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Search 69,459 Camino Questions

How to deal with the dogs on the way of Camino

Blossom S

New Member
Time of past OR future Camino
On April 2018
Hi, I will take the Camino France on the middle of April. As I’m afraid of dogs I wonder if anyone who did the way came across the dogs without lead and in which area, thanks.
 
The 2024 Camino guides will be coming out little by little. Here is a collection of the ones that are out so far.
The farm dogs are unchained at night, so not a good idea to walk past a farm before the sun is up. Otherwise, there are rarely dog encounters on the CF.
Jill
 
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As a dog owner you really get to know dogs and in many cases the dog is more scared of you than you are of them. So if you keep out of their way you'll be OK.

If this is a concern though, why not have a few lessons if we can call them that, at a local dog training class. It will be a supervised environment and usually less threatening than en route. Dog owners are usually very friendly and only too willing to show how good their dogs are with people. Could be a win-win as they say.
 
I am also afraid of dogs, especially after I was bitten by a Rottweiler in the upper arm a number of years ago. I've walked the Frances route twice and never had a problem. The dogs are usually disinterested in pilgrims or napping. The more aggresive ones have always been tied up and I just steer clear and move on quickly.
 
The 2024 Camino guides will be coming out little by little. Here is a collection of the ones that are out so far.
I am also afraid of dogs, especially after I was bitten by a Rottweiler in the upper arm a number of years ago. I've walked the Frances route twice and never had a problem. The dogs are usually disinterested in pilgrims or napping. The more aggresive ones have always been tied up and I just steer clear and move on quickly.
I was bitted by a dog two years ago. You mean you came across dogs during the way, right? In which area? Thanks.
 
The farm dogs are unchained at night, so not a good idea to walk past a farm before the sun is up. Otherwise, there are rarely dog encounters on the CF.
Jill
Hi Jsalt, I read your post about the lessons, it’s really helpful. Could you please tell more about the cows and bed bugs experiences. How I could know there’s bed bugs, thanks.
 
I was bitted by a dog two years ago. You mean you came across dogs during the way, right? In which area? Thanks.
Yes, I'm referring to dogs along the Camino. I don't particularly recall "where", but they were around quite often. My hiking poles made me feel safer, but I never felt threatened anyway. Odds are you will be fine. Buen Camino!
 
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Hi Jsalt, I read your post about the lessons, it’s really helpful. Could you please tell more about the cows and bed bugs experiences. How I could know there’s bed bugs, thanks.

Hi Blossom, welcome to the forum, I see you have just joined.
You will find lots of information here, just take your time and browse all the different threads that may interest you.
There is a search box (top right) where you can search on particular items of interest, like dogs and cows and bed bugs.
Jill
 
We saw plenty of dogs along the Camino - some leashed or fenced, some not. Most could not care less about pilgrims walking by. Some are pets, some are farm dogs - none that I saw were ferel. I only had one slightly negative encounter with a dog. It snarled at me as I walked through a town - I brandished my hiking pole at it, it went away. I also had a very funny encounter with a dog - I was walking with a group and a local farm dog decided that it needed to herd our group to the next town. It stayed with us, making sure no one fell behind, until it had safely brought us to town, then it turned around and went on its way.
 
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
I can only recall three dogs free before Galicia. Two were herding sheep with their master. The other was trying to get out of the rain. I saw no cows free before Galicia.

Once in Galicia things changed. We passed a good number of cows and dogs on the loose. None wanted anything to do with us. Dogs napped in the middle of the road and didn't even flick their tails as we walked right next to them.


 
I can only recall three dogs free before Galicia. Two were herding sheep with their master. The other was trying to get out of the rain. I saw no cows free before Galicia.

Once in Galicia things changed. We passed a good number of cows and dogs on the loose. None wanted anything to do with us. Dogs napped in the middle of the road and didn't even flick their tails as we walked right next to them.


Thank you very much. I will pay attention when I’m near Galicia. I was really unlucky to got bitten by a “very friendly ‘ dog when I walked nearby my home. Now I really feel afraid of other dogs except my own one.
 
