Customer Reviews

Dog Lover's Companion to California

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When I read all the stellar reviews for this book, I thought it was the perfect book for me. We have had our dog for two months, and are now venturing out to different places with her. We bought this book last night (and paid full price for it--fancy THAT) in anticipation of a free-roaming day trip today.

First, I do have to say that creating a comprehensive guide is exceedingly difficult. The number of hotels, restaurants and attractions you'd have to visit...well, it's mind-boggling. However, there are both good and bad points to this book, depending on what you're looking for.

Good Points:

1. Very detailed information about the parks, beaches and recreations areas, complete with an easy-to-read rating system (1 to 4 paws) and a clear indicator of off-leash venues (running dog icon). She also includes parking and entrance tips, park amenities that would appeal to your dog, what trails or areas are dog-accessible, etc. Very good listings. This is the main reason you'd want to buy this book.

2. Detailed information on SOME restaurants and hotels and basic information on others. Just thumbing through the book, it's clear that Maria's favorites get lots of detail. For instance, I was thumbing through the book and Roses's Cafe (page 486) in San Francisco gets a full 2/3 of a page. Of course, there was a story attached to that listing of how Maria was introduced to the place, and her experience with it. Other places just list that there is outdoor seating, dogs are allowed, etc. Your mileage may vary.

3. Coverage of the entire state. More breadth, less depth. However, you would think that the local area editions are more comprehensive. Nope. The Bay Area edition seems to have the same information contained in the California edition.

4. Doggie Diversions. Maria lists some great things to do with your dog aside from parks. Shopping, attractions, fun stuff to do. These are sometimes surprising.

5. Other information. I never knew that you could take a dog onto a San Francisco Muni bus or a Cable Car. Maria includes the requirements (muzzle, non-commute hours for Muni) and costs. I also never knew that Nordstrom's welcomes dogs. Dogs and shopping...oh boy!

Bad Points:

1. Only the parks are on the area map. Okay, so let's say you're in San Jose and need a place to stay, a place to eat, and a place to run your dog. You can look at the map and see where to run your dog, but how so you know where the restaurants are in conjunction to your dog park? Hm. GPS, I guess.

2. Could use more listings for hotels and restaurants. For instance, dogfriendly.com has 22 listings for restaurants in San Jose; the book has TWO. San Jose is a pretty big city, and the inclusion of only two restaurants is pitiful.

3. Place you can't take your dog. In some instances, Maria includes this info. For instance, you can't take your dog to California State beaches. Rats. However, I was thinking of going to Muir Woods yesterday, and the book didn't say whether dogs were allowed or not. This is a major attraction in Marin County. Perhaps Maria should consider a list of major attractions in tourist areas where dogs ARE and ARE NOT allowed. For instance, are dogs allowed on Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco? Hm. I had to sleuth a bit and read the info on Aquatic Park and the RESTAURANT section...the info was there (the answer is yes).

4. Small nit pick: Listings should include name, address, phone number and THEN the info on why it's good. Sometimes the address info is buried within the text. Most times, it's at the end. A good editor would've made this a bit friendlier. It's a bit of a nit-pick, but it's annoying.

All in all, it's a decent book, but it has its flaws. I think it is better than many of the other books out there (better detailed info than dogfriendly.com's book, and rates each of the parks), but has fewer listings than others. I think it's worth your going to a store to check it out. Even with the good reviews here, I was a bit skeptical, and I needed to compare and contrast the book with others in person to make a final buying decision.

I would recommend "The California Dog Lover's Companion" to anyone who has a dog and lives in California or plans on visiting the Golden State. This book is very well researched and put together. Locations to take your dog are easy to find because the book is split into sections for each county in California. The book lists places you can stay and restaurants that are dog friendly; I even discovered a few places I didn't even know about that were close to my home. One very valuable thing this books does is to tell you the parks and open areas that allow dogs to run without a leash or if you'll need to keep your pet on the leash. This is a great book for all dog lovers in California!

I am a dog that is very much in love with Joe Dog and his human helper Maria Goodavage for the work they did putting this huge sensational book together. If I could talk I'd reccommend this book to all my friends. Its a good thing I can type because at least I can reccommend it to their humans.

This book has had my "masters" take me on great journeys all over California. They laugh when they read it and then they make some phone calls and suddenly I'm in the car and we're going off to some very cool vacation. I always get treated well by the innkeepers and I always get to go to restaurants, well at least the outside eating areas and I always get to do nice things like go to a winery or take a cable car or ride a gondola up a mountain to go hiking down.

My neighbor friend Maggie always got left behind and put in a kennel when her "owners" went on vacation, so I had my people get this book for her people and now Maggie gets to go on vacation to!

