Dog Friendly City Guide: Houston, Texas, USA

Houston is a big, flat, green city that rewards a dog owner who knows where to look. It has no single old centre to stroll, but it is threaded with bayous, and the parks that follow them are some of the best places in Texas to walk a dog: long shaded paths, open lawns and, at almost every turn, a fenced dog park where a dog can run off the lead. The city has also made its peace with dogs at the table, and its breweries have taken to the idea with real enthusiasm, so an afternoon here easily turns into a walk, a beer garden and a patio dinner. The one thing to plan around is the climate. Houston is hot and humid for much of the year, so the best of the day for a dog comes early in the morning and after the sun has gone down.

Getting There With a Dog

A dog flying into the United States from abroad has to meet the rules of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the first question is where it has spent the past six months. If that time has been only in countries the CDC treats as rabies-free or low risk, the dog must be microchipped, at least six months old, and travelling with a receipt for the CDC Dog Import Form, which you complete online before you fly. Time in any country on the CDC's high-risk list for dog rabies brings more paperwork and stricter checks at the port of entry, so read the CDC's guidance on bringing a dog into the United States before you book anything. Once you have landed, Houston is a city built around the car, and you will want one.

Where to Stay

The hotel to know first is La Colombe d'Or, a small five star house of 32 rooms at 3410 Montrose Boulevard, and the strongest of our ranked dog friendly hotels in Houston with a B. Most of its rooms take dogs, up to two to a room, and the welcome reaches well beyond the bedroom: your dog can join you in the lounge, on the terrace and in the garden, and there is a dedicated space set aside for dogs on site. A bed and bowls are laid out, poo bags are to hand, the staff will point you towards good walks, and the hotel can direct you to an emergency vet should you need one. A settled dog may be left in the room while you go out, and there are parks close by.

Hotel Zaza, at 5701 Main Street in the Museum District, is the most sociable of the city's hotels for a dog. It has 315 rooms, most of which take dogs, and yours is welcome in the bar, the restaurant, the lounge and on the terrace, so it can stay at your side from breakfast to the last drink of the evening. There is no weight limit, free treats are put out, and a well settled dog may be left in the room, with parks close by.

Uptown and the Galleria area have two more. Hotel Granduca Houston, at 1080 Uptown Park, is a smaller hotel of 122 rooms where most rooms take up to two dogs, there is no weight limit, bowls are provided and your dog is welcome in the garden. The Post Oak Hotel, at 1600 West Loop South, is a grand house of 250 rooms with a dog bed waiting in the room, free treats on arrival, dog food for sale and a dedicated dog space on site, and dogs may be left in the room. In the Medical Center, the InterContinental Houston, at 6750 Main Street, has 354 rooms and welcomes your dog in its lounge and garden, with green space nearby. For the full picture, with every hotel's fees and grade, see our ranked dog friendly hotels in Houston.

Eat and Drink

Texas is unusually clear about dogs at the table. A state law passed in 2019, Senate Bill 476, which added Section 437.025 to the Health and Safety Code, lets a restaurant welcome dogs in its outdoor dining area as long as it posts a sign saying so, the dog reaches the patio from outside and never goes indoors, it stays leashed and under control, and it keeps off the seats and tables. The same law stops a city from adding stricter rules of its own.

The family of cafes that has made the most of it is Barnaby's Cafe, a Houston favourite with branches in the Heights, Midtown, River Oaks, the Museum District, Downtown and beyond. Every Barnaby's location has an outdoor patio that welcomes pets, open when the weather allows, which makes it the easiest answer to breakfast or lunch with a dog wherever in the city you happen to be.

The breweries are where Houston's dog owners spend their weekends. 8th Wonder Brewery welcomes dogs in its one acre beer garden, and asks only that you keep them leashed and clean up after them. Equal Parts Brewing, at 3118 Harrisburg Boulevard, lets your dog come into the taproom itself, leashed and under control, with a fair warning that a dog bothering other guests may be asked to wait outside. In the Heights, Eureka Heights Brew Co., at 941 West 18th Street, keeps dogs out of the brewery building but has an outdoor dog friendly patio where sociable dogs are welcome. Out to the northwest, Klaus Brewing Company, at 10142 Jones Road, has a covered biergarten with a patio for pets, where every dog must be leashed.

Walks and Parks

The city sets the ground rules on its dog parks page. Dogs are welcome across Houston's parks but must be on a leash at all times outside the fenced dog parks, and they are not allowed, even leashed, in children's play areas or on organised sports fields. The dog parks themselves open from dawn to dusk, allow two dogs per person, and expect each dog to wear its City of Houston registration and rabies tags.

Buffalo Bayou Park is the walk to start with, a long green corridor following the bayou west from Downtown, with paths along its banks. Within it, the Johnny Steele Dog Park at 2929 Allen Parkway covers two acres, with separate areas for large and small dogs, each with its own pond, washing station and shade, so a dog can swim and be rinsed off before the walk home.

Memorial Park, further west along the same bayou, is the city's great wooded park, with trails running through its forest. The conservancy that cares for it welcomes dogs on a leash everywhere except the Roy H. Cullen Timing Track, and asks walkers to stay on the marked trails.

Hermann Park, beside the Museum District, is the most civilised of the walks, with its lake and its shaded paths. Dogs are allowed throughout on a leash, and the McWilliams Dog Park inside it is the one place in Hermann Park where they can run free.

Three smaller dog parks round out the city. Levy Park, at 3801 Eastside Street in Upper Kirby, has a dog park with separate sections for large and small dogs, turf mounds for play, trees for shade, a water feature and a double gated entrance. Downtown, the Holly Anawaty Dog Park in Market Square Park, at 301 Milam Street, has two runs ringed by a lit walkway, with water features and canine drinking fountains in both. North of the Heights, the T.C. Jester Dog Park at 4201 West T.C. Jester Boulevard gives big and small dogs runs of their own, just over an acre in all, with benches and drinking fountains.

A Day Out

A good Houston day with a dog begins early on Buffalo Bayou, before the heat builds, with a loop along the water and a swim and a rinse at the Johnny Steele Dog Park. From there it is a short drive to a Barnaby's patio for breakfast. Rest through the heat of the day, then take a late afternoon walk around the lake in Hermann Park. As the light goes, finish with a beer in 8th Wonder's beer garden or the taproom at Equal Parts.

Good to Know

Heat is the main thing to plan for. Houston's summers are long, hot and humid, and pavements hold the heat well into the evening, so walk early and late, carry water, and test the ground with your hand before a long walk. Expect a leash everywhere except inside a fenced dog park, and keep your dog's tags on its collar if you plan to use the city's dog parks. On restaurant patios your dog stays outside, leashed and off the furniture, and a posted sign is the sign that dogs are welcome.