We saw plenty of dogs along the Camino - some leashed or fenced, some not. Most could not care less about pilgrims walking by. Some are pets, some are farm dogs - none that I saw were ferel. I only had one slightly negative encounter with a dog. It snarled at me as I walked through a town - I brandished my hiking pole at it, it went away. I also had a very funny encounter with a dog - I was walking with a group and a local farm dog decided that it needed to herd our group to the next town. It stayed with us, making sure no one fell behind, until it had safely brought us to town, then it turned around and went on its way.
You are very brave. Thanks.
 
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One way to know if you've wandered off the Camino is if a dog barks at you a lot. :)

Dogs on the Camino are so used to pergrinos that they might just bark a couple of times, if at all.
 
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@Blossom S in the last few years my experience with dogs on the Camino Francés is that they are so bored by pilgrims they can barely raise their heads to look, let alone bark.
 
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
Hi @Blossom S, and welcome to the forum. I too am a dog-phobe, but I think that loose dogs on the Camino Francés are extremely rare. On some of the less traveled caminos, there are more of them. Here is what one pilgrim had to say about how she "conquered" her fear of dogs on the Camino de Invierno, where there are many many more loose dogs than you will ever find on the Camino Francés. Hope this helps, buen camino, Laurie

I encountered so many loose dogs and very nearly gave up due to a fear that was becoming irrational. I finally, on day 3, talked myself through the facts: these dogs are here to guard cows/sheep/property. If I am not threatening the cows/sheep/property, then they will not attack me. No farmer would let a human-killer dog run free. So I started to talk to each dog and told them what a good job they were doing protecting their cows/sheep/property and my fear left me. By the end I felt like the dog whisperer. I read on the forum that someone gave up several days in because of the dogs. It isn't necessary. They are intimidating, but they are not trained to attack innocent people walking down the road.
 
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I never saw a aggressive dog on the Camino, and I missed my owns dogs so much, I tried to pet all the dogs. My friends were sure I'd get bitten or fleas or something, but they were all so lovely. If they had looked aggressive I would not have tried to touch them.
There were some big ones in the mountains, they just completely ignored all the pilgrims.
 
Not to put and unnecessary fears in anyone, but all of you do realize northern Spain is home to large populations of wild boar, some of which weigh in excess of 100 kilos. The males can be very territorial and aggressive at times.
I'm hesitant to mention the Iberian lynx populations as well.
;)
 
Not to put and unnecessary fears in anyone, but all of you do realize northern Spain is home to large populations of wild boar, some of which weigh in excess of 100 kilos. The males can be very territorial and aggressive at times.
I'm hesitant to mention the Iberian lynx populations as well.
;)
You forgot the wolves and the bears!
 
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Hi, Some of the dogs on the Camino are large beasts...most won't be interested in you however...I used this technique twice last year on the CF as someone more learned than me on this forum happened to mention it. If you reach down to the ground as though to pick up a stone the dog will retreat... as it did in both of the cases I faced. No need to actually pick up a stone as the dogs know what it may mean by a human picking up a stone.

Buen Camino
 
@peregrina2000 suggestions is an excellent one as it calms both you and the dog.

This one sits on the windowsill outside the cafe in Burgette and is a big old male. He loves rubs and affections but only on his terms. You listen for the low growl which is the usual method for this breed. You just approach in a non-threatening way. Let them sniff the back of your closed hand and take it from there while listening/

full
 
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Saw lots of dogs inside their property boundaries between Le Puy and SJPP, but none loose. Only time I was worried was when I lost the trail briefly and ended up in a farm yard, with no one home but a large Alsatian cross who tried to levitate himself out of his cage, by swinging on a tree branch, but just failed to clear the wire, luckily, and he calmed down when I hastily back-tracked.
Had an odd incident in north Portugal where an old terrier joined up with myself and two others for about 5km, including our lunch stop, before a young woman roared up in and old Fiat, scooped him up and scolded him, then headed south with him in the car - apparently he does that regularly...
 
