Walking some of the Portugese Way with my Service Dog!

[NikkiOTW]

I will be spending 5-7 days walking the Camino in mid September. My service dog will be traveling with me, she hikes quite a bit in the states and I don't have any concerns with her physical abilities but want to make sure I plan accomodations properly on her behalf. I could sleep anywhere We can start anywhere from Porto to Santiago, and would like to walk at least 100km. Thanks for assist!!

 

[MaryLynn]

My understanding is that, by law, service dogs cannot be excluded from an albergue, so you shouldn't have a problem.

 

[dimdog]

I will be spending 5-7 days walking the Camino in mid September. My service dog will be traveling with me, she hikes quite a bit in the states and I don't have any concerns with her physical abilities but want to make sure I plan accomodations properly on her behalf. I could sleep anywhere We can start anywhere from Porto to Santiago, and would like to walk at least 100km. Thanks for assist!!

What a beautiful pup, I wish you both a beun camino....

 

[C clearly]

Welcome to the forum! A tag "dogs & other animals" has been added to this thread, just under the title. If you click on it, you will find other threads on that general topic.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

What a beautiful pup, I wish you both a beun camino....

That pup is so cute! She is adorable and looks like a stuffed toy more than a real dog!

 

[Bala]

Welcome to the forum! A tag "dogs & other animals" has been added to this thread, just under the title. If you click on it, you will find other threads on that general topic.

I'd especially recommend the thread "Fuji's first Camino" by @LavanyaLea , who recently completed 100km, Sarria to Santiago, with her Golden. Lots of practical advice and first-hand experience.

 

[NikkiOTW]

I'd especially recommend the thread "Fuji's first Camino" by @LavanyaLea , who recently completed 100km, Sarria to Santiago, with her Golden. Lots of practical advice and first-hand experience.

Thank you! Appreciate the assistance.

 

[LavanyaLea]

Hi @NikkiOTW, good to hear another forum member planning a Camino with their dog.

Yes, I have written about our recent Camino experience here, we did the last 100K of Camino Frances. I have also written down the extra entry requirement for bringing a dog into Portugal, and there is a list of dog friendly albergue along Camino Portugues. As your dog is a service dog, you may have more options with regards to accommodation, always best to check ahead. Also in Spain, I have found people respond much faster via WhatsApp than email.

You mentioned that you’re planning to walk for 5-7 days, so the last 5-7 days of Camino Portugues is already in Spain. Most people I have come across (on social media) who did the CP with their dogs started in Tui. You can follow their story on Instagram - Gandaia and Anko. Anko’s pawrent is a vet and she provided good tips on what to pack etc.

Let me know if you have any questions, I’d be very happy to help! Buen camino!

 

[NikkiOTW]

Hi @NikkiOTW, good to hear another forum member planning a Camino with their dog.

Yes, I have written about our recent Camino experience here, we did the last 100K of Camino Frances. I have also written down the extra entry requirement for bringing a dog into Portugal, and there is a list of dog friendly albergue along Camino Portugues. As your dog is a service dog, you may have more options with regards to accommodation, always best to check ahead. Also in Spain, I have found people respond much faster via WhatsApp than email.

You mentioned that you’re planning to walk for 5-7 days, so the last 5-7 days of Camino Portugues is already in Spain. Most people I have come across (on social media) who did the CP with their dogs started in Tui. You can follow their story on Instagram - Gandaia and Anko. Anko’s pawrent is a vet and she provided good tips on what to pack etc.

Let me know if you have any questions, I’d be very happy to help! Buen camino!

Thank you very much! Appreciate the insight and will check out your threads. I have already researched entry requirements as she is flying into Lisbon with me so that is handled. Looking forward to the journey!

 

[Friend from Barquinha]

I will be spending 5-7 days walking the Camino in mid September. My service dog will be traveling with me, she hikes quite a bit in the states and I don't have any concerns with her physical abilities but want to make sure I plan accomodations properly on her behalf. I could sleep anywhere We can start anywhere from Porto to Santiago, and would like to walk at least 100km. Thanks for assist!!

I'm definitely not the person to fill in the details because I haven't walked the routes, but I think it would be useful for those who know the northern bits of the routes of the Portuguese caminhos to point out those which are less travelled and less paved/cobbled.

One of the things that is repeatedly and, I would argue, reasonably pointed out is how hard on OUR feet the Portuguese caminhos can be, given the amount of paving and road travel. This is going to be really hard on any dog. (Also, mid-September may well be still very hot.)

So cooler, rural right-of-way-type routes would likely be happier choices for the pup in question.

Suggestions?

