Dogs are very welcome in our dog friendly cottages on Mull. The island is a wonderful place to stay with your dog – there are beautiful walks to be taken and beaches to relax on.
I thought I would write a blog post about bringing your dog to Treshnish, as it struck me that if you live in England or Wales, or beyond, you will not be familiar with the Scottish Outdoor Access Code and how to relates to walking with dogs. Across the island you will find sheep (and lambs), and sometimes cows with calves, which are apparently ‘un-fenced in’ grazing alongside walking routes or access paths to historic sites or beaches, so walking your dogs on leads may be the wisest thing to do, and will certainly keep the land managers happy.
Here is the relevant information directly from the Outdoor Access Scotland website:
“We want you and your dog to enjoy your walk but we ask that you follow a few simple rules to help yourself and others fully benefit from access rights. Access rights apply to you if you’re walking your dog(s) provided they’re kept under proper control.
• FARM ANIMALS: Never let your dog worry or attack farm animals. Don’t take your dog into fields with young farm animals.
• SAFETY AROUND CATTLE: Cattle can act aggressively. Keep yourself and your dog at a safe distance and if necessary let your dog go so that you can both seek safety.
• PLANTED FIELDS: Don’t take your dog into fruit and vegetable fields unless there is a clear path, such as a core path or right of way, and keep your dog to the path.
• GROUND NESTING BIRDS: During the breeding season (April-July) keep your dog on a short lead or close at heel in areas such as moorland, grasslands, loch shores and the sea shore to avoid disturbing birds that nest on the ground.
• PUBLIC PLACES: Keep your dog close at heel and avoid causing concern to others.”
Please look at their website for more detail. We can let you know which fields our cows and calves are in at the time of your stay, and tell you of alternative walks to take avoiding these fields.
As you know Treshnish is carefully managed to encourage wildlife. During the summer months there are lots of ground-nesting birds enjoying the habitats we maintain to encourage them – so we are particularly concerned to protect them during the nesting season (April – August) – so we would ask that you keep your dogs on leads or under close control to avoid disturbing ground-nesting birds. We also have mountain hares, which are becoming increasingly rare elsewhere on the island so it is important not to let your dogs get into a situation where they can chase them.
We are very lucky to have a dog trainer living locally who is happy to work with visitors to the island during their holiday. Moira Owens is her name and she has her own website. Please have a look if you think you might enjoy some extra dog training tuition or some dog agility! Below is our Coco learning the long jump!
We currently have 3 working sheep dogs on the farm. They are all gentle in nature and used to other dogs being around, although it is naturally their territory, so we ask that guests walk their dogs on leads through the farm yard.
This is Jan. She is quite shy, and tends to hang back out of sight, until called by Farmer or until a car drives up to the farm, when she has a naughty habit of trying to chase them.
These two are the young and enthusiastic high speed Walter (on the left) and Cap, top dog, on the right. They like to watch the lambs.
