Dogs

Probably one of our most important pages - if you're viewing on a mobile, you'll see the main dog links below, with all Roxy's information for your dogs below those!

This page was originally created in Rosie’s voice, the boxer/lab we adopted from Helping Yorkshire Poundies in 2015, which is when we started letting to the general public rather than through word-of-mouth to friends, families and work colleagues.

We had to say goodbye to Rosie on the 29th December 2023. Her memory lives on through our photos and her website contributions and she had a whole page about her (see the links). Gone, but never ever forgotten - she is missed so much.

We adopted Roxy in February 2024 and she’s already making her mark on our Facebook posts! We are always adding things, so this page has been updated (September 2024) and we felt it was time to rewrite it in Roxy’s voice.

Hello!

My name is Roxy and this page will tell you everything you really want to know about staying in my house!

I am a “lovable lump of doggie mixtures including husky” apparently….. born in August 2016 and adopted by my humans in February 2024. I’m also COMPLETELY bonkers… that’s not even “apparently”... even I know that about myself! Mainly because I am also highly intelligent and born to problem-solve. If I didn’t love sofas so much, I’d live in the wild…..

I can also leap surprisingly high for my size..... I am a "challenge".... there is a little video at the bottom of this page showing this!

I inherited this house from Rosie, complete with all the responsibility she carried in her paws for attracting bookings. My humans, bless them, are really not very photogenic and photos of the house's stunning views and Rhosneigr's empty beaches and glorious sunsets can only carry them so far... They need me... just a shame they won't pay me for it!! Rosie loved it here, and now so do I :-)

I will write my story soon - I’m just so busy investigating EVERYTHING new with my “silly nose”! This page, however, is all about the kind of holiday you can have if your humans book my holiday home :-)

Anglesey is a great place for dogs. Sand dunes, rabbits, the sea, huge sandy beaches, rocky coves, forests, birds, horses - what more could we ask for?? Most Anglesey beaches - including Rhosneigr - are restriction-free, so we can run around to our heart's content. See the link for a list of beaches that do have no-go sections between May and September (it’s just 7 in 125 miles of coastline!).

To make sure you have the best holiday possible, I allow humans to stay in my house too - but please make sure they behave themselves and clean up after you!

The other pages in this section deal with the best places for you to visit, and I'd also really like to hear from you, so send me a photo of yourself enjoying your holiday with your name, age, when you stayed and your best and worst bits of the holiday! We'll put them in the Doggie Hall of Fame.

Now onto your facilities - and a few rules!

Bedding, towels and bowls

I have three plastic beds - two large; one medium - which you are welcome to use, but please bring your own cushions/ blankets. I also have 2 raised beds (one large, one medium) which can double as doggie sunloungers.

A good game to play with your human is to make them stop what they’re doing and take one outside for you…. Wait until they get settled again, and then go and lie somewhere else and look disapprovingly at them because your sunlounger isn’t where you want it.

They will usually get up and move it for you. This is called "keeping your human fit and mobile" - very important for their old age and mental health.

The sofas are very comfortable, but my humans prefer us to stay off them :-( Rosie launched a very effective campaign and won the right to have first dibs on all sofas, and I have followed suit. I CAN actually curl into quite a small ball and leave room for them to sit with me, but I’m also a very large dog... so usually just take up the whole thing! Sometimes I make it look like I don’t quite fit, and my female human usually rushes to get me a foot rest… LOL!

If you're allowed on sofas at home, please make sure your humans bring some throws to minimise dog hair on ours - in an effort to prolong the life of the chairs and sofas, they all have throws on them, but they aren’t for us! My humans weren’t best-pleased to come downstairs on a departure day to find me waiting on the freshly covered sofa….. luckily, my "cute" ears help me get away with a lot of misdemeanours!

Stair gates and crate

The kitchen has a fixed tall stair gate and my humans put my bed in the kitchen at night and close the gate. I'd obviously prefer to stay in the lounge so I could sneak onto the sofa once they've gone to bed, but the kitchen is nice and snug!

There is also one at the bottom of the stairs - that one isn’t tall…. We all know if I really want to, I can jump it, but I respect that when it is closed, I’m meant to stay downstairs… and to be fair, my humans are happy for me to go up to supervise them getting changed for walks. They just don’t like me up there unaccompanied.

There is also a spare tall pressure-mounted one that could go in any doorway - this might be useful if you are on holiday with other dogs and sometimes need to be kept separated.

If you're used to sleeping upstairs so you can keep an eye on your humans, they will need to bring their own duvet covers, sheets and pillowcases! My humans are very easy-going about the mess I've brought into their life, but they spend hours cleaning up after me (I get quite exhausted watching them, really!), and we do need to think about our other guests.

