Since our last post, we adopted another fur baby Ollie. He is currently just shy of 4 months old and this afternoon we took him to our local watering hole to teach him how to swim since Ava is a water dog we hoped that she can enjoy the experience with her new brother. Although he isn’t quite loving water yet it got me thinking that others might want to enjoy the same experience we have when we visit the local weir in Gippsland.

Things to do in Gippsland with dogs

Off-leash areas:

Baw Baw shires regulations here.
Latrobe City shires regulations here
Wellington shire regulations here.
Bass shire regulations here.

We have noticed recently, especially in Traralgon that the council has banned dogs on local ovals so there are very few spots left where you can safely let your furbaby off to run around and blow off some steam playing fetch.

It has been petitioned in the past to Latrobe City Council to build a dog park but after several attempts the local community it yet to receive such facilities.

UPDATE 29 May 2020: Latrobe City Council currently has a trial off-the-leash dog park at Bert Thompson Reserve in Traralgon.

Beaches:

Gippsland due to its size and land along the coastline has many beautiful beaches and many of them allow dogs (you can find a list here) but our personal favourite is to take Ava (Ollie has not had the pleasure yet but I’m sure he will love them) are the dog-friendly beach in Inverloch and beaches along the ninety mile near Seaspray.

Mostly because they’re quiet (not school holidays) and on a good day you can have them nearly all to yourself. The beach at Inverloch does allow off-leash whereas they do require dogs to be on a leash at Seaspray, Leigh will often take Ava with him surf fishing at night so she just sits by his side when no one else is about.

Swimming Holes:

Our absolute favourite spot in summer is Cowwarr Weir, in summer it can be packed to the brim but we always go to the quietest spot and Ava will just swim around with Leigh all day. It is requested that dogs are on a leash at all times but you will find if there are only one or two people that owners will allow their dogs to interact with one another.

However, use common sense and have respect for other swimmers near by remembering not everyone likes dogs.

Another hot tip is when you enter the gates of the weir, head straight the far side of the weir has more grassland for pooches to run around on and you will find families with younger children use the first entrance as the water is shallower so it’s nice to keep everyone happy and separate.

Restaurants:

I’ll be honest and say Gippsland is yet to be the friendliest bunch with dogs at their restaurants (unlike Mornington) and although it makes us sad there are a few good experiences we have previously had, especially in the Wellington region.

Avon Ridge Winery: We went for Sunday sippers here and were excited when we knew that dogs were welcome after reading “Even bring your dog” in their menu when at a local food and wine event so we were eager to visit even though it is a good 50-minute drive. It was well and truly worth it, we took a picnic blanket and enjoyed a few beverages and their amazing platters while Ava got to join us and she even made friends with the resident dog.

Food and co: Although we have only eaten here a few times, it does make my heart melt that they are so dog friendly that they even have a “Parking Bay” for your pooches.

We love the little list that Visit Victoria has put together here also.

Dogs on Holidays list here.

Services:

If you’re a local in Gippsland and want your dogs to have fun of their own then services like Happy Paws (located in Toongabbie) we cannot recommend enough, Ava attended play dates once a week for over a year and a half before we adopted Ollie and it was her absolute favourite day of the week and she was always so excited to see the girls.

UPDATE 02 Jan 2023: It appears Happy Paws is no longer operational, however, Eastside Boarding Kennels was running a similar program (Check out their Facebook for updated info)

Looking for East Gippsland info? See this blog here.

This is our personal guide only, we just love to share our favourite things!

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