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
In addition to what has been said above, please allow me to interject a few observations that should help.

1. If using hiking sticks or a staff, do not use them for walking anywhere near a dog that is not secured. Many farm dogs in Spain are raised more as working dogs and less as family pets. Some of these dogs were trained and may still be controlled by owners using a stick or staff. Using your hiking sticks or staff within a dog's sight will likely remind them of being treated cruelly. They will react accordingly. So, to avoid a snarling, barking, angry looking dog, don't use them.

I am NOT moralizing. In my experience, shouldering the sticks when walking past dogs minimizes your threat profile to them. Sometimes I carry both in one hand as I walk past. I also talk to the dogs quietly and gently in Spanish telling them that they are good dogs, and to be quiet and calm (tranquilo). I try to talk to them in a tone that a kind owner might speak to their pet.

2. PLEASE - NEVER allow any dog to follow you more than a couple hundred meters from their home place! This occurs rarely, especially if there is something about you that intrigues a dog, like carried fresh food.

Once a dog gets a kilometer or so from their home, they get disoriented. Their familiar scents are missing and they are lost. Their ability to find their normal home is hampered by your interference with their routine. They will attach themselves to you for companionship, and food.

So, PLEASE, for the dog's sake tell them to return home "Va a la casa!" or "Vamos!" Do not do anything to encourage a dog to tag along with you. It is not cute, and in many cases can be a death sentence for the dog.

This said, it happens infrequently. But it does happen. Most of the dogs I have encountered are just hanging out, sleeping in the street or in a doorway. They have seen thousands of pilgrims pass by, every day, year after year. So they know the drill. I carry my poles and speak gently to them as I pass. In five caminos I have never had a problem with a dog.

Over four years as a Pilgrim Office volunteer I have seen too many dogs abandoned by pilgrims on arrival at Santiago. These dogs are not chipped and usually do not wear collars or tags. So, there is no practical way to return a dog to its owner. As mentioned above, as most of these dogs are considered working farm animals, and not pets, the owner typically does not come looking for the dog. It is heartbreaking.

The Pilgrim Office must contact local Animal Control. There is no guarantee that the dog will not be euthanized.

I hope this helps the dialog.
 
Hi, I will take the Camino France on the middle of April. As I’m afraid of dogs I wonder if anyone who did the way came across the dogs without lead and in which area, thanks.
We did see a lot of dogs on the Camino Frances; however, as someone else said earlier in this thread many were sleeping and most were so used to pilgrims passing by that they were not interested. There were some loose dogs in Galicia, more so on the Camino Finisterre than on the Camino Frances. I carry a dog dazer when I go walking but I did not have any reason to use it. It makes a high pitched noise that dogs don't like. It gives me more confidence to walk past dogs as I am also afraid of them.
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
No business will let his dog get between him and your wallet. Bar dogs sleep a lot. That said, there are some viscous dogs out there, and occasionally they get loose. There are pilgrims attacked every year, but you are not likely to be the unlucky one.
 
Honestly, vicious dogs are simply not an issue on the Camino, and to all the future pilgrims reading this, don't give it any thought. Concentrate on more important aspects of the walk such as physical conditioning prior. Being overweight or out of shape has a much higher chance of ending your Camino early than the remotest possibility of a dog bite.
I never saw "wild dogs" on the Camino and doubt highly there are any. Wild dogs tend to be destructive to local livestock and wildlife, and aren't tolerated and don't live long. Working dogs are working dogs. They work for a living and have no interest in the silly stranger human walking by, clad in the latest gore-tex, spandex and synthetics and wool blends, with the strange load on their back, chatting away about how lovely the tapas/pinxos and rioja they had last night were. That strange human does not feed them, and is not part of their pack. A non-entity of sorts. If you see one of those dogs and fear it, it will know. So best advice is not even look at it (it knows you are looking at it), give wide berth and move on down the lane. It has no interest in anything out of its invisible, territorial boundaries and once you exit that area, you are already forgotten about.
If one has a fear of dogs, my best advice is to find someone that has a friendly, lovable dog and visit them and play with it.
 