If you normally sleep in a crate, we have a large one to save space in your humans’ car for your treats and toys and special blankets…. and for you, of course!

Garden

The garden's great and my humans had a wire stock fence installed on top of the wall, which means even the more adventurous of you should be safe and secure - unless you really are an escape artist. Save your energy for the beaches - when you come back, the last thing on your mind should be leaping over a fence! We have a lot of info on our site about our garden as we know it's important to both you and your humans!

The field belongs to the farmer, so we can't go running in it, sadly. It sometimes has sheep, cows or horses in it too. If you really can't be trusted, my humans have one of those metal spiral stakes that can be used to secure you to the lawn.

Please Note: the front of the house is no longer a secure area. We have an inner and outer front door, so double barrier to the road. The back/side garden still has a solid tall gate that can be bolted from the inside, as well as just latched. Garden and Parking info here.

Stranger Danger

Next door have access rights through my garden, but very rarely need to as they keep their bins in their front garden. The gate into their garden is right round the back in the backyard part (the bit the kitchen overlooks, where our private sheds and gas tanks are. It's not very visible, so potentially could be open and no one realise (before you do!). My humans have put an extra gate into the backyard area from the garden area - ask your humans to keep that closed at all times. There's nothing in that part for you or them and it's an extra level of security so you don't get into trouble!

Other Doggie Facilities

My humans are complete converts to Dicky Bags (see the link above) and have provided a large branded one for your humans to use. They also have a PoopPot (no longer available but they were made in Sheffield!).

Please make sure they pick up after you, both in the garden and when out and about. There are dog-bins all over, but the Dicky Bag/PoopPot will keep your poop nicely contained until they find one ;-)

I have a couple of towels, but if you need to use them, please get your humans to wash them before you go home. I also have several dog bowls for food and water.

There is a cold water tap with spray hose in the garden….. yeah right….. that could give you pneumonia even if the sea IS colder and you’ve been in it all day…. I’ve registered my disapproval. It could be useful in summer, though.

Make sure your humans know we also have a “portable dog shower” - it’s actually a garden pressure spray-bottle, but they put a fancy label on it calling it a shower and I haven’t liked to point this out. Your humans can fill it with warm water to lessen the ignominy and even take it out in the car.

I have some reactivity issues - I love people, but other dogs can make me a bit anxious. At the moment, I’m not allowed completely off-lead, so my humans bought me a long line. They were so impressed with it, they bought a REALLY long one for use on Anglesey and they have left it for guests to use. It’s 10m and waterproof, so doesn’t get waterlogged, and will float. It’s really quick to rinse sand off it too.

I have some “I’m on holiday” dog tags with the holiday let address and email address on them just in case you get lost.

I try to keep some balls and float toys in the house. You're welcome to play with them, but if you lose or destroy them (that's the best part, isn't it??!), please ask your humans to replace them or give us some money to replace them.

Very new to the house are 2 dog buggies. We keep them in the guest shed. They each have a couple of quirks, so if you would like to use them, get your humans to speak to mine first so they can explain.

Rosie had a buggy for the last 2 years or so of her life, so my humans are very experienced dog-buggy users. In her last few months, she had 2 different types, and her 4-wheeler (will take up to 30kg) is now at the house for guests to use. Her main one (an Innopet Sporty) will probably end up here too as I am way too big for it - it still has a lot of sentimental value at the moment, though. My humans highly recommend the Innopet brand - the Rolls Royce of dog buggies, apparently!

The other buggy is a 3-wheeler and will take up to 35kg, bought in case I ever need one in an emergency. Hopefully I won’t need it for many years, but I have to say, I have a little chuckle imagining my humans pushing my 32kg around!!! Rosie was only 20kg, and apparently it was “exhausting” LOL!

I’ve tried it out - it was quite nice! Needs a cushion…. and a foot rest.....

Scary noises

OK, I know most of you are big and brave, but for those of you who are like Gypsy (the very first Face of Rehoboth Terrace) and are terrified of fireworks and gunshots, we'd better talk about the planes. See the link at the top of the page for info about fireworks (that's a long one!).

When Gypsy first visited Rhosneigr with my humans, they stayed in a house RIGHT by the end of the runway. My humans love the planes, but Gypsy was very sensitive and just trembled the first time one took off. After a couple of days, she accepted them, even if she didn't like them.

Once they bought this house, she came frequently and got so used to them that she used to watch them taking off and land! They're nowhere near as loud by our house, but as she never ever got used to fireworks, gunshots or thunder, I can only suppose planes were not so bad. I think it helped that she could see what was making the noise.

