Traveling abroad with a canine companion

[alligande]

Traveling with Rievaulx has been a whole new experience, we have found that almost everywhere we have gone people have been open and friendly in a manner neither my husband and I have not experienced, both Spain and France are countries we have been to before, but strangers have never chatted with us before, they don't care about the lack of language just that we have an interesting dog. This was particularly true in France where families asked to pet him.

 

France was interesting, we have all heard how dog friendly france is, well it lives up to is billing, but what was a surprise is that French dogs did not seem friendly or mannerly, in a short period of time Rievaulx has never been growled and snapped at so often (yes they were mostly small) but even the bigger ones were not mannerly.

 

I will show my bias but having him in the UK was really fun, but even there having a dog changed how you interacted with people, my mother regularly walks on the seafront where I took him and she has never chatted to anyone, the long weekend I left the two of them together, she was amazed at the difference how random strangers would just start a conversation.

 

And this morning we are going on a walk to meet another expatriate border collie who arrived a few weeks ago from Ft lauderdale.

[gcv-border]

I definitely agree that a dog may be the impetus to interact with people that may otherwise regard you as 'wallpaper'. And it works both ways, I tend to focus on a dog, and its person/people, more than noticing the general puplic.

 

It reminds me of stories I have heard where a guy might own a dog because it is a 'chick magnet'.

[WildFlower]

Love the picture!

 

Dogs are great conversation starters. I met more people in my old neighborhood once I got a dog than I had met in the 4 years before owning a dog. I love that about dogs.