Your dog can be a positive asset to your social life. You will naturally come into contact with other dog owners and immediately have something in common. That’s fine when your dogs can at least tolerate each other’s presence. It becomes more difficult if they can’t!

Dog ownership can have a negative effect on your social activities, if you let it, when it comes to visiting pubs, restaurants etc. and staying in hotels and guest houses. These venues can be difficult for dog owners who want their dogs to accompany them.

This site exists to help with this problem. It does so by publicising as many as possible of the establishments up and down the country where dogs are welcomed.

Catering and accommodation businesses may have several reasons for not accepting dogs. Legal constraints do play a part. They are not insurmountable if the management is willing to make the effort. However not all are. Let’s just take a look at the legalities. Dogs and other animals are never allowed in areas where food is prepared. Well, you probably wouldn’t want to take your pet into the kitchen anyway!

Food must be protected from contamination from any source including animals. is up to The proprietor must be able to demonstrate how that is being achieved. Where food is on display in a public area it may be protected by keeping it covered and out of the reach of dogs and children.

Proprietors who do wish to be able to welcome dogs onto the premises may choose to set aside a “dog free” area for customers who prefer that. In the same way, hotels may decide to have certain rooms available for guests with dogs and keep the rest for those without.

Apart from the legal requirements, proprietors need to keep their other customers happy. Many people just don’t want to eat in the company of other people’s dogs, even if they have dogs of their own! Banning dogs from the premises is an easy option for proprietors.

In the end a great deal comes down to the way the dogs behave. For example, Assistance dogs cannot be excluded from public areas but they don’t present a problem because they are invariably so well trained and well behaved that most other customers don’t even notice their presence.

There is a lesson there for all of us! Dogs which are well trained and well behaved are more likely to be welcomed than those that jump up on seats and at people and get into fights with other dogs.

This article was provided by freelance copywriter uk, Pete Hopper of Write For You.

Hard as it might be for us as dog-lovers to comprehend, it is a sad fact that there are people out there who, for one reason or another, do not share our affection for our canine friends. That is their privilege of course and we may well say that it is their loss and generally speaking it’s no great problem to us. It may be that some of those people have had a bad experience involving a dog in the past.

It is when that dislike combines with a particularly nasty character that it becomes a problem for us and our animals. From time to time we hear of a hatred of dogs being translated into actual anti-dog activities with distressing results for both dogs and their owners. Vindictive individuals will do things like laying poisoned bait for dogs in a popular dog exercising area. Sometimes doggy treats will be left lying around with sharp objects concealed in them. Also outbreaks of “dog-napping” occur every so often, usually in a localised area.

Deliberate acts like these are not the only hazards dog walkers need to be aware of. There are natural dangers to dogs too, some of which may be seasonal. In wet conditions for example sink holes may develop in low lying areas near water. Some areas may have a higher than usual population of adders in their breeding season. Local knowledge is the key to dog safety in these situations.

What dog owners, professional dog walkers and volunteer puppy walkers need is a way of maintaining early awareness of such dangers in their areas. That goes a long way towards avoiding any dog in their care becoming a victim. Those who become aware of these hazards need somewhere to share their knowledge with other dog owners.

Dog Friendly Together has launched Dog Friendly Alerts for just this purpose. Certain people tend to be among the first to become aware of these hazards. Local vets and their staff will treat the first victims. Professional dog and puppy walkers, canine behaviourists, dog groomers and dog trainers all gain a great deal of local knowledge from their clients to add to their own.

Many people, when walking their own dogs, take great interest in what goes on around them, especially what other people are doing. They are likely to notice unusual activity, especially if it seems a bit furtive.

Whether you are a vet, dog groomer/trainer/behaviourist or simply a dog owner, or just like dogs and you become aware of any hazards to dogs in your area, don’t keep it to yourself! A quick post on Dog Friendly Alerts is the quickest and easiest way to share your information. You may never know what suffering you have saved both dogs and their owners.

Furthermore, if you are business owner you can get a free link back to your website just by adding an entry, including your website address in your contact information, and unticking the "Private" checkbox.
To find out more about Dog Friendly Together Alerts click here.