As for me, well..... look at me! Do I look like I'd be afraid of anything??

The first time I came and heard one fly over, I was sunbathing on my sunlounger. I have to admit, I was a little surprised, but I looked up and watched it fly over…. It didn’t seem to be doing any harm. Then another came, and I watched that one. Then I stopped watching. It’s part of my holiday home, but not as interesting as sheep, cats, squirrels….

Pro-tip: if you are down near the runway, and a plane comes in to land or takes off, your humans will likely be distracted…… GREAT time to eat/roll in fox/bird poo if you can find some!

The planes only fly Monday to Friday, and most of the flying seems to happen around 11am and 3pm.

If you walk near the actual runway - those are the best dunes, FULL of rabbits! - you will hear a jeep driving round scaring birds. Most of the time, they play a screechy bird sound, but occasionally, it's gunfire - doesn't bother me, but it might you!

Adders

Unfortunately, we have to talk about them - there are adders in the dunes in summer. My humans have always been very adder-aware and encourage guests to keep dogs on leads on the dunes in summer just in case. In 14 years, they have been on the dunes 1000s of times and have seen a glimpse of an adder 3 times. They are shy and move away from humans, feeling the vibrations of their approach.

However, I’m responsible for the third time! I am highly inquisitive and despite being on a short lead, I caught a movement in the grass next to me, and stuck my “silly nose” in and got bitten.

Long story short, I had to spend the night at the vets, and had anti-venom. My face swelled up and I still have a little dark circle on my muzzle where one of the puncture wounds was. But I recovered very fast, and despite my humans’ attempts to make me take it easy, was leaping like a loon on the beach 3 days later.

I really don’t recommend it, however - getting bitten, that is.... leaping like a loon is FUN!!

My humans now always make sure they stick to the wide grassy paths and that one of them is in front being heavy-footed and banging a stick on the ground to announce their approach… They look ridiculous! They make me wear a great big jangly bell…. I SOUND ridiculous!! I’ve told them, it was a one in a million chance… I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. But apparently I’m too precious to take risks with... what about the risks to my reputation??

I’m sad to say, they have left the “adder warning kit” (several annoying bells and a collapsible walking stick that they've stuck in a black bag and written "adder warning kit" on.... they do a lot of this kind of thing!) for your humans to use when they stay in summer….. Sorry…..

The good news is the adders hibernate in winter, and even in summer, it's certain times of day and types of weather where the risk is higher - most adder bites happen between 3pm and 5pm on sunny days that aren’t too hot.

This is a good web page for your humans to read. Adders are pretty prevalent all around the UK now, favouring the kind of coastal and moorland locations humans also favour for their holidays with us. Anglesey is no exception. We don't want to put people off, but we believe in being transparent so people can be prepared.

Other animal hazards

The walk around Llyn Maelog is great, but on the Rhosneigr side, the path goes through a field with horses and 2 donkeys. A sign warns that although the donkeys are friendly and will stand and be petted all day, they have been known to chase dogs...

There are frequently highland cattle in the field on the left as you go down the road from our house. There’s a public footpath across it and it is one route to the lake (there's also a very handy bin for poop by the gate if you’re passing it on the way back to the house!). My humans are very wary of cows so rarely risk using that path unless they are sure the cows aren’t there. You can’t always see them though - if it’s summer, they are almost certainly there somewhere. The lane/track (UP the road, and first RIGHT) to the lake is the safe route.

There can be cows on the dunes at Aberffraw too.

After storms, there can be palm oil washed up onto the beaches - this is highly toxic but tasty. My humans were once being really helpful and gathering pieces up to put in a bin, and when they spoke to another dog owner to warn them, Rosie very quickly snaffled a small piece! Luckily, she suffered no ill effects, but they weren't pleased. She was quite a connoisseur of really disgusting things.... my humans say it was like having a Pac-Man on the lead (no idea what that means, but I suspect it shows their age...).

That's the basics, check out my other page which tells you about the best walks!

If you've got to the end of this - wow! Well done - you probably have a better attention span and reading ability than your humans!

I mentioned above that I am a little reactive - maybe you are too and are wondering if Anglesey is a safe place for you. Well, in my opinion, yes, it definitely is, and my humans can advise yours on the best places to go where you will have enough space to relax and be you. I am allowed far more freedom on Anglesey, as on our favourite beach, it is not only quiet, but you can see a very long way for potential problems!

I've put a little video together for you to watch - it shows off my Leaping Prowess (if you ask me... my humans think it shows something else...)