I had a chance to visit New York City for the first time last year. Since I couldn’t take my dogs on that trip, I thought I would share a blog post about pet friendly New York by our favorite Beagle, Maggie, at WagTheDogUK.

Here are some photos of dogs that I took while I was in Manhattan.

Lots of open space in Central Park. There is no designated off-leash area but there are off-leash times.

If you think New York is too crowded to have two big dogs, you’re wrong. These two pups enjoy it here.

Early AM, lots of people headed to Central Park to walk their dogs.

In the fast paced life, you can take your dog for a walk, stop at an outdoor cafe for a quick breakfast, and take care of business on your cell phone all at the same time.

The biggest dog in New York is Balto. I love this statue!

The beautiful weather we have been having lately really makes me want to go to the beach. I’ve been to the west coast and to beaches in Texas, but never to the east coast. There are a lot of nice beaches to the east. But one that stands out as a great vacation spot is Key West in Florida.
According to US News Travel, the best time to visit Key West is between March and May. The weather is relatively mild and it is the off-travel season, which makes hotel rates and other attractions less expensive. So what is there to do in Key West? Lots!
The first thing you need when visiting Key West is pet friendly accommodations. Choose between dog friendly hotels, vacation homes, or RV parks. Be sure to call your stay of choice in advance to verify their pet friendly regulations. Some may charge extra fees or have weight limits.
You can’t go to the Florida Keys without doing a little snorkeling, boating, or fishing. Thankfully, some boat tours are pet friendly! Check out this cool video from Lazy Dog Outfitters:

After a day of boating, do some leisurely shopping along Duval Street. Many of the shops are pet friendly. Have lunch at an outdoor cafe such as Louie’s Backyard. Louie’s Backyard is right on the beach. And next to it is a dog beach! Check out this video:

Still want more stuff to do? Go visit the Key West Tropical Forest and Garden. Then visit the pet friendly Key West Aquarium. I’ve called them and confirmed that friendly dogs on leashes are more than welcome to visit the aquarium. Here is a video of the things you can see there:

Other attractions include the Dry Tortugas National Park and the Fort Zachary Taylor State Park. Another dog park is the Higgs Beach dog park. And other dog friendly outdoor restaurants include the Six-Toed Cat, Harpoon Harry’s, Old Town Mexican Cafe, and Dante’s.
Our two primary resources for this edition of Pet Travel Destination Tuesday is DogFriendly.com and GoPetFriendlyBlog.com. Have you been to Key West? I bet you have much better photos than we do. Please feel free to share and tell us your favorite pet travel distnation. And don’t forget, wherever you travel with your pet be sure they travel safe!

Thanks to Midwest Pet Bloggers on Facebook, our next pet travel destination is in Wisconsin. It was a tossup between Milwaukee and Madison, but since they are only an hour-and-a-half drive apart from each other, why not talk about both?

Both cities have a number of pet friendly hotels. Be sure to call the hotel you’re considering in advance to make sure they take all sized pets and whether or not they charge extra fees for pets. Some dog friendly hotels are friendlier than others.

I love nature walks and there are a number of state parks near Madison and Milwaukee. There is the Lake Kegonsa state park, Blue Mound state park, Governor Nelson state park, and, one that I find interesting for historical reasons, Aztalan state park. Aztalan state park features an earthwork mound constructed by the Mississippian culture about 900 years ago. More in Wikipedia.

Pets on leashes are welcome to the Wisconsin state parks. But if you prefer your dog be allowed to run off-leash, Madison has several off-leash dog parks. Milwaukee has a few too, but Madison seems to rule as far as off-leash dog parks go. There is the Brittingham dog park, Quann dog park, Token Creek pet exercise area, Viking park pet exercise area, Sun Prairie pet exercise area, Sycamore dog park, and still more in Madison. Milwaukee has Muttland Meadows, Brookfield dog park, and a couple of others.

After all that walking around, you’re going to want to stop for a bite to eat. how about stopping by a restaurant with an outdoor patio? Some of these restaurants with outdoor patios are pet friendly. A few in Madison are the Mermaid Cafe, Capital Brewery, Marigold Kitchen, and Hawk’s Bar and Grill. A few in Milwaukee are the Apollo Cafe, Beans & Barley, Crazy Water, Mimma’s, Brewed Cafe, The Palomino, Milwaukee Waterfront Deli, and the Community Bark Dog Wash & Coffee Bar. These are just a few. You can find more on the resource links listed below.

