Dog-friendly beaches in Lanzarote

The two officially designated beaches

Playa de Guacimeta, in Playa Honda

It's the easier of the two and the one I use most. It sits right beside the airport, so your dog will watch planes land a couple of hundred metres above his head. Some dogs could not care less; others get a real fright the first time, so bear that in mind if yours is noise-sensitive.

What makes it win is that there's no time restriction. In summer that isn't a detail, it's the difference between going and not going: you can turn up at eight in the morning or nine at night, which is when the sand isn't burning and the sun isn't directly overhead. And when you're done there's a promenade with terraces where you can have a drink while the dog dries off.

The weak point: it's an urban beach, with people and other dogs. If yours is reactive with other dogs, go early rather than at sunset, which is when everyone shows up at once.

Playa de Las Coloradas, also called El Afre, in Playa Blanca

This was the island's first. Yaiza council amended its by-laws back in 2014 to allow dogs here, and it's still the reference point in the south. The water is calm and clean, and the atmosphere is a good deal quieter than at Guacimeta.

The opening hours are what cause the most trouble, and I want to be blunt because I see people turn up at eleven in the morning and have their day ruined: outside those two windows dogs are not allowed, not even on the designated section. And the ban still stands for every other beach in the municipality of Yaiza, Papagayo included.

Watch the ground too. It isn't fine sand from end to end: there's gravel and larger pebbles, and a dog with soft pads or an older dog will struggle on it. Work out in advance how far you're actually walking.

And then there's Famara, and everywhere else

If you live here you've already seen it: on long, barely-supervised beaches like Famara, at sunrise and sunset it's completely normal to find dogs running along the shoreline. The same happens on stretches of La Santa, at Órzola, and in northern coves almost nobody walks down to.

It's worth calling this what it is: tolerated, not authorised. Outside Guacimeta and Las Coloradas' opening hours, a dog on the beach can be fined, and the amount depends on each municipality's by-laws. In practice, at half seven on a February morning at Famara nothing is going to happen. At midday on a Saturday in August in Puerto del Carmen, with the umbrellas out, it might.

If you're going anyway, common sense is your best protection, and I don't mean legally so much as the other thing:

• First thing in the morning or last thing in the evening, when the beach is practically empty.
• Well away from swimmers and umbrellas, even if it means walking ten minutes further.
• Lead in your hand at all times, not in the car.
• Plenty of bags, and pick up someone else's if you have to.
• If anyone is uncomfortable, even if you think they're being unreasonable, you leave without arguing.

I say this because bans like these almost never come from dogs existing: they come from one specific complaint and a council that reacts by tightening the rules. The fewer complaints there are, the more room the rest of us have to walk our dogs.

The rules that apply on both official beaches

• Paperwork in order: microchip, vaccination record and jabs up to date.
• Pick up after your dog, always, no exceptions. Yaiza additionally requires you to carry liquid to dilute urine.
• No grooming or washing your dog on the beach, and no feeding him there.
• Lead on out of the water, and the dog under control at all times.
• Dogs classed as potentially dangerous: lead and muzzle at all times, plus a valid licence.
• One dog per person, always in the charge of an adult.

These things change from year to year as councils revise their by-laws, so trust the sign in front of you over this page.

What I always have in the bag

• Fresh water and a collapsible bowl. Neither beach has a drinking fountain for dogs.
• An extra bottle purely for rinsing him off. Dried salt itches, and a dog who goes home with salt on him spends the afternoon scratching.
• An old towel to dry his ears properly.
• Something that casts shade if you'll be there more than half an hour. Natural shade on a Lanzarote beach does not exist.

Three things I learned the hard way

Seawater. Two mouthfuls while playing is nothing. A dog who spends half an hour chasing waves and drinking non-stop ends up vomiting, and in real quantity it makes him properly ill. Break the game up every few minutes and offer fresh water, even when he acts like he doesn't want it.

Hot sand. It burns far sooner than you'd think, and the dog doesn't complain: he keeps walking until the damage is done. If you can't hold the back of your hand flat on the sand for seven seconds, it isn't beach o'clock.

Ears. Floppy-eared dog plus saltwater is the exact recipe for an ear infection. Dry them out properly when you leave, every time. It took me two vet visits to learn that one.