It doesn’t take long to realise that Swansea, Mumbles & Gower is full of dog lovers! It’s no surprise as we have miles & miles of gorgeous beaches and countryside to explore. Here at Clyne Farm we love dogs! As a farm there are lots of interesting smells for your puppy to experience, and different animals for them to meet (on a lead please). A stay with us in any of our 9 dog-friendly cottages is an ideal opportunity to get your puppy used to farm animals and sleeping in a different place. Great preparation for future UK staycations.

A tricky question for all new dog owners is where to take them when they are young. Puppy socialising is so key for your dog’s development. We have faced the same question so thought we could help with some suggestions!

We are a few minutes’ walk from Clyne Gardens which is a hotspot for local dog owners to meet up to chat. Keep on walking down the hill you will get to the 8km long Swansea Bay. Top fact: at 10.4m Swansea Bay has the second-highest tidal range in the world! Plenty of space for dog walking.

Nicholaston Beach on Gower is generally quiet, and quite secluded out of season, so is an ideal place to take your puppy to experience the sea and a big beach with the bay swinging all the way round to Oxwich. If you want to test your puppy’s paws in the water, you can head along the beach from Nicholaston to Oxwich and you will meet Nicholaston Pill where you can do this. There is a bridge which they can try crossing too. It is an approximately 1km walk.

A 10 min drive from us is the National Trust car park at Southgate. A lovely walk along the beach at Pobbles or along the cliffs at Pennard / Southgate, must be followed by a visit to the Muddy Mailroom, a great dog-friendly café in Southgate. The staff absolutely adore dogs, so it is the perfect place to practice getting your puppy used to outings. With only a handful of tables, it isn’t too overwhelming for their first visit. You can tuck yourself away at the table at the back of the café for more nervous/excitable puppies. They also sell dog treats and puppacinos to spoil your puppy with!

A stunning walk along Rhossili Beach, is a great place to test out that recall with plenty of space and the relative safety of the beach. After a play on the sand, you can stop in at the Lookout Rhossili, a small café that serves pizza and other lunch items, as well as ice creams, hot and cold drinks, & cakes. Best of all they are dog friendly with indoor and outdoor seating.

Llanmadoc Hill, with lots of sheep and ponies grazing on the hill and plenty of space, is an ideal opportunity to expose your puppy to other animals from a distance, helping them to build confidence and learn to ignore them.

For day trip head to Tenby and the fabulous North Beach. Great practice for lead walking up the high street too. There is dog-friendly seating outdoors at the Hope and Anchor. Close by is Saundersfoot. Enjoy a walk around the port, letting your puppy take in the sights (and smells!) of the boats. Follow this with a visit to the new pop-up shops, serving delicious seafood to take away and enjoy on the beach.

Machynys Beach near Llanelli is a great place to start for those initial walks. You can either practice some lead walking along the cycle path, passing walkers/dogs/cyclists or you can go onto the beach to have more of a run-around and play fetch a stick on a long line. On your way back pick up some doggy treats at Pets at Home in Llanelli. A good time to go is on a weekday evening, around 7-8pm, just before closing time. It is nice and quiet, so is the perfect opportunity to get your puppy used to going into a shop. The staff are so friendly, and happy for you to just walk around, letting your puppy take in all of the smells and see the different pets.

If you need some puppy essentials (yes that cute bandana that your four-legged buddy will destroy in 2 mins is essential!) then check out Dewkes of Mumbles. Only opened in 2021 this shop is proving to be a hit with many local dogs and their owners.

Let us know if there is anywhere else you would recommend for puppy & dog socialising in Swansea, Mumbles & Gower. Or indeed further afield in South Wales. We would love to hear them.