February 2, 2022 - If you own a dog or plan to bring one on your next adventure in the Pearl of the Adriatic, you will need to take into account the dog-walking rules in Dubrovnik, which from now on will be subject to greater supervision and enforcement by the City's Municipal Police.

As reported today by Slobodna Dalmacija, the Municipal Police has published a notice for all pet owners, with a particular emphasis on dog-walking rules in Dubrovnik.

In the coming period, the employees of the Department of Municipal Police of the City of Dubrovnik will intensify their supervision over the Decision on the conditions and manner of keeping pets and the manner of dealing with abandoned and lost animals and wild animals.

Namely, the said decision stipulates, among other things, that dogs can be taken to public areas if they are marked with a microchip, on a leash, and under the supervision of the owner, and the owner is obliged to carry cleaning supplies.

It is prescribed that pets are forbidden to move on children's playgrounds, flower beds, unfenced sports fields, landscaped city beaches, unfenced yards of schools and kindergartens, markets, cemeteries, and in all places where there is a risk of endangering health and hygiene.

Also, when taking a dog to public areas, they must wear a muzzle if they fall under the category of 'dangerous dog', which category is defined by the Ordinance on Dangerous Dogs. For a safer and more beautiful Dubrovnik, they concluded in the announcement.

For everything you need to know if you have a pet in Croatia or bring them on your next adventure, such as the current laws, the rules when traveling by ferry with pets, the best places to take them for a walk, etc; be sure to check out Total Croatia's page HERE. Now available in your language!

For more, check out our lifestyle section.

October 25, 2021 - To promote Primorje-Gorski Kotar County as a dog friendly destination, a guide called "Paws in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County" has been published with tips for dog owners, recommendations for trips and walks, and detailed information on accommodations and beaches that allow dogs.

In the new project of the Coordination Working Group for the Protection of Animals of the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, abbreviated KRAS, this Guide for dog owners " Paws in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County" was published for the local population and guests, reports HrTurizam.

The new pet friendly guide is intended for dog owners and offers useful tips and ideas, such as recommendations for trips or walks with a dog, with information on accommodation that accepts pets and beach locations for dogs in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County or Kvarner. The guide also contains many other useful details related to dog behavior, regulations for entering Croatia, dog health, and more, thus promoting the region as a dog friendly destination.

As we know, the Tourist Board of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County holds the quality label "Kvarner Family", a family accommodation branding system, from which other sub-brands such as ''Pet Friendly'' designate service providers that specialize in household pets and their owners.

These are, first of all, accommodation of "Kvarner Family" quality with an additional "Pet Friendly" offer, also restaurants with "Kvarner Gourmet" and "Kvarner Food" quality with a special place on the terrace for your four-legged friend, beaches where swimming for dogs is allowed, dog waiting shops, veterinary clinics, dog hotels, dog grooming salons, pet shops, and all other services that your pet may need during their vacation in Kvarner. 

Irena Peršić Živadinov, director of the Kvarner Tourist Board, commented on the tourist context of the guide, pointing out the greatest demand for content and locations where guests can stay with their pets. "At the European level, there is a noticeable increase in guests who come on holiday with pets. Problems and lack of information are not uncommon. For this reason, we have launched "Kvarner Pet Friendly", a label and brochure with locations where pets are welcome. This is a very nice addition which aims to make it easier for guests, but also to further promote Primorje-Gorski Kotar County", added Perišić Živadinov.

The guide brings together everything that tourists who travel with their pets need to know when they come to Kvarner, a dog friendly destination, and is available in a digital edition in Croatian and English. Download the guide attached.

Download the "Paws in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County" guide in English HERE.

If you want to learn more about pets in Croatia, be sure to check Total Croatia's guide. Now in your language!

For more on lifestyle in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

December 10, 2020 – Why did the chicken cross the road? Well, to go to the dućan (store) with his owner, of course! Residents bewildered to see one man taking his pet chicken shopping in the city streets of Split.