After a nice lunch break, you can do more sightseeing. Visit the capitol building in Madison. The grounds are pet friendly so long as you pick up after your pet and make sure he stays on a leash. There is also a pet friendly botanical garden at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. In Milwaukee, there are a few pet friendly boat rentals and tours. Check out Blue Max Charters, Milwaukee Boat Line, and Juneau Park Paddleboats. You can also walk along the Milwaukee Riverwalk.

Not all the places in this video are pet friendly. But as you can see, there is a lot to do here! Neither you nor your dog will get bored. I’ve only listed a few things. But you can find more fun dog friendly things to do with your best friend by checking out DogFriendly.com and BringFido.com. Also, check out a review of Milwaukee from Ty and Buster from GoPetFriendly.com. Remember, wherever you travel with your pet, be sure to travel safe and use a dog car safety device.

I am so glad spring is finally here! This warmer weather makes me think about vacationing again. And you know, I have to take Maya and Pierson wherever I go. This means looking for a friendly pet travel destination. This week I am looking at Charleston, South Carolina.

After a little research, I found a number of pet friendly places in Charleston. Firstly, there are several dog friendly hotels. The ones I would consider include La Quinta, Red Roof Inn, and Hampton Inn. There are also places for RVing and camping. If my dogs and I get hungry, we can eat on an outdoor patio at the Dog and Duck Food and Spirits, DIG in the Park, Firehouse Subs, and Danielle Island Grille.

I’ve covered the most important aspects of travel – lodging and eating. What about fun stuff? I like gardens and Charleston has quite a few dog friendly gardens. There is the Battery and White Point Gardens, Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, and the Boone Hall Plantation and Gardens. Dogs are allowed on leashes but be aware that they probably are not allowed inside any of the buildings.

To get around, there are a couple of pet friendly carriage tours and other tours. Charleston even sports a pet friendly kayak rental. Let’s not forget about the dog friendly beaches and a number of off-leash dog parks in Charleston. Here are a super cute video of a dog having fun at the beach.

And check out these dogs having fun at the James Island County Dog Park.

Doesn’t Charleston, South Carolina look like fun? Have you been here with your dog? We’d love to hear about your experience. If you haven’t gone and decide to go, be sure your dog rides safe in the car with a dog seat belt or pet car seat.

(Our primary resource for these pet friendly activities comes from DogFriendly.com.)

Wyatt visiting the old fashioned country town, Luckenbach, Texas.

Do you enjoy hiking with your dog? Do you like country music? If you happen to be living in or visiting central Texas, then we have the perfect day planned for you and your dog.

First stop is Enchanted Rock. Enchanted Rock is located just 20 minutes north of Fredericksburg, Texas and 25 miles south of Llano, Texas. Enchanted Rock is a rock formation created out of molten lava and exposed by over a billion years of erosion. There are a lot of fantastic nature trails. Some hiking trails are short and some are for more experienced hikers. You can also go camping in the Enchanted Rock state park, do some rock climbing, have a picnic, and enjoy bird watching. If you love nature as I do, I can’t even begin to tell you how much fun you will have exploring Enchanted Rock with your dog. Here is an informational video about this great place.

After you’re done seeing the beautiful landscape of Texas, you will want to relax and drink a cold beer. How about stopping by the famous old town of Luckenbach, Texas? Dogs on leashes are definitely welcome. Luckenbach is about 15 minutes southeast of Fredericksburg. It attraction is an old post office and general store, and oftentimes has folks playing some good old fashioned country music. Be sure to try the Shiner Bock beer, a Texas favorite brewed in Shiner, Texas. See what Luckenbach looks like with this video.

The song played in this video is sung by Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson who started the tradition of country music concerts in Luckenbach.

We want to thank our dog friends Wyatt and Jerry for telling us about Luckenbach. Wyatt and Jerry are a couple of three-legged dogs known as tripawds. Read about them and their experiences by clicking below:

Wyatt’s take on Luchenbach

Jerry’s take on Luckenbach

The above photo is of Wyatt, shared with us by @tripawds on Twitter. Thanks for sharing, y’all!

I want to go on vacation!  Going on vacation with my dogs is a must (otherwise it wouldn’t be a vacation). But it can also be a hassle. Not every place we want to visit is pet friendly and that includes hotels. Finding pet friendly hotels online is much easier nowadays since more and more hotels are becoming pet friendly. But there’s a catch. Isn’t there always a catch?

