There aren't many dog friendly beaches where we live. However, one of the first things we discovered when we were researching our Maine vacation was that Goose Rocks Beach was located close to where we were staying and was open to dogs before 9AM and after 5PM.
We weren't really sure how Katy would react to the beach. We'd taken Bailey and Katy to Hopkinton State Park and Bailey's reaction was similar to the Wicked Witch of the West's. He hated standing water. Katy followed Bailey's lead for a long time. We were curious to see how she'd react to a beach full of dogs.
We were surprised to discover Katy liked the water. The weather was warm in Maine. Perhaps the water felt cold and that's why she was willing to wade in the water this time when she had always refused before.
The only part she didn't like was when the waves splashed up on her and that is when Katy would retreat.
While the Inn doesn't allow inside bathing of dogs, they do provide hoses for outside cleanup. Katy got a paw rinse to get the salt water and dirt off her when we got back to the Inn.
Katy's still not hooked on water, but she is open to wading in it, which was a huge step forward for her.
Our experience was very dog friendly during our time there. People did have some dogs off leash, but they were being responsible keeping their dogs under voice control, which made the experience much more enjoyable.
