Pets are welcome at Wilderness holiday cottages.
We are happy for you to bring your dog to most of our holiday cottages, and as with most things there are horses for courses, meaning that a dog friendly cottage to one person is not so for another. Much depends on your dog and his routine, level of energy, how vocal he is, etc.
 We personally prefer a cottage that you can just open the door and know that the garden is fenced securely, this is not necessarily because our dog would "go walkies " alone, but simply for peace of mind, so please choose carefully the cottage that would most suit you and your pets, as not all of our properties have secure fences, so if you need any help at all in choosing then please call or email us, we will give you our true and honest opinion as to which is best for you.
Loch Ness is indeed an excellent choice, as far as your dogs are concerned. There is no better place to, "let your fur down" or "put your paws up" with lots of forest and hill trails to walk. It is also a very good place to get lost in the forest, so best behaviour is the rule of the day. We have known dogs to be lost for up to 3 days in the extensive forests here, after chasing deer, (which, incidentally they would have no chance of catching). However, it is rare; because we know most of you dogs that choose to come to Scotland for holiday are obedient! Or, at least prefer the security of a lead in the forest.
There is also a matter of dog pooh! Many of you reading this will no doubt have seen other cottages that you would like to go to with your dog but which do not allow pets. From a wide knowledge and experience of self catering, and also as cottage agents and owners ourselves, we can tell you, that for some cottage owners, it only takes one thoughtless pet owner to convince a cottage owner to ban dogs, and that is such a shame! We do our best to encourage cottage owners to allow pets, and we appeal to you not to give them any reason to deny you and your dog a well deserved holiday!!
 We
have our own dog, and at home we clear up their mess just as we
expect you to clear up your " dogs parcels". We provide
a shovel at all dog friendly cottages to do it with as it is just
not fair to leave it lying about for following visitors to get
on their shoes and worse, for children to be exposed to it and
the risk of disease. We do accept that it is easy to miss the odd
heap, but please do your best to clear it all up before you go.
It is also a good idea to dry your dogs before taking them into
cottages, especially when conditions are muddy. Thoughtful dog
owners like this are always made welcome by cottage owners.
The Man with two dogs website will be of interest to dog owners
with regularly updated articles countryside news and articles take
a look www.manwithtwodogs.com
Another reason so many cottage owners do not allow dogs is because some owners tend to leave them alone in a strange cottage and consequently, the dog does its best to get out, (we once had a Great Dane enlarge a cat flap in a door to a size big enough for a lion!!) or it takes it out on the cottage furniture. Very expensive!! For this reason we ask that you take your dog with you when you go out. After all, it is THEIR holiday too!
We hope you can keep your dog off cottage furniture but concede that it is very difficult to do so if they are used to lying on the sofa at home! If this rings bells with you, then please bring a cage for them to sleep in, or at the very least bring covers to
protect the furniture (some cottages provide covers for your use, if you forget to bring yours). If your dog sleeps on or in the bed at home, then we urge you to think carefully about where they will sleep whilst on holiday, as under NO circumstances should they be allowed onto the beds even with covers. Again this is where a cage could help.
We are sometimes approached by distressed owners because Fido has picked up a tick or two after rolling about in the  heather. This is more often during the summer when ticks sit on the tops of plants waiting for Fido to come along. ( but more likely they would prefer venison ) we are happy to give instructions for tick removal, and in some especially dog friendly cottages you will find written instructions on how to deal with them.
We would advise you as dog owners coming to the Highlands with your dogs, to visit the vet before you leave home, to get them treated with Frontline tick repellent. We use it on our dogs regularly and it is simple to apply - simply pour the drops of Frontline on the skin of the back of the dogs neck to keep them totally free of ticks for one month and fleas for up to two months. You can then spend your holiday romping through forest and glen without any nasty surprises when you get home!
Enough said, personally we have many dogs that return here year after year to see Loch Ness, and very rarely do we have a problem. And for those of you that don't own a dog, we would hope that you will not notice that a dog has been here before you.
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