Amber Lilley: Paradise, unless you have a dog

Holidaying with a dog in the South West should be pretty straightforward. There’s an abundance of nature to explore and more outside dining than you could ever pack into a week-long trip even eating out three times a day.

But while my almost two-year-old border collie Rocky could spend a fair chunk of our week off galivanting around the South West by my side, I often found myself running into national park walls.

I get it, I understand the smell and the perceived threat my dog is to small native species in the region, I really do, but travelling with a four-legged friend in tow makes it hard to see some of the sights, or in my case to show them off to out of town friends.

Take Canal Rocks for example — a pup can’t even walk the boardwalk, or sniff the beach nearby. They can’t walk the Busselton Jetty, either.

Is there something in between protecting highly valuable sites, and allowing responsible dog owners a little more freedom in some areas?

Despite not being able to let Rocky run free on some beaches, or even stay leashed among the trees, he still had a great time.

He came out for breakfast and lunch with us almost daily — his and my favourite being Yallingup’s Swings and Roundabouts which is 100 per cent dog-friendly, and offers treats on arrival through their grand door.

It’s a balancing act. For me, I always gain more than I lose holidaying with my rescue pup who previously didn’t see much more than a small courtyard.

And while the range of dog-friendly short-stay homes on offer in the South West was music to a dog owner’s ears, don’t get me started on the lack of them in Perth.