Hi, I will take the Camino France on the middle of April. As I’m afraid of dogs I wonder if anyone who did the way came across the dogs without lead and in which area, thanks.
Not crazy about dogs either but never had any problems. The few I saw off the leash were quiet and gentle. The chained up ones completely ignore you unless you go into their domain which you are highly unlikely to do. The sometimes heard rumour of gangs of wild dogs running around the camino is a complete and utter fairy tale. You are more likely to run into a wild elephant and there arent any in spain. Having said that, a few years ago one ran amok in Cork, Ireland :)
 
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Hi, I will take the Camino France on the middle of April. As I’m afraid of dogs I wonder if anyone who did the way came across the dogs without lead and in which area, thanks.

As a general rule with dogs anywhere, 1/ do not make eye contact- dogs may interpret this as aggressive, 2/keep your hands close to your body, not waving or moving them about, 3/ my favorite, which takes dogs off guard often...speak to the dogs in friendly 'baby talk' using voice inflections as one would use when speaking to their own beloved pet( while looking away and not right at the dog. In my many years of door- to-door social services work i have met many "mean" dogs and have never been bitten.
 
Hi, Some of the dogs on the Camino are large beasts...most won't be interested in you however...I used this technique twice last year on the CF as someone more learned than me on this forum happened to mention it. If you reach down to the ground as though to pick up a stone the dog will retreat... as it did in both of the cases I faced. No need to actually pick up a stone as the dogs know what it may mean by a human picking up a stone.

Buen Camino

Yeah, we did see some large specimens like this one in Foncebadon. After calling out to him he did eventually lift his head and crack an eye before going back to sleepCamino - Spain - April - 2015 353.jpg
 
Not crazy about dogs either but never had any problems. The few I saw off the leash were quiet and gentle. The chained up ones completely ignore you unless you go into their domain which you are highly unlikely to do. The sometimes heard rumour of gangs of wild dogs running around the camino is a complete and utter fairy tale. You are more likely to run into a wild elephant and there arent any in spain. Having said that, a few years ago one ran amok in Cork, Ireland :)
Umm, I'm not meaning to hijack this thread, but was that white elephant wearing red socks perchance? ;)
 
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This is wandering off topic but there are signs posted along the CF that explain what happens when a dog follows a pilgrim. Generally they walk as far as they can, sometimes all the way to where a pilgrim spends that night and then they have nowhere to go. They are then lost and are homeless. Keep in mind that they have left what is quite probably a good home and chances are they may never find their way back to it. The signs instruct all pilgrims to stop dogs following them. I would go further and say if a dog is following you turn around and walk it back to where it came from and hopefully find someone there who will make sure it doesn’t continue to follow you. It is not obvious if you don’t know this side of the story but given the topic I think worth posting about it to spread the word.
 
Generally they walk as far as they can, sometimes all the way to where a pilgrim spends that night and then they have nowhere to go. They are then lost and are homeless. Keep in mind that they have left what is quite probably a good home and chances are they may never find their way back to it.

An unintended consequence but the warning about what might happen does need repeated.

Could @t2andreo give us a link to the animal shelter that takes these strays in SdC. I'd like to visit when I am there.

Is it this one?

http://www.adopt-a-griffon.eu/en/adopt-a-griffon/refuxio-de-bando-the-news-from-griffon-heartland/

Brought 4 back from Galicia last March as there isn't the same support for dogs in Spain compared to other countries.
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
Another thing to remember is that not every culture views dogs and cats and such as furry little people. They see them as no different than livestock. The dogs, and quite often the cats, have a purpose on the farm or homestead. To protect. To herd animals around. To control rodent populations. They are not there to cuddle with, play with, or talk to in a silly voice like they are a small child. The dogs and cats are in a way, expendable. One dies, you just get another.
Is that good or bad? Who knows. Not for me to judge. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it is acceptable to be cruel to animals, but what I am saying is that don't judge the locals by the standards you are used to.
 
what I am saying is that don't judge the locals by the standards you are used to

And if part of my family are Galician (Vigo area) and they requested the removal because of the way dogs are treated there, how does that fit with your comment.
 
