Walking with my dog

[Mike Brown]

Hi, my name is Mike Brown and I am intending to walk the Comino in 2006 with my dog Tango. We will be in Spain during April, May and June.
We look forward to meeting other pilgrims.
Mike Brown

 

[ivar]

Welcome to the forum Mike! I think you are the first in this forum that are planning on walking with a dog (I might be wrong).

I would be interested in knowing if anyone else has any experience with this? Any suggestions for Mike?

I know there have been issues with pilgrims finding "hostile" dogs along the way problematic, not sure if this will be an issue for you.

Buen camino,
Ivar

 

[sillydoll]

Walking with your dog

We saw a few pilgrims with dogs in 2002 and in 2004. They wore little panniers (like bicycles') to carry their food and medication.
The Confraternity of St James advises STRONGLY against taking pets on the camino. Mainly because the majority of albergues do not accept them and secondly because there are many strays in Spain and although a pet may be trained and well behaved, the local 'perro' may not be! An alternative is to stay in camping sites - although many of these do not open until Spanish summer which is late June/July. It would be worthwhile getting a copy of the: ‘Guia Oficial de Hoteles y Campings del Camino de Santiago’ . It lists all accommodation, ranking, prices etc including camping sites is available from all Spanish Tourist offices or Tourspain in Madrid. Email: manuel.jurado@tourspain.es
Buen Camino.
Sil

PS: There can still be heavy snows in April - don't start too early!

 

[Harrigarri]

dog on camino

I have met an Austrian woman on the Camino in fall of 2003 walking with her friendly German Shepperd, but every night she spent with her husband who followed them in an RV, so the problem with hostels did not bother her. Another person I met was a man with a puppy, and he run the Camino from a hotel to a hotel. Apparently, most hostels will not accept dogs.

 

[marcuswilder]

Walking with your dog

I have never walked with a dog, but military friends tell stories of exhausted dogs having to be picked up by heliocopters.

 

[BarbaraB]

I walked in 2003 and I met a few people with dogs. I noticed they were never allowed to bring the dog in the refugio. In one case, the dog was not even allowed on the grounds and had to be tied outside while the pilgrims got their stamp.
I saw at least one couple with a dog who camped along the way.

People (websites, confraternity of st james, etc) generally advice against it.