I recently visited London to do a shoot at the Egerton House Hotel where they do doggy afternoon tea (more on that soon!), and it got me thinking about how some places say that they are dog friendly, but in actual fact, it’s more like ‘dogs allowed’. So I decided to test how dog friendly some of my local places were, as recommended by Haslemere locals, I hope dog owners find this useful!

The Lions Den, Weyhill

The Lions Den, Haslemere

Style: Bistro / Cafe
Space: Cosy but plenty of floor space
Time visited: Friday at lunchtime – busy but had tables.
Waterbowl / biscuits: Yes to both – as you walked in the front door although all the bowls were empty.
Did they acknowledge my dog: No, but they were super busy.
Garden: No garden, little seating area outside which looks over Lion Green.
Pros: They didn’t bat an eyelid when I asked if Shadow could go up on the comfy seat with a rug.
Cons: Probably not the place to go with a dog that isn’t good with noise – it’s a family friendly place so at lunchtime on a school holiday Friday, it got quite noisy. 
Would I go back with my dog?: Yes, if I had just one or two with me. 
Is it obviously dog friendly?: Yes, says dogs welcome on the windows. 
Local Walks: A stones throw away from Hindhead Common which links with Devil’s Punchbowl. 

The Holly Bush, Frensham

The Holly Bush, Frensham

Style: Cosy Pub / Bar
Space: Cosy inside, good space outside, both patio area and grassed area. 
Time visited: Friday at 7.30pm. Busy but tables outside available.
Waterbowl / biscuits: Waterbowl’s available. 
Did they acknowledge my dog: A friend of the owner was obviously a whippet fan, so they got lots of fuss! 
Garden: Lovely grassed seating area on two levels, with the upper level having a street food truck where you could order cocktails. 
Pros: Shadow managed to jump up on the benches, right in front of one of the owners, and she really didn’t mind. 
Cons: As it was family friendly, there were lots of children running quite close to where the dogs were laying. Our dogs didn’t mind (we took 6 in total), however for an anxious dog, may be best to go when it’s quieter. 
Would I go back with my dog? Absolutely! 
Is it obviously dog friendly?: Yes! Their instagram account has a plethora of dog visitors. 
Local walks: Just minutes away from Frensham Little Ponds. 
Car parking: Couldn’t see any for the pub, road parking available. 

The Links Tavern, Liphook

The Links Tavern, Liphook

Style: Smart Pub
Space: Fairly big with separate dining and bar area with more informal seating. 
Time visited: Saturday at 5.30pm, was quiet at this time but looked like it was getting busy as I left. 
Waterbowl / biscuits: Yes to both – they actually had a dog pic & mix bar with donations going towards a charity, and a ‘dog keg’ outside. 
Did they acknowledge my dog: Yes
Garden: Lovely grassed seating area
Pros: Were fine with the dogs being on the sofa/chair with a rug down. 
Cons: It’s next to a main road so it could get a bit noisy if you sit outside – although the grassed seating area is round the back.  
Would I go back with my dog? Yes, I’d be happy to take all of them. 
Is it obviously dog friendly?: Did I mention the dog keg outside? 
Local Walks: A lovely walk through heathland next to the Deers Hut pub, and Iron Hill both within 5 minutes drive. 
Car parking: Plenty of parking next to the pub.

The Dog & Pheasant, Brook

Style: Country Pub
Space: Cosy inside, good space outside
Time visited: Wednesday at 5.15pm, quiet. 
Waterbowl / biscuits: Dog bowl. I saw what seemed to be a regular offered biscuits, Boo didn’t get offered though.  
Did they acknowledge my dog: No
Garden: Nice raised patio with countryside views & also grassy nooks & children’s enclosed play area. 
Pros: The outside seating areas are lovely.  
Cons: Limited parking outside the pub, even when it was quiet. 
Would I go back with my dog? I have been before without the dogs and it’s a great local pub with good food but I’d probably not with the hounds, unless we sat in the garden. 
Is it obviously dog friendly?: Not really.  
Local Walks: National Trust site Witley Common is very close. 
Car parking: Limited parking outside the pub, even when it was quiet. There’s road parking across the main road. 

