Traveling Australia with a Dog

Traveling around Australia with a dog can get complicated, especially if you are working as you go, but it is possible, and many of us would have it no other way. This blog outlines our experience of traveling and working with our dog, an English staffy, Beni. The question "Should I take my dog on my next camping or caravanning adventure?" regularly comes up on my Facebook feed, always attracting responses both for and against the idea. There are those who believe the dog should be left at home, expressing their opinion with suggestions such as to leave the dog in a kennel, with relatives or a house sitter, get rid of the dog, and get a new one when you get back; it's not fair to the dog and it's too restrictive. Such a question will also attract people needing to point out how other people's dogs have impacted their experiences by not being kept on a lead, owners not picking up their poop, barking and scaring their children. Then there's the avid dog lovers who exclaim they could never leave their fur baby at home, that their dog loves life on the road, offering unconditional love and protection, and that they are happy to only go where their dog can go. This group will offer advice on various dog sitting options, leaving the dog in the van with the radio and air con on, and they may feel the need to point out how children have had a negative impact on their experiences by running around unsupervised through the park, being rude and noisy, or scaring their dog.

When we decided to hit the road indefinitely, Beni was part of our family, and there was no question about whether he was coming or not. We simply figured it out as we went, finding solutions acceptable to each of us to allow us to travel and work for the past three years. Before I can describe our experience, you have to know a bit more bout Beni, as the personality and needs of each dog are different, and will impact what you need to do to successfully work your way around Australia. We got Beni when he was two months old. We had never owned a dog before, and took one on as potential therapy for anxiety/depression. Daily walks, trips to the doggy beach, nurturing, and loving this little fella was the best therapy ever, getting us out and about every day, walking and talking to people. Beni seemed to be the perfect therapy dog, and to this very day, reacts to any sense of despair or sadness around him, offering comfort by springing around in front of you, gently jumping up and attempting to lick and heal the person who is upset. It would be an understatement to describe him as sensitive to our moods and emotions, it can at times be quite annoying. Not only is he sensitive to our emotions, but he is quite emotional himself. He has never coped well with being left at home alone and sulks and frets when The3ofus are separated. If we leave him with a private pet sitter he will sit at the door, staring where he last saw us, sulking, until we return. Beni is an expert escape artist. When we lived in a house, he knew he would find us either at the cafe we owned or the pub where we drank, and no matter what we did, he would find a way out of our house and come find us. Once he jumped out of a two story window onto cement when we left him with our daughter. He knows how to open the screens and get out the windows in the caravan. Beni is a quiet, calm, well behaved dog. Very friendly, gets on with other dogs and people. A big softy without an aggressive bone in his body. He is totally committed to us, as we are to him. So obviously I went from a 'I don't want a dog. You have to walk them and pick up their poo' type person to a "Look at his cute little face ❤️ such a cutey pie honey pot!❤️ And SO HANDSOME ❤️" type person! Our daughter got him a collar once that read, "favourite child" 😂. I think she might be jealous. So anyway, this impacts on our experiences traveling and working with a dog.

There are lots of places in Australia (unlike other countries) where you can not take dogs including National Parks, on public transport, in shopping centres, movie theatres, swimming pools, most tourist attractions, some cafes, restaurants and pubs, some beaches, some festivals, some markets, some caravan parks, and I could go on and on. You can, like many of us, take the 'if the dog can't go, we're not going' stance, otherwise you've got to figure out what to do with the doggy if you want to do these things. There are kennels, doggy day cares and private pet minders. We have used a service called PawShake, where people mind your pet in their home. It's run through an app, you find carers in most large towns, and it is pretty cheap too. There are other such services too. Of course we would never leave Beni in a kennel. 😂 We have left Beni at "home" when house sitting, or when we are parked up on a private residence when there are people there able to keep an eye on him.

We did travel up through central Australia, visiting Uluru and Kings Canyon. When we got to the caravan park I noticed another couple arriving the same time who had a dog, so I watched where they parked then approached them about looking after each other's dogs while we visited the National Parks. They were delighted, as they were going to take turns in going out. This worked so well we travelled together for a few weeks, stopping in free camps along the way, taking turns to go to Kings Canyon and the NPs around Alice Springs. We made lifelong friends too! Perhaps the greatest inconvenience for us having a dog along for the ride, is when we have to work. When we stop to find work, we need to find pet friendly accommodation, whether that be a house with a fenced yard, a caravan park, or a site on a private residence. Generally one person works and the other stays at home to look after the dog, often working in exchange for the site. In other words, if we didn't have a dog we could both work and save more money for our travels. There have been many jobs we would like to try, but can't because we have a dog, for example caretakers on a private island, or within a National Park, or live-in jobs in caravan parks that are not pet friendly. We have worked in a number of pet friendly caravan parks, a couple where Beni was welcome in the reception with me! Once, we travelled 1500kms for a job in a pet friendly hostel, after long discussions about Beni being the new hostel dog. Seems the information was not passed onto the wife, who took one look at him and stated, "we can't let that dog in here. He'll scare the Asian tourists." Obviously not a staffy lover, and no idea what a loving, friendly, gentle boy he is. And SO HANDSOME.❤️😂

There are more things to consider too. Almost everywhere you go, including caravan parks, the dog has to be kept on a lead. Some people have portable dog fences that they set up around the van. Another thing to be aware of is that baits are dropped in lots of places to kill wild dogs. We have seen this in far North Queensland and central Australia. I believe they are through-out Western Australia too. There should be warning signs if they have been dropped, but I'm sure one could google this as well. Even though they don't drop them where domesticated dogs are at risk, crows have been known to pick them up and drop them, so there is ALWAYS a risk. Death by poison is a slow and painful death. We hate that they do this to the wild dogs. Some people have mouth guards for their dogs when traveling in these areas, while others just make sure the dog is on a lead at all times. Another of our worst nightmares is the risk of crocodiles. You hear many stories of dogs been taken by crocs in our northern areas. Do not let your dog near the water, even though it's stinking hot and they love to swim. It's not worth the risk.

Then there are those disgusting cane toads. The poison they squirt when a dog licks them can kill them, but more often than not it just makes them stoned for a day or two. Beni came up from a creek once with a shriveled-up, dried out cane toad in his mouth. Even that was enough to have him frothing at the mouth, and me running around crying, thinking he was going to die. We rang the vet who didn't even want to see him, simply advising to keep an eye on him. He sat around, staring at nothing for a day or two, and then was his old self again.

Responsible pet owners should keep up with the usual immunisations, and also check for risks specific to an area. For example, Beni was immunised for a Parvovirus specific to North Queensland. He also ruptured his cruciate ligament, jumping and twisting while chasing balls, his favourite pastime, which he can't do anymore without suffering badly the next day. That one cost a pretty penny too.

In conclusion, traveling and working around Australia with a dog is restrictive, you would make more money and have more opportunities if you didn't have him with you, you would spend more time in National Parks and at other tourist attractions, and generally have more freedom. However, for many of us, our dogs are part of the family. They need us and repay us with unconditional, never ending, true love. They make you smile, laugh, and simply feel good. They take you places you wouldn't otherwise go, and get you out walking every day. Beni is our best mate, he makes our lives better, and we wouldn't have it any other way. It's not what we have in our lives, but who we have in our lives that matters.