Peninsula Group Stays is a provider of pet-friendly accommodation so you can bring your four-legged friend with you during your stay. But, don’t take it from us, hear what one of our recent guests has to say:

Hi, my name is Audrey (@audreylabradoodle).

I’m a 5-month-old labradoodle pup.

I’m very excited to share with you my thoughts on Mornington Peninsula Holidays with your pet. In fact, I’m just very excited….excited all the time…food, humans, food, ballgames, sleep, food, walks, food, water…what’s not to be excited about…but I digress.

I love my humans. When they go away, even for a few minutes, I feel an emptiness deep inside me. None of my fluffy toys or chewy things can make up for that feeling. So when my humans go away on holidays, I desperately want to be part of the action. That’s why it is so important that they find places to stay that welcome well-behaved pets like me.

How to choose where to stay

If you ask me, the most important thing is to ask, “can I bring my dog?”. If the answer is “no” then search elsewhere…no, seriously…it is only polite to ask. You will be pleasantly surprised, as all but one house listed on Peninsula Group Stays is pet-friendly.

What you, my two-legged readers then need to choose is somewhere that suits your four-legged friend. Somewhere with a comfortable dry place to sleep, cool areas to laze on, maybe a pool, and fencing to keep over-curious pooches contained (I don’t like to stray too far from my humans so this is not so important for me…but just check with your pet first…). You might also like to ask if there are any off-limits areas, for instance, Spacious Sorrento Retreat allowed me to wander freely downstairs…thank you.

If you have an elderly pet with joint issues…please humans, give me fish oil so that never happens to me…you may want to avoid anywhere with too many stairs. Fortunately, there are lots of suitable choices here.

What to do, and where to go…

I love going for walks. My humans tell me that the back (ocean) beach path between Point Nepean and Flinders is National Park and that I can’t go there. Apparently, it is a sensitive area with dunes and lots of nesting seabirds. Nevermind…the bay trail stretching from Portsea all the way along the bay beaches is fine (and at 50+ km of pathways, there are many walks for me and my humans to choose from). The ocean trail between Flinders and Somers is also fair game…

The beach: I love going down to the beach with my people and just digging in the sand, splashing in the shallows, chasing seagulls and going for a swim. Beach cricket and frisbee are also all-time faves.

The following are leash-free beaches all year round:

  • Royal Beach, Mornington – Down steep stairs to pebble and sand beach, opposite Royal Hotel
  • Fosters Beach, Mornington – Access via the walking track, opposite #630 The Esplanade, limited off-street parking
  • Hawker Beach, Mt. Martha – Enter via steep fire access track down to the beach opposite Helena St
  • Tassells Cove, Safety Beach – Small Sandy beach between Marina Cove & Bruce Rd on the north side of Moll – limited parking
  • Flinders Beach, Flinders – Long Sandy beach between Dodds Creek & Manton Creek (steep access track)
  • Somers Beach, Somers – 200 metres of sandy beach, east from the bottom of ‘hundred steps’(off-street parking at top of 100 steps)

For a full list of leash-free beaches, as well as limited off-leash beaches make sure you have a look at the helpful brochure produced by Mornington Peninsula Shire.

Cautions

I’m really keen to meet the locals, but you may need to hold me back. Wildlife is protected, so best to leave me elsewhere if you are planning a walk to National Parks / State Parks or elsewhere where I might encounter kangaroos, possums or birds.

On a serious note, snakes can be found in grassland all down the Mornington Peninsula, and I don’t want to get bitten any more than you do. If you think that your pet might have been bitten go straight to the vet. This is what to look out for:

  • Sudden weakness followed by collapse.
  • Shaking or twitching of the muscles and difficulty blinking.
  • Vomiting.
  • Loss of bladder and bowel control.
  • Dilated pupils.
  • Paralysis.
  • Blood in urine.

My friends at the RSPCA have some useful tips on what to do.

For local vets on the Mornington Peninsula, I give 4 out of 4 paws to Google!

So make sure you have a safe and happy Holiday with your pet.

Licks

Audrey