 

[LavanyaLea]

Someone suggested we treat ourselves to a Parador, and my reply was "Surely.... those are not pet friendly?", followed by late night Googling... and well... if you don't ask... you don't get!

https://www.parador.es/en/blog/pet-friendly-paradores

From their list: Villafranca del Bierzo (Frances), Ribadeo (Norte), and Tui (Portugues). Weight limit 25kg. Full set of rules on the link above

Very important to look after their paw pads, we had to learn it the hard way! With the benefit of hindsight, my suggestion would be:
- Train the dog to walk/run on paved roads, i.e. road running, not just walking/hiking long distances in outdoor trails (our trails in the UK are all soft ground and either very muddy or very very very muddy) - I felt the majority of the "trails" we walked on the Frances were paved or loose/sharp gravel. Eek. The pads will look harder/darker colour, most noticeable if you start the training after winter as the pads would have softened over the winter (look more pinkish colour).
- Lots of vaseline... At one point I was applying new balm/vaseline even when we took a break in our walk (i.e. morning before we set off, once or twice along the camino, and afternoon when we got to our accommodation), maybe I didn't need to do it this frequently but as we had to stop earlier when Fuji had blisters, I was doing it as often as I could remember.
- Avoid the heat, we left at 6AM, also good crowd avoidance technique - because Fuji is super friendly and would invite pilgrims to play/chase sticks with them and end up doing what.... 5x human distance? More time on the leash when the trail becomes crowded so she didn't play as much
- Booties, but these had become a bit of double edged sword for us. The idea is, boots to protect from the heat (asphalt gets very very hot), but their use should be limited in time and frequently take them off to cool the paws (they sweat through the paws). Or use boot liners/socks. And don't let the boots get wet/leashed the dog (hard when it was constantly raining and Fuji also loved to swim) because when the boots are wet then it caused friction and Fuji ended up with blisters also on the top parts of her paws! So in the end we just walked very early and finished before it was too hot and didn't use the boots again. Also we were lucky we did our Camino in between 2 heat waves!

 

[NikkiOTW]

Someone suggested we treat ourselves to a Parador, and my reply was "Surely.... those are not pet friendly?", followed by late night Googling... and well... if you don't ask... you don't get!

https://www.parador.es/en/blog/pet-friendly-paradores

From their list: Villafranca del Bierzo (Frances), Ribadeo (Norte), and Tui (Portugues). Weight limit 25kg. Full set of rules on the link above

Very important to look after their paw pads, we had to learn it the hard way! With the benefit of hindsight, my suggestion would be:
- Train the dog to walk/run on paved roads, i.e. road running, not just walking/hiking long distances in outdoor trails (our trails in the UK are all soft ground and either very muddy or very very very muddy) - I felt the majority of the "trails" we walked on the Frances were paved or loose/sharp gravel. Eek. The pads will look harder/darker colour, most noticeable if you start the training after winter as the pads would have softened over the winter (look more pinkish colour).
- Lots of vaseline... At one point I was applying new balm/vaseline even when we took a break in our walk (i.e. morning before we set off, once or twice along the camino, and afternoon when we got to our accommodation), maybe I didn't need to do it this frequently but as we had to stop earlier when Fuji had blisters, I was doing it as often as I could remember.
- Avoid the heat, we left at 6AM, also good crowd avoidance technique - because Fuji is super friendly and would invite pilgrims to play/chase sticks with them and end up doing what.... 5x human distance? More time on the leash when the trail becomes crowded so she didn't play as much
- Booties, but these had become a bit of double edged sword for us. The idea is, boots to protect from the heat (asphalt gets very very hot), but their use should be limited in time and frequently take them off to cool the paws (they sweat through the paws). Or use boot liners/socks. And don't let the boots get wet/leashed the dog (hard when it was constantly raining and Fuji also loved to swim) because when the boots are wet then it caused friction and Fuji ended up with blisters also on the top parts of her paws! So in the end we just walked very early and finished before it was too hot and didn't use the boots again. Also we were lucky we did our Camino in between 2 heat waves!

Thank you for the insight. We plan to start at 6am daily. She walks alot of boardwalks and pavement in Florida in 100 degree heat/humidity and does well--- the good news is, we are not on a schedule so if it is too taxing on her we can stop or redirect She has boots that she wears in CO in snow but she doesn't love them, and I have a paw pad conditioner that seems to help with alot of hiking. I think the portugal walk in mid september from what I have read will be better weather temps and a bit cooler.

 

[NikkiOTW]

Hi @NikkiOTW, good to hear another forum member planning a Camino with their dog.

Yes, I have written about our recent Camino experience here, we did the last 100K of Camino Frances. I have also written down the extra entry requirement for bringing a dog into Portugal, and there is a list of dog friendly albergue along Camino Portugues. As your dog is a service dog, you may have more options with regards to accommodation, always best to check ahead. Also in Spain, I have found people respond much faster via WhatsApp than email.

You mentioned that you’re planning to walk for 5-7 days, so the last 5-7 days of Camino Portugues is already in Spain. Most people I have come across (on social media) who did the CP with their dogs started in Tui. You can follow their story on Instagram - Gandaia and Anko. Anko’s pawrent is a vet and she provided good tips on what to pack etc.

Let me know if you have any questions, I’d be very happy to help! Buen camino!

Thank you! I am researching starting points and have heard quite a bit about Tui.... much appreciated

 

[LavanyaLea]

Thank you! I am researching starting points and have heard quite a bit about Tui.... much appreciated

If you are on Instagram, apart from the 2 users I have quoted above who did their Camino from Tui, there is one currently on the Camino - follow @zelda_bodeguera for their day to day update!