Do reactive dogs deserve holidays?
Arty isn't the easiest dog to travel with, but we make it work.
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Dog reactivity is a fairly common problem, but it still comes with an enormous amount of shame and judgement. I’ve lost count of the number of times people have asked “Oh, is he a rescue then?” and I’ve had to reply with some variation of “No, he was just born a d*ckhead”.
The assumption goes that he must have had some sort of awful trauma to turn him into this “bad dog” (there are no bad dogs, of course) and that I am the angel that saved him. When people learn this isn’t the case, it’s a mixed bag of confusion and judgement for my letting him get into this state. Perhaps I was the abuser, after all?
The reality is that Arty’s reactivity is likely a combination of complex anxieties and fears that I can’t (and can’t be bothered to) explain in a brief encounter with other dog walkers. He wasn’t born like this, but the reactivity seemingly appeared out of nowhere and has been difficult to shift ever since (though we’ve worked with the excellent So Help Me Dog! and Adem Fehmi to great relative success). I usually fall back on his being a “lockdown puppy” as an easy explanation, but his behaviourists and I know it’s all a bit more nuanced than that.
Despite my understanding of Arty’s issues and the fact that it wasn’t born from some awful abuse that I inflicted, and despite the hard work I’ve done to help him through much of his anxiety, I still feel deep shame. Most of the judgement is silent or inferred in conversation, but some dog owners (usually the ones with out-of-control, off-lead, recall-free dogs) take it one step further and say it out loud. One in particular sticks in my mind:
You shouldn’t bring him out if he’s like that. He’s aggressive.
Now, leaving aside the fact that this man (significantly older and therefore should-be-wiser than me) has confused aggression with reactivity, he’s still wrong. So very, very wrong.
My dog deserves to take up space in this world as much as the next, and keeping him at locked away home isn’t going to help any of his issues — if anything, it could make them worse. Every day we are out and about is a lesson in socialisation and better decision-making for him, and we make progress with every trip we do.
Would my trips be easier if I didn’t travel with my dog? Of course they would. But they would be significantly less rich. While travelling with Arty presents its challenges, it also offers an entirely different window on the world. We don’t tend to go to the tourist hotspots so we can avoid the crowds — see you later, Lake District — and if we do, we almost always go in winter.
We’ve had magical breaks in the Cotswolds with crispy frozen grass underfoot, and walked deep into hilly forests or moorland to find space away from the other dog walkers. Staying here on the Isle of Sheppey in the middle of winter, where the pebbles and shells on the beach froze over and we had the coast almost entirely to ourselves, will forever be etched into my memory.
Travelling with a reactive dog isn’t easy, and it does mean you have to think about your trips in a different way, but it’s not impossible and it’s almost always rewarding — especially for the dog.
So, whether yours is a little bit spicy on occasion or has gone full blown vindaloo, go forth and adventure.
My recent dog-friendly travel writing
Can I take my nervous dog on holiday? on The Wildest — in which I share tips for travelling with anxious dogs
The best dog-friendly destinations in the UK in The Sun, who also made a video of me and the dog having a ball around Britain
The 20 best dog-friendly days out in Britain in The Telegraph, inspired by my book, Dog Days Out
10 of the best dog-friendly beaches in Britain in The Guardian, with not a single summer restriction in sight
Just back from…
We’ve just had a week at home after an seven-day trip to Wallonia and The Hague on the continent. While The Hague’s huge beach was a welcome place to run around for the dog (and the beach bars served me some great G&Ts by the sea), Wallonia was a real surprise: dramatic scenery, fantastic footpaths, underground caverns and great food.
The trip was all part of the research for my third dog-friendly travel book, which will probably hit shelves in 2026. If that’s too long to wait, you can get my second dog-friendly travel guide with Bloomsbury here.
Good dog news
This little section will be a regular feature in this newsletter from now on, highlighting all the best dog news I’ve read recently.