Meg27

We have decided to only bring our dog, rather than our two cats aswell, which has been heartbreaking but I think it is the right decision...

One of the reasons for this is that we hope that we will be able to go on road trips and camping trips and take the dog with us rather than having the hassle of finding kennels/sitters for the cats and being limited by that.

But I have wondered how easy/difficult it might be travelling from state to state with the dog? Is there any regulations? And what about campsites, is it hard to find campsites that allow dogs?

I love the idea of buying an old van and setting off just the two of us and our lovely doggy for a few months to explore our new country...

Has anyone done this?

linabey

Bear in mind that dogs are not allowed in National Parks, and a lot of the best campsites and scenery etc are in those...

arkon

Yes I did it, and it was a nightmare. If your going to do it with a dog make sure you do it out of season and not during school holidays. We found it almost impossible to find a campsite that was both available and then would take dogs.

DrWho

http://www.lovemelovemydog.com.au

viviennef

Its a bit harder but I have done it heaps - busy and quiet times. Interesting challenges! There are places - how big is your dog? Small dogs are easier in own van. that said I have a very large dog and I just call tourist info before I get to each place and ring around as we are driving. Never slept by the side of the road yet!

I have a huge list of dog friendly accomodation for my new site revamp with thousands of entries, just have to get it together if it will help.

We go to national parks, sometimes we play dumb, sometimes we keep him in the car with the air con on dependent on how many people are around. Australia is so not dog friendly national park wise. Occasionally we call dont fret pet and get a day sitter!

Vivienne

Smartinis

It's not like the UK, forget the idea of going for nice scenic walks with your dog, in most cases it isn't going to happen. When we go out for the day unfortunately we tend to leave our 2 dogs at home. You aren't even allowed to drive into many national park areas with a dog in the car, let alone let them out for a pee!!
Dogs here are exercised on lead around the road or along some beaches, in summer early in the morning or after 7pm when its dark! or in one of the few leash free areas which are often no more than a small fenced playing field that nobody else wants. They can be so boring if you have to use the same one day after day.
Some cafes are great and provide a bowl of water if you sit outside but others won't even let you have your dog on the premises. It can be a nightmare if you don't know where you are going. We were at a small restaurant the other week and a woman came in and asked if she could have her small dog on the outside terrace by the road, they said NO, she would have to leave it in the car, it was 43 degrees!!!!! and there was no shade. I was furious for her and said so. I felt like reporting them to the RSPCA for even suggesting it. But she had to turn round and leave. They weren't even busy, I can see why now. Not everywhere is as bad but you will come across it unfortunately. Its true Australia is not really very dog friendly and I think touring with one could be very stressful. Its a real shame because we would love to do road trips with ours, but I don't think we will, not without serious planning anyway and that takes all the spontaneity out of it.

DrWho

I'd agree with that, unfortunately...

viviennef

I found brisbane not dog friendly - I found Sydney and the Sunshine coast very dog friendly. We take our dog to the beach daily - at all times of the day.

There are maps available at each tourist information with details of dog access - beaches etc. We just go and then pop in on our way into any town and see what is on.

We always take the dog in to the parks in the car, have never had an issue but its my pet hate subject.

We never go to dog parks - they stink!

Viv

Smartinis

Thanks for the info, we live in Victoria and rangers patrol all the beaches and parks. Are you legally allowed to take your dogs on the beaches etc or do you just go ahead anyway (I know a lot of people who do that here as well, but its huge fines if you get caught potentially, apart from the embarrasment of being caught). If there are no restrictions in other states then it would be useful to know. I know we went to WA last year and although we didn't have our dogs with us I still noticed the same sort of restrictions as in Vic. If we can tour NSW and Qld with our dogs then this really is good news, but I won't take them if they are not allowed.

viviennef

There are beaches designated - off leash all day, on leash between 10 and 4 off leash otherwise, on leash all times, no dogs etc.

most patrolled beaches are no dogs.

We dont tend to break the rules either, I can't be bothered with the hassle - 3 kids, dog, and a grumpy warden!

We found pet friendly places harder to find in the SC before we moved here but once you are here its quite pet friendly. NSW - we lived there but there is even a hotel in sydney centre that takes dogs!

Vivienne

Smartinis

Thanks for the info, Vivienne. The beaches are designated here as well, but it can get very complicated as rules change with daylight savings and our no dogs or on leash only periods are much longer than yours 9am -7pm most of the time. Leash free beaches exsist, I'm lucky to have one near me but on the whole they are rare. I think things may improve for dog owners if the "few" would pick up after their dogs, it really annoys me that even in the leash free parks people don't bother. It gives all dog owners such a bad name.

We'll have to try a short trip with the hounds and see how we find it, if we can ever afford to get away that is!!

humpy

We live on Gold coast and have found 2 beaches that you can exercise your dog off lead, Go onto goldcoastcity.com.au and search for dog walks, it lists all off lead areas on the gold coast.