pet passengers are also
increasing. And more cities and states are adjusting or changing the laws
regarding dogs in outside restaurants.
Whether travelling across the country or internationally, by car or plane, you
will have to do some advance planning. Click here for the Information you'll
need for Traveling With Pets
Accommodations
About 1/3 of all U.S. and Canadian accommodations allow pets. Pet
owners are able to select among luxury and economy hotels, B&Bs and
vacation rentals.
Travel with your pet only at friendly pet hotels.
"The pub must serve decent beer [and] be part of the local community. The food must be simple and good, but should not eclipse the important business of drinking. It should not be so popular that the locals have been squeezed out, nor so exclusive that it did not welcome the colonel and the cleaning lady. Ideally, there should be no piped music, no microwaves and no electronic games. Dogs, gumboots and smoking must be allowed. Children could be seen, but should not be heard......." Source: Adam Edwards, The Daily Telegraph, 2 2 02.
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All dogs are fascinated by the smells they encounter when they stick their noses out the window of a moving car. You can indulge him, but never leave the window down so far that your dog can jump or fall out. Roll the window no more than half way down.
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Most Swiss restaurants will let you bring in a well-behaved pet. However, it's considered bad manners to have your dog sit in a chair while eating Unless, of course, it knows how to use silverware. (Switzerland with your dog)
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Shopping
With the exception of butcher shops and fresh produce stores, most shops and department stores
in Europe will allow you to take in your well-behaved, leashed dog. Not so in Canada and the USA.
With the exception of assistance dogs and very small dogs carried in "tote bags," malls, stores and
shopping centers generally do not allow dogs.
Some open-air markets, and individual stores in "tourist" areas do allow dogs. These are rare. (
Most Pet Stores allow vaccinated pets on leash, i.e
Pet Smart, Pet Value and other large pet food stores...and doggies love it))
Pet Friendly Shopping Malls in the U.S.







Dining With Your Dog
Most of Europe has restaurants, cafes and pubs where your well-behaved
dog is welcome to be with you while you eat. ( Austria, Germany, France,
and UK are especially dog-friendly) And There is no problem with the
dogs other than the fact that some cat lovers don't like them. The dogs are
all well-behaved, and the owners are equally well-trained. This is not the
case in North America.