Andy and Monty on a cliffpath walk around the picturesque Dorset coastline

EVERY dog owner knows how difficult holidays can be. The excitement of spending two weeks away tends to be tinged with the biting guilt of putting your best friend into a kennel.

Many people are lucky enough to have trusted dog-sitters and there are no doubt some very nice kennels about, although our experience has been unfortunate.

The only time we have left Monty, our rather affection-hungry Springer Spaniel, in a kennel; he sat at the back of his enclosure looking sorry for himself for the entire fortnight. We vowed never to do it again.

Thankfully, Monty usually stays with a friend and we can rest easy, but there is an alternative.

Taking your dog on holiday is easier than you think. With a pet passport you can easily hop on a ferry and head off through the Continent, where dogs are as welcome in restaurants as you are.

You will need to see a vet before you come back to the Island and there is an extra charge for the ferry crossing, but it is pretty easy once you get the hang of it.

We, however, decided to head north and spend a few days in Poole before continuing up the country to visit friends and family.

The four-hour crossing was a breeze. It costs no extra money to take a dog on the Condor fast ferry and there are no quarantine issues because we are part of the British Isles. We were even able to pop down to the car deck and check on him when we stopped in Guernsey en route. Six hours or so after leaving home and without a hitch, we arrived in Poole.

Thanks to the assistance of Poole Tourism, who were very happy to help, we booked a three-star, dog-friendly guest house less than five minutes drive from the ferry terminal.

Whether you have got a dog or not, Jessimine, in Hamworthy, is a great find. I tend to judge B&Bs on three main criteria – the warmth of the welcome, the cleanliness of the room and the breakfast.

The owner, Anita Saville, is incredibly welcoming without being in the slightest bit overbearing as some old-school seaside landladies can be. When we stayed in August she had a puppy bull mastiff called Yogi, as well as a bichon fries called Miaha and a Lhasa apso named Pepsi, but we would never have known that she was a doggy person had we not asked as she keeps her pooches in a separate part of the house.

The room was spotless, large and very much a home from home, with a sofa, DVD player and plenty of films, tea-making facilities and a large bathroom.
Finally, the breakfast, which you order the night before from a long list of options for a tailor-made full English, was delicious. You eat around Anita’s large kitchen table with the other guests, which – although I wasn’t initially keen – turned out to be a pleasant experience.

Double rooms – with breakfast for two – cost £70 in season and £65 out of season.

We were up early and took Monty out for his morning walk to Hamworthy Common, a nature reserve, which takes you down to a small beach close to the Special Boat Service base in Poole Harbour.

After breakfast, we headed off to explore nearby Lulworth Cove, a beautiful Dorset village from where you can walk along the cliffs to Durdle Door, a famously impressive sea arch.

Dogs can be let off the lead to run freely all the way and it is a beautiful stroll.
We also found a very English thatched pub which, as the photograph suggests, was extremely dog-friendly and served a delicious lunch under the summer sun.

Back in Poole, we walked into town from the guesthouse and had dinner in the Custom House, one of the many restaurants, pubs and cafés along Poole Quay, the town’s waterfront, which offer al fresco eating. Monty was able to sit at our feet while we ate and, after an amble around the town centre, we walked back to Jessimine.

The following day, we had our morning constitutional on Sandbanks Beach, which allows dogs off the lead even in the height of the summer season.

The beaches have colour-coded signs which indicate which permit dog walking and which do not.

It was a chance to have a close look at Sandbanks, which is often referred to as the most expensive real estate on the planet. It is clearly loved by many, apparently including football manager Harry Redknapp, who pay ridiculous money to stay there, but I was about as impressed as Monty, who showed his disinterest by cocking his leg on a rather smart-looking gatepost.

We might have a rather ugly Waterfront here, but much of the Island’s coastline is hard to beat.

There is a whole host of walks around the town, but the Poole Harbour Trail walks comes highly recommended (www.pooleharbourtrails.org.uk). There is also the Cockle trail, a self-guided tour which explains the history of the industry as you go with plaques on the ground.

And if you want to jump in the car, there are always the walks around Thomas Hardy country to explore or you can visit nearby Corfe Castle, a majestic ruin and once a controlling gateway through the Purbeck Hills where you can take a stroll on several marked trails.

The Model Village at Corfe also welcomes dogs on leads, as does the Blue Poole, a former clay pit now filled with water which changes colour through the day and is surrounded by 25 acres of heathland.

If you are happy to leave the hound in the car for a couple of hours, you can take a trip around the Poole Harbour, stopping off a Brownsea Island, or have a crack at one of many watersports on offer in the safe, shallow waters of the large sheltered harbour.

Our visit to Poole underlined several things, not least that taking your dog with you on holiday is much easier than you might think and hugely enjoyable.
And secondly, it can be all too tempting to get off the ferry and head straight for the motorway at ridiculous times of the night without even considering a stay in Poole and visits to the surrounding area.

We learned that, with or without a dog, it is a place full of rich history and natural beauty and certainly a destination to unwind in for a couple of days as you slip into the holiday mood – guilt free and with your dog at your side.