The Dog & Pheasant Pub, Brook

   The Britannia, Guildford Riverside

Obviously a little further out, but worth the trip!

Style: Modern Pub
Space: Fairly big with, good floor space
Time visited: Sunday at 1.45pm, it was busy outside (warm day). 
Waterbowl / biscuits: Yes to both. 
Did they acknowledge my dog: Yes, they were made to feel welcome. 
Garden: No garden however there was a patio at the front & shaded area at the back. 
Pros: Amazingly, they had a stack not only dog towels, but dog beds!
Cons: Limited parking when busy.   
Would I go back with my dog? Yes, I’d be happy to take all of them. 
Is it obviously dog friendly?: Absolutely! Apart from the dog beds, there’s a big ‘dog friendly’ sign outside. They also do ‘dog of the day’ on Instagram. 
Local Walks: Canal/river walk only a couple of minutes away, really lovely stroll.
Car parking: There’s paid parking at the front of the pub, but as it’s Guildford, it was busy – there is also additional parking just to the side. 

The Britannia, Guildford

The best harness fit for Whippets

Updated January 2025

As a commercial pet photographer, I have photographed 100s of dogs, I get asked quite a lot about these harnesses so I thought it may be useful for anyone who was thinking about one for their hounds, my experience is with Whippets but you can take a lot away from this article for most dogs.

Why I choose Ruffwear

There were two reasons I was looking at harnesses; my old boy Jasper was quite sensitive around his head when he had his inner ear removed, I felt a harness would be much gentler for him, and then there was Shadow.

When I first adopted Shadow, I realised that we would need a harness for some of our walks, basically wherever there was going to be any excitement, if he saw anything even remotely fun then he would leap four foot in the air and dance around like a maniac. Not great when the only thing he is tethered to is a collar round his neck.

It’s notoriously difficult find harnesses for sighthounds, most fits seem to be too loose because of their deep but skinny chests. I was pleasantly surprised by the RuffWear Front Range Harness, because of the amount of adjusting we could do at several points, it fitted perfectly. I also loved the fact that rather than being strips of thinner material like a lot of harnesses, this has wider, more padded sections and the front almost feels like a chest piece.

The front range harnesses are great for general walking, however Shadow learned how to back out of it. So I checked out the six point Webmaster – problem solved! Again this is super adjustable, it fits him really well and with the added benefit of the harness coming further towards where the waist tucks in, it’s Shadow proof. I went for the addition of the stomach protector as he had previously had trouble with an awful rash after going through long grass. Hey presto, I have the perfect harness!

I used the front range harnesses for all the other hounds with great success. I had the small size for all five hounds, that shows how adjustable they are as they are very different in height & weight! I can also pop them over  Redhound for Dogs fleeces, although they now have lots of great whippet coats and jumpers with harness holes.

I got asked quite a lot of questions about the fit, so I have popped a little video up here: Ruffwear Harness Fit

When do I use them?

We use them quite a lot, like if we are going somewhere super busy like DogFest or now I live in the Lake District, I really need that useful handle to help my dogs over stiles and do a bit of scrambling. Anywhere there is too much going on for us to be trying to direct the hounds from collars, somewhere like a dog event isn’t easy on their necks as they are constantly trying to hoover up dropped food or follow exciting smells.

Update January 2025:

This blog was initially written in 2017. I am still using Ruffwear and now I have moved to the Lake District, they are much more frequently used, alongside the Roamer Bungee lead they are indispensable! I’ve changed Bertie over to the Flagline Dog Harness with Handle as for some reason he didn’t like wearing the Webmaster, not an issue I have had with the other dogs, but he’s very happy with the Flagline!

If you have any questions about my experience with these harnesses, please don’t hesitate to ask, and I’d love to hear if you have them for your hounds too!

With thanks to additional models Buzz, Ozzy & Ollie who are also RuffWear wearers 🙂

Kerry x