My "owners" say the book is hilariously written and super accurate and they sometimes read me about the places their going to take me and this is nice. They love the paw ratings (one to four paws) and the helpful information in the front and back. The Golden Bone Awards are a big hit with them. They look at them and say ooh, let's see why this one got an award and then they read it and then we're staying at a great new place or something.

My favorite time so far has been when we went on vacation in gold country. I even got to dig for gold thanks to this book. I found a little to! It was kind of a set up, but it was fun.

The only other books I've shown interest in have been books I could chew, so you gotta know this is a real good one.

Five paws up. This book has made my life really great.

Excellent writing and near-perfect information make this the only book you need when you explore California with your pooch. Full of maps, restaurant reviews, a wide variety of overnight options, unusual recreational activities, and even historical tidbits, it's more than just a listing of parks for dogs. It's given us great ideas for road trips to new places, and made us excited to revisit old favorites to do things we missed. Very thorough and fun to read--buy it!

I can't say enough good things about this book. Not only is it a very valuable resource, it's fun to read. The author's descriptions of hotels, restaurants and attractions are amusing and accurate. On my first trip with my dog we stayed at dumps and ate at fast food drive thrus. Armed with this book the second trip was a very different story. I found nice but inexpensive hotels and Farli was treated like the queen she thinks she is when we stopped to eat. Even if you don't travel much you will probably find lots of interesting places in your own backyard. I didn't know there was a steam train that allowed dogs just 20 minutes away from me until I read it in the book. Fun stuff!

We have only had our dog 5 months, now, and I can't say that I have tried alot of the places reviewed in this book.

I can say that I am overwhelmingly grateful that someone took the time to compile this information. I used to poke fun at my friends who couldn't bare to leave their dog at home, and now I find myself feeling the same way! The prospects of what this book has to offer is delightful.

The book is broken down into counties. You will find listings for parks, recreation, places to stay, restaurants, and diversions. Depending on what the county has to offer, those that are profiled are rated. The book is fun to use and humorous. It is reassuring to see so many places that are dog friendly, and I anticipate patronizing quite a few of the listings.

We were about to put Hankie (our beagle) in a kennel so we could go on our annual traipse around California, when a friend from the dog park gave us this book. It was a godsend, or as Hankie says, a dogsend! We were able to plan a two-week vacation around the state, where we could stay at wonderful places with Hankie, visit very cool sites with him, even dine at great restaurants! We even took him on a ferry ride in Newport Beach! We are sooooo glad we cancelled the kennel reservation and took him with us. It made our vacation much more fun and guilt free! The book was accurate and right on about everything we checked out. It's really a funny book too, more than just a guidebook. I obviosly can't contain my enthusiasm. We're already planning next year's summer vacation on the Calif. coast, based on this book. No more guilt for us! If you see a happy beagle running down Carmel's beach next August, just come up and say hi to Hankie.

We have used the California Dog Lover's Companion for travel all over northern, central, and southern California, and it has never let us down. All recommendations for lodging, outdoor activities, restaurants have been completely accurate in terms of quality and price -- unlike some other books we have used. Also, the author provides charming anecdotes about her dogs which make the book an enjoyable read, and not just a dry reference tool. We actually wore our first copy out (our dog ate the first few pages, and then it got all wet from a romp in the snow), and had to order a second!

I bought this book 4 years ago when I moved to California. We now have two dogs, and use this book every time we travel in California. The layout is great. It is easy to find lodging, parks, etc. anywhere in California that allow dogs. We have planned and executed many successful doggy trips with this book. Well worth every penny. Mine is falling apart is has been used so much!

Bought it when I first moved to California, and it has remained my steady travel bible since. Always well-researched, and each new edition is thoroughly updated. Even has little notes about how things are changing at the time of printing, so you know to make sure and call ahead.

As more dog-friendly guides have recently come out, I tend to use The Dog Lover's Companion and supplement its information with other guides. I have found this one to be by far the most inclusive and thorough as far as dog parks and beaches go - that is its specialty. It's getting better and better with listing places to eat and stay, but other guides have much longer lists.

While more sparing, however, when it does list places to eat and stay, The Dog Lover's Companion still tends to be more accurate (and thorough) in its information: it lists prices, contact info/addresses, and great annecdotes. The guide also lists other "Diversions" (like a water taxi cruise, skiing, a carriage ride, a spa, and a full-moon walk... all with your dog, of course).

I sound like an ad, but seriously, if I could only have one dog-friendly guide, this would be the one, hands down. It has been around since 1993, so it continues to build and update - each new edition is better than the last. At around 1,000 pages, it's also the biggest and longest guide...!