Understanding Croatia is often like looking through a kaleidoscope – the closer you look, the more it shifts in and out of the focus of comprehension. Nowhere is that more true than in the seaside city of Split.

Visitors are not the only ones to see this. Split's inhabitants know it too. Despite its reputation for the unorthodox, happenings in Split are still capable of raising the eyebrows of those who live there. And, that was certainly the case a couple of days ago, when residents of the Gripe neighbourhood were bewildered to see one man going shopping accompanied by his pet chicken. Their casual walk to the shops, which sees the pet chicken being led on the kind of leash you'd more usually find on a dog, was captured on video. It is one of the more curious chick flicks TCN has seen this year.

Gripe in Split is a family neighbourhood, known for its sporting facilities and the old fortifications which lie on the hill after which it is named. Even in times of social distancing, it's not uncommon to find neighbours milling around, chatting to each other on a weekend morning. Their idle gossip was given egg-stra fuel on Saturday when the man and his pet chicken made their remarkable hen-trance.

As the weather across Croatia turns colder, this is the traditional time for pigs to be turned into the sausages and bacon that will last through the winter. The chickens and turkeys are safe for now, although only for another week or so. Perhaps this timing egg-splains the walking of the pet chicken? Maybe the owner didn't want to let the prize bird out of his sight so close to Christmas? Or perhaps, given that a camera seems to have been at the ready to film their exploits, the walking of the pet chicken was just a welcome moment of tomfoolery? Whichever it may be, the footage does have an endearing quality. Poultry in motion, if you will.

November 11, 2020 – Entrepreneur Ženja Moskaljov and his associate Iva Antolić turned a great idea into a good business move and set up the first pet food vending machine on Mainz Street in Zagreb.

As Večernji list / Mateja Ježovita reports, the owner of the vending machine with five food products, Ženja Moskaljov, and his associate Iva Antolić placed the machine in front of the Dog & Style store on Grada Mainza Street in Zagreb. After extensive research, they say, they are almost certain that it is the only such apparatus in Europe, as there is no record of any other.

Insert coins, treats come out – but for dogs!

Put in coins or banknotes, grab a juice, snacks, coffee, chocolate… And go. This is roughly how self-service vending machines work, which we can see at almost every turn in waiting rooms, various institutions, health care institutions, bakeries... They are simple and practical. Two colleagues came to the idea to put food and other things for animals inside them, and so the first self-service pet food vending machine in Croatia was created. Well, not only in Croatia.

"There is no such machine in Croatia or the region. The only thing I managed to find on the Internet is that similar models are found in China," Moskaljov points out.

He got the idea for the pet food vending machine at a business lunch in June, when he talked with a friend and business partner about vending machines, so the thought came that he could offer products for animals as well.

"Then he helped me to and connected me with the company Automatik servis from Buzet, which sold me the device," the entrepreneur says.

The vending machine has been in front of the store since August, it works from 0 to 24, and you can buy basic products such as daily meals, sweets, toys, garbage bags… That is, what every pet owner needs almost daily.

More pet food vending machines to come

"We have carefully studied which products are best sold when customers go for a walk with the dog or hang out in cafes where pets can have fun with their treats and while the store is not open. We left the prices the same as in the store, and they range from 10 to 25 kuna," says Moskaljov.

They plan to have two more locations this year where they would install the same vending machine, but they have not revealed the addresses yet. And in addition to the success of the vending machine, he is also satisfied with the work of the store he opened seven years ago.

"In the beginning, it was just one type of food and a very scarce supply of dog equipment in a much smaller store. As the need for new products and services grew, so did the range change and supplement, so that the crown of the five-year business would be the opening of a new store. And with the new ‘three in one’ concept, which includes a pet shop, a veterinary pharmacy, and a dog grooming salon. So that pet owners can get everything in one place. The company's revenues continue to grow from month to month, not at the rates from the beginning, but compared to 2019, they are certainly 60 percent higher," said the entrepreneur proudly.

To read more about lifestyle in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.