Not all pet friendly hotels are truly pet friendly. Many have weight limits and charge extra fees for your pet’s stay. And they have strict rules that pets and pet owners must follow. So how do you find a good dog friendly hotel?

Search online for “pet friendly hotels”. There are lots of great website resources that can help you find hotels in the city you are traveling to. Then call the prospective hotels directly. Many hotel chains will advertise pet friendly but many hotel chains are franchises where individual owners can modify the pet policy as they wish. So always call the hotel directly, not the hotel chain 1-800 number, and ask the below listed questions:
* Is there is a weight limit or a limit on the number of pets?
* Are there are any additional fees for pets staying at the hotel? Are the fees per day? Are there any non-refundable deposit fees?
* Are there areas for the dog to go potty, such as grassy areas or even a special gated area for dogs?
* Are the pet friendly rooms are also used as smoking rooms? For economic reasons I won’t explain here, some hotels (especially the lower-end hotels) will use the pet friendly room and smoking room interchangeably.
* What is your policy for when I leave and leave my dog in my room? Is this allowed? If so, should he be crated?

Be a responsible pet owner and give future pet travelers a good name and practice some basic courtesies:
1. Be sure to declare your pets at check in. Don’t lie. Lying might help someone in the short run, but in the long run it makes hotel owners want to reconsider their pet friendly policies.
2. Ask for an area on the ground floor, especially if your pet is older and can’t go up and down the stairs well.
3. Ask if there are any restricted areas for pets. Most likely, pets will not be allowed in the dining areas or bar, or in the activity areas such as swimming pool and gym.
4. Be sure your dog is on a leash at all times and always keep control of your pet. The last thing you want is for another hotel resident to complain about your dog.
5. Pick up after your dog. This should be a courtesy exercised no matter where you go with your dog.
6. Crate your pets when you are not there. You don’t want to scare the housekeepers and you don’t want your pets to escape when the housekeepers come to clean. Please note that some hotels don’t want you to leave your pet alone in the room (or the car) at all.
7. If your dog is a barker, please let the hotel staff know in advance and ask if there is a room that is out of the way.
8. If your dog makes a mess or chews up hotel properly, let the hotel staff know immediately. Don’t wait until checkout.

If you are wondering who some of the pet friendly hotels are, here is a list of some of our favorites:
* Marriott makes it easy to find a dog friendly hotel. Visit Marriott‘s website.
* The Holiday Inn also has a number of pet friendly hotels. Check out Holiday Inn’s website.
* Motel 6 claims that all their hotels are pet friendly and they have a very clear pet policy outlined HERE.
* On one night stay overs, I generally look for a Red Roof Inn. I’ve found that some charge fees but others don’t. Again, it depends on the hotel owner.
* I have had good luck staying at Baymont Inn and Suites. Their website recommends you call the hotel directly for their pet policies.
* There are a lot more than this. Petside has a great article on the Top 5 and more.

Much of the work in planning your vacation will be on finding the right dog friendly hotel. But since your best friend will be going on vacation with you, it is all worth it! If you’ve had a good experience at a pet friendly hotel, please tell us about it. And have fun on your traveling endeavors!

The Best City for Pet Travelers Tournament being held by GoPetFriendly.com is still underway. It is now down to eight cities. Read a little bit about each of these eight cities, and then go cast your vote for your favorite pet travel destination.

Portland, OR
Besides a number of off-leash dog parks, Portland, OR has several pet friendly rose gardens and other gardens. It also has a few dog friendly wineries. More on our blog post at http://www.petautosafetyblog.com/?p=667.

Aspen, CO
Take your dog for a pleasant outdoor walk downtown. Then ride the pet friendly sky car of the Silver Queen Gondolas to the top of Aspen Mountain. There is much more for you and your dog to do on top of the mountain. Read more on our blog post at http://www.petautosafetyblog.com/?p=1885.

Carmel, CA
This city has quite a few pet friendly beaches, parks, tours, restaurants, shops, and hotels. My dogs have never been to the beach, so this is one city we’d love to visit.

Charlottesville, VA
Many of the estate tours, including the ones of Thomas Jefferson’s estates are dog friendly outside. Dogs aren’t allowed inside, but well-behaved dogs are welcome to tour the outside areas. Charlottesville also has a number of pet friendly wineries.

Fredericksburg, VA
This city beat out one of my favorites, Sedona, AZ, and I see why. Fredericksburg has a number of pet friendly attractions like the Chancellorsville Battlefield and the outdoor areas of George Washington’s Ferry Farm and Kenmore Plantation and Gardens.