And if part of my family are Galician (Vigo area) and they requested the removal because of the way dogs are treated there, how does that fit with your comment.
I have no idea and do not care. I did not say Spain did not have animal cruelty laws. I am well aware that many countries do, and also aware that even with the laws, certain subcultures of people within the countries still see dogs and cats as just animals.
My comment was not geographic specific. It could apply to anyplace in the world. There are countries that view dogs and cats as a viable source of food protein. Good or bad? I do not know and cannot judge. I have never been truly hungry in my life. Some countries the consumption of horse meat is normal, other countries it is unthinkable. It's all in where you are from.
 
Down bag (90/10 duvet) of 700 fills with 180 g (6.34 ounces) of filling. Mummy-shaped structure, ideal when you are looking for lightness with great heating performance.

€149,-
Hi, I will take the Camino France on the middle of April. As I’m afraid of dogs I wonder if anyone who did the way came across the dogs without lead and in which area, thanks.
Lots of dogs but never a problem. I make it a habit to greet the dogs in a very gentle and loving voice: "Good morning. How are you today? Two stray dogs walked with me for about 8 km on my way to Papas de Reis.
 
We did see a lot of dogs on the Camino Frances; however, as someone else said earlier in this thread many were sleeping and most were so used to pilgrims passing by that they were not interested. There were some loose dogs in Galicia, more so on the Camino Finisterre than on the Camino Frances. I carry a dog dazer when I go walking but I did not have any reason to use it. It makes a high pitched noise that dogs don't like. It gives me more confidence to walk past dogs as I am also afraid of them.
Hi Lucy, thank you for your reply. as you said you had a dog dazer, have you tried it after you got it, did it work? If yes I would like to have one. Thanks again.
 
Technical backpack for day trips with backpack cover and internal compartment for the hydration bladder. Ideal daypack for excursions where we need a medium capacity backpack. The back with Air Flow System creates large air channels that will keep our back as cool as possible.

€83,-
Well for what it's worth, there were several large dogs lying in the street in O Cebreiro when I was there in 2012, strolling after a day's hiking. As I slowly approached I received an aggressive warning growl. I got the message and retreated. So it can happen.
 
An unintended consequence but the warning about what might happen does need repeated.

Could @t2andreo give us a link to the animal shelter that takes these strays in SdC. I'd like to visit when I am there.

Is it this one?

http://www.adopt-a-griffon.eu/en/adopt-a-griffon/refuxio-de-bando-the-news-from-griffon-heartland/

Brought 4 back from Galicia last March as there isn't the same support for dogs in Spain compared to other countries.

I do not know. The paid staff handled it. They assured me it was a 'no kill' shelter.

However, I took a look at the home page on the Concello de Santiago de Compostela, in Castellano (Spanish). Here is that page in Spanish:

http://santiagodecompostela.gal/facendo_cidade/facendo.php?txt=fc_canceira&lg=cas

Also, here is the actual home page of the refuge: http://www.refuxio.org/

You need to use an online translator to get it to English. However, the gist of the matter is that this is the actual officially sanctioned "animal control" for dogs for Santiago. Hence, I am certain this is the place they called.

That said, I will forward this to them for my personal confirmation. I also saved the links to my material on Santiago de Compostela. As the need arises during my volunteer stint each summer, I refer here to provide accurate information to arriving pilgrims.

Hope this helps.
 
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
If approached by a dog stand still
fold your arms
no eye contact
Turn your back
DON'T wave walking sticks or legs or arm about trying to send it away, this can look aggressive and threatening which nay result in an attack.
Don't run you wont be faster
If you wish to greet a dog allow it to greet you first, present the back off yor hand in a soft gentle movement while it approaches you.
If the tail and or ears are down be careful, if ears up and a high wagging tail your luck is in but still be careful.
 

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