Have you always wanted to take your dog to the snow?
This is something I wanted to do for years. Seeing all the photos on social media of dogs in the Northern hemisphere joyfully frolicking in the white stuff made me determined to find out where I can do this in Australia. Quite a challenge when all of our Alpine Parks are located within National Parks that do not allow dogs at all.
Luckily in Victoria, we have the dog-friendly alpine village of Dinner Plain, just along from Mt Hotham. The annual Dog sled races are held in Dinner Plain and definitely worth a visit to the high country.
So long and you and your dogs remain within the the boundary of the village there is plenty of snow fun to be had. There's a walking track around the village and even off-lead areas - but take careful note of where these are - the Ranger is never far away.
Dinner Plain has dog-friendly accommodation options but be warned, these book out fast and can be a costly proposition if it's just 1-2- humans and a dog or two. Staying at the snow however is really quite magical, especially if it's a season of good snow falls. If staying in the village isn't an option the drive up from Bright or surrounding town isn't too bad and even easier if you stay on the Omeo side or the mountain.
As you can imagine Eski and Mojo have plenty of natural "insulation" and alpine areas in Australia are nowhere near as cold as those on the other side of the world. The only special dog gear I take with me are waterproof coats just in case there's rain and dog booties. If the snow cover isn't very deep there is the risk of an active dog nicking a paw pad on a hidden stick/branch or if it is icy, there is the possibility of a cut paw. I recommend getting your dog accustomed to wearing the booties before you head off and if you have a smooth coated, small or elderly dog, a warm jacket might be a good idea.
You won't regret visiting the high country in Winter and your dog will love the snow experience too.
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