Bend, OR
This city has a number of off-leash dog parks. Dogs are also allowed, on a leash, at the outdoor areas of Peterson Rock Gardens and Sunriver Nature Center.

Annapolis, MD
Take your dog to the Annapolis Maritime Museum and Historic London Town and Gardens. Annapolis also has dog friendly boat tours, such as Watermark Cruises, and boat rentals, such as Annapolis Small Boat Rentals.

Charleston, SC
This city also has dog friendly beaches and off-leash dog parks. It also has quite a few pet friendly hotels and vacation rentals, a number of pet-friendly stores and restaurants, and a several pet friendly tours and attractions such as the Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Tour Charleston Ghost Tours, and Fort Moultrie National Historic Site.

The only one of these places I have been to is Portland, Oregon. So this is the city that has my vote! But the others look like a lot of fun too. Go vote for your favorite pet travel destination at GoPetFriendly.com.

Where is your favorite dog friendly destination?

Vote for the Best Pet Friendly City at GoPetFriendly.com

Where are some great dog friendly places to visit? Find out at GoPetFriendlyBlog.com. They are currently running a competition where people can vote for their favorite pet friendly travel destination. Rather than have a judge determine the winner, it is us dog lovers who get a say. So go check it out and cast your vote, then keep going back to find out which cities the dog lovers liked best.

The winning cities and towns are now narrowed down to 32 places. Some of those pet friendly places are Park City, UT, Bar Harbor, ME, Seattle, WA, Aspen, CO, Key West, FL, and more! The only two places on this list that I have been to are Portland, OR and Sedona, AZ. Personally, I hope Sedona, AZ wins! It was the best pet travel destination I have ever been to - http://www.petautosafetyblog.com/?p=689.

Sedona, Arizona has a lot of hiking areas that are great for you and your dog.

Where are the pet friendly places you’ve been to? Go cast your vote at GoPetFriendly.com today!

Sorry for the last post this week. I am in the process of redesigning the retail website. Let me tell you, it is a lot of work! And I’m not done yet. So I am going to cheat today and send you to a blog that has posted about a great pet friendly pet travel destination – Philadelphia. Visit our friends at Something Wagging This Way Comes to check it out!

Let me start out by saying that there weren’t many obviously dog friendly places I could find in Tulsa. So why did I choose it to talk about? First, I know one of our commenters is from there and she mentioned it wasn’t very pet friendly, so I wanted to see what I could find. Second, perhaps you are in an area that isn’t known to be pet friendly but you want to take your dog anyway. Perhaps by seeing what seemingly non pet friendly Tulsa has will help you know what to look for in the area you are visiting.

The only obvious places I could find in the Tulsa area that allows dogs are the parks. About 30-40 minutes outside of Tulsa is Claremore Lake Park off of East Blue Starr Drive in Claremore, Oklahoma. This looks like a beautiful park with lots of areas to walk. The Tulsa area also has a few state parks including Walnut Creek State Park and Keystone State Park. As always, dogs are required to be on a leash. If you want to take your dog somewhere off leash, try Biscuit Acres.

How about visiting a doggie store in Tulsa? We found an interesting place called The Dog Dish. It looks like it has a lot of great dog things to shop for and to do. Coming up on March 30th is the Easter Biscuit Hunt. Doesn’t that sound like fun!?!

As far as dog friendly restaurants for people, you will have to call any place that has an outdoor patio to see what they think about dogs. We got word that perhaps the Tropical Smoothie Cafe allows dogs on their outside patio. Doesn’t a tropical smoothie sound delicious? There is a Tropical Smoothie Cafe about 5 minutes from The Dog Dish (The Dog Dish is on E 51st, and the Tropical Smoothie Cafe is just off of E 51st on S 109th East Ave).

If you find yourself living in or visiting a place that doesn’t seem very dog friendly, find out where your parks are. At the very least, you can take your dog for a walk in a park. Also, look for cafes or coffee places with outdoor patios. Be sure to call and ask first before you take your dog.

Another smart thing you can do is call a local pet store, like Petco or Petsmart, and ask employees if they know of any pet friendly places in town. They may also be able to tell you of any upcoming pet events. There are also a number of good website resources for dog friendly places such as dogfriendly.com and gopetfriendly.com.

Have you ever been in Tulsa with your dog? What were some of the places you visited? Tell us your pet travel experience.

And don’t forget… Wherever you travel with your dog, make sure you travel safe!