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Planning a fun outing with your dog can get challenging when you are unfamiliar with the many fun activities available for you and your dog during vacation or a weekend in the Pacific Northwest. Luckily, the Pacific Northwest – including our home base as dog trainers in western Washington State, is very dog-friendly, with tons of options whether you have a couple of hours to burn or are looking for a full-blown vacation. We’ve compiled a list of fun an engaging things to do with your dog in the pacific northwest to help you get started!
Explore the gorgeous lakes and rocky coastal beaches.
One of the west coast’s most appealing features is the crashing waves, coarse sand, and rocky beaches. With so many lakes and so much ocean to choose from, you can take take your dog to some of the best beaches in Oregon and Washington State for a taste of fresh air and an outlet for pent-up energy. While summer is the ideal season to enjoy the warmth of the sun with your furry friend on the beach, the pacific northwest beaches are great year-round, with gorgeous moody views in the rainy seasons and long pleasant days in warmer months. Dogs trained with good recall will enjoy the freedom to run and play with you on the beach, and dogs who need more hands-on supervision will still enjoy the smells and the walk while savely on-leash.
Take a hike in one of the beautiful state parks.
2020 showed a huge spike in hiking as an activity and hobby, for good reason. Hiking is socially-distanced, great exercise for any fitness level, and best of all dog-friendly. You can enjoy hiking with your dog in a local trail or one of the pacific northwest’s amazing state parks, and it is sure to be the a great activity to enjoy nature together. If your dog is trained to walk with or without a leash, like we do with our client dogs at Lugaru K9 Training, your dog will adore exploring the trails by your side. Hiking activity will keep your dog active and healthy. The lush evergreen trails in the pacific northwest are some of the best hiking places in the US year-round, and there is a trail for any difficulty level: you can find one that’s right for you and your pup by checking out the AllTrails search for trails near you. Hiking is bound to be an enthusiastic exercise for you both, and your dog will also love experience walking trails during a vacation or just a few hours of free time. Remember to practice proper hiking etiquette, keeping your dog close, under control, and out of the business of passers-by.
Take a road trip together, or drive one of the scenic waterfront roads.
Sometimes, you don’t need a destination to have a fun outing with your dog. Taking your dog on a road trip or a scenic drive in the pacific northwest allows you both to to explore the world around you without ever setting foot on sand or trail. While wastington state and the pacific northwest as a whole has some of the best dog-friendly locations in the country, it also has some gorgeous winding roads cradled in trees and curling around charming waterfronts. Your dog will get a chance to admire the beauty of nature on a road trip without getting straight into the thick of it, which is a great option for senior dogs or dogs with physical disabilities that may keep them from strenuous exercise.
Go camping with your dog.
Why settle for one activity? Camping is a great activity that combines the best of all outdoor activities. Depending on your resources, camping can be great year-round, and there are tons of recreational campsites in Washington State alone that allow dogs. You can decide on any camping location that you like to get an adventurous experience. There are so many beautiful places in the US that you can consider camping or backpacking, but only the pacific northwest can promise the crisp evergreen smell, water access, mild weather, and falling asleep with your dog to the light patter of rain on the roof of a tent, trailer, or car. Combine camping with any of the other outdoor activities we’ve discussed so far!
Visit a restaurant patio or outdoor cafe.
Not a big fan of the great outdoors? The pacific northwest has a beautiful natural environment, but there are so many more dog-friendly activities that don’t require getting deep out in nature. You will find various dog-friendly bars and cafes where you can enjoy coffee, a locally-produced beer or cider, or even a full meal, all with your dog by your side. When you take your pet to dine outside, it gives them the chance to take part in your daily activities and get out in the world. This kind of outing is great for socialization as well, allowing dogs to get more and more naturalized and desensitized to the outside world and gain experience ignoring the big world of stimuli. You can bring food and water along for your dog in a dog travel water bottle, but many cafes and restaurants even have a dog menu from which you can select your dog’s favorite treat.
Enjoy the farmers market.
There are various dog-friendly farmer markets in the US from where you can pick your favorite local products, from fruits and veggies, organic raw honey, handmade goods, fresh flowers, and local art, all with your pup in tow. Taking your dog to the farmers market is an amazing activity for getting familiar with new surroundings, as most farmers markets are an absolute smorgasbord of sights, smells, and sounds. That said, this makes it a very high-distraction environment, and might not be the best choice for dogs that are early into their training or are still working on common issues like reactivity or overexcitement. Make sure you keep your dog closer to you for safety; remember that you may have control over your own bubble, but you can’t control other people and how they manage their dogs. With that in mind, dogs with a solid heel and previous practice with impulse control and excitement management will love getting out and engaging with new stimuli, which is also awesome for confidence-building in dogs. Keep checking your dog to ensure his comfort in the market.
Take your dog along for a fishing trip.
If you have trained your dog to play without a leash and desensitized them to water, then there are lots of dog-friendly swimming and fishing locations in the US where you can enjoy water activities with your dog; the pacific northwest is an especially popular area for saltwater fishing. Water activities like swimming and fishing are a wonderful passtime for your dog because it will strengthen his muscles through water resistance and relieve your dog from stress.
While you will definitely not want to do the two activities simultaneously, a fishing trip with some swim time for your dog is a great option or a leisurely full-day activity. YA fishing trip will prove to be a fun-loving activity for your buddy because it will strengthen your bonding with your dog. Fishing activities will give your dog enough time to relax in the outside environment and explore the natural beauty of western Washington or anywhere else in the pacific northwest. Remember to get your dog familiar with water activities beforehand rather than throwing them into the fray, and even dogs with strong water skills will benefit from having a dog lifejacket like our favorite from Outward Hound in case of emergencies.
In any outdoor activity, practice spatial awareness and be mindful of other people, dogs, and wild animals.
Bring your dog on a shopping trip to dog-friendly stores.
One of the great things about being in one of the most dog-friendly areas of the world is how accommodating so many stores and businesses are towards well-behaved dogs. At Lugaru K9 Training, part of our board-and-train program is regular “field trips” into the real world, including stores, dog-friendly restaurants, and shopping centers; this means we know all about how amenable businesses in our area are for behaved and under-control dogs!
When bringing your dog along for a shopping trip, always check the front of the store for their pet policy. Many stores in the pacific northwest are incredibly obliging, but always be respectful of store policy and cooperative if asked to remove your dog from the store for any reason!
Did we miss your favorite dog-friendly activity? Let us know in the comments, and we might include it in a follow-up post in the future!
