Vets, Groomers, and More
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Phone before you travel. Ring the practice first, whatever the hour. They will tell you whether to come to them or to their out-of-hours partner, and they can prepare for you arriving. Turning up unannounced at a closed surgery costs time you may not have.
If you are visiting the area, the practice nearest your holiday cottage may not be the one covering nights and weekends — out-of-hours cover is often provided by a partner practice some miles away, in Axminster, Bridport or beyond. Worth establishing on day one of a holiday rather than at ten o'clock at night.
Know where you are. If you are on the coast path or a beach and need to describe your location, a what3words reference is the quickest way to be found — the same system we use for the paw prints on the map above.
In a coastal emergency — a dog cut off by the tide, or fallen from a cliff path — call 999 and ask for the Coastguard. Please do not go after a dog onto the shore below a rising tide or down a cliff. People drown doing this. The Coastguard would far rather rescue your dog than both of you.
For a town of this size, Lyme Regis is reasonably well served, and what is not here is generally within a short drive — Uplyme, Charmouth, Axminster and Bridport all add to the options. The listings above come from local dog owners rather than from directories, so they reflect who people actually use and trust.
Find out where yours is before you need it
The single most useful thing a visitor can do is note down the nearest practice and its out-of-hours arrangement on arrival. Residents: it is worth knowing your practice's emergency partner too, because it is rarely the same building and rarely close by.
Salt, sand and Jurassic clay are hard on a coat
Dogs here get saltier and muddier than most. Sea water dries the coat and skin, sand works its way into everything, and the blue clay along this coast stains and sets. Local groomers are used to all of it. In summer, book ahead — capacity is limited and the visitor population multiplies.
Especially useful if your holiday let says "no dogs left alone"
A number of local walkers and sitters operate in the area, and some take holiday bookings. This is genuinely worth knowing about, because many holiday cottages prohibit leaving a dog unattended in the property — a sitter or daycare place can be the difference between eating out one evening and not. Peak-season availability goes early.
Recall near livestock and cliff edges matters more here
Worth mentioning because of where we live. Solid recall is not a nicety on a coast path with unfenced cliff edges and sheep in the fields either side. Local trainers know this terrain.
🐾 Two hazards particular to this coast. First, cut pads — the fossil ledges at Monmouth and the rocks at East Cliff are sharp, and pad injuries are the commonest thing that spoils a holiday here. Second, the cliffs themselves: Black Ven and the Undercliffs are actively unstable, and dogs do not understand edges. Keep to the path, keep away from the cliff base, and see our beaches guide for tide warnings.
🌡️ Before you set out today: the Dog Utilities page shows a too hot to walk? check with estimated pavement temperature and today's tide times. Heatstroke and burnt pads are both avoidable, and both put dogs in front of a vet every summer.
If you are new to the area, register with a practice before you need one, and take your dog's vaccination and medical history with you. Ask specifically about the out-of-hours arrangement, whether they run their own emergency service or use a partner, and how far away that is. Check too whether your pet insurance requires you to use particular practices. It is a dull twenty minutes that pays for itself the first time something goes wrong.
There is veterinary provision locally, with more practices in Axminster, Charmouth and Bridport. The listings above show what local owners use. Always ring first — out-of-hours cover may be elsewhere.
Phone a vet before travelling so they can prepare. Cut pads are the most common beach injury here: apply pressure with a clean cloth, keep your dog still, and carry it off the beach rather than letting it walk on the wound if you can manage it.
Call 999 and ask for the Coastguard. Do not go down after them. This coast catches people out every year, and the Coastguard would rather come for the dog than for both of you.
Yes, in Lyme Regis and the surrounding villages. Book ahead in summer. Sea salt and Jurassic clay mean local dogs generally need grooming more often than inland ones.
Often yes, and it is worth arranging in advance — particularly as many holiday cottages do not allow dogs to be left alone in the property. Local capacity is small, so peak weeks book up.
This is a community site, run locally and free to use — no adverts, no paid listings, and nobody featured here has paid to be. If a vet, groomer, walker or sitter has looked after your dog well, please add a review. Recommendations for this sort of thing are worth more than any directory, and they are exactly what a worried visitor needs at nine o'clock on a Sunday night.
You might also like our dog-friendly walks, beaches, cafés, shops, accommodation, the Dog-Friendly Walk Mapper, and Angel Dogs — our free camera that gives your dog a halo.
This page is general information from local dog owners, not veterinary advice. If you are worried about your dog, contact a vet. Practices, opening hours and out-of-hours arrangements change — always ring to confirm. Last reviewed: July 2026.