This week’s links take you to dog-friendly spots all over the world, introduce you to dog travel writers, and highlight an interesting pet carrier.

Starting in the middle(ish) of the U.S. and spiraling outwards: The Indiana Dunes hosted a helpful guest post with notes about a dog-friendly nature preserve, beach, and restaurants in the Indiana Dunes country (just east of Gary, and Chicago, on the Lake Michigan shore). Fido Friendly suggests visiting Rock City Gardens, in Chattanooga, TN, with your dog (“an enchanted, 4,100-foot walking trail showcasing soaring rock formations, caves and lush woodland gardens”). The Take Paws team finally got to the Columbia Gorge, in Western Oregon, and fell in love with the views, the waterfalls, the local food, and the dog-friendly Columbia Gorge Hotel. The next turn of the spiral brings it to my part of the world, where the youdidwhatwithyourweiner team took Gretel and Chester hiking at Snow Lake, east of Seattle, and Chester was extra-brave.

Leaving the U.S., we touch down first in Banff, in the Canadian Rockies — Banff National Park would like you to know that Banff Lake Louise is dog-friendly, and put together a video to prove it (a quick interview of a couple visiting the park, and the dog-friendly Jupiter Hotel, with their two small dogs).

And onwards to Europe, by way of a very useful post from The Road Unleashed (“How to Take Your Dogs to Europe, Part 1“). As you may know from their great posts on Dog Jaunt’s Facebook page, the Montecristo Travels team just returned from a marvelous trip to Italy (and France). They’re starting to write blog posts about the trip, and here’s the first: “Pisa–Tuscany–Italy.” Italy is also the second home of Durant and Cheryl Imboden, who write the delightful blog Maggie in Venice — this week, don’t miss their post on Rome’s Quirinale Gardens.

That leaves us with a collection of links that defy categorization. Fido Friendly praised the ZuZUCA pet carrier — an intriguing carrier because it rolls and is sturdy enough to serve as a seat for a weary pet owner. According to the manufacturer, however, it’s not designed for airplane use (and given its size — 18″ X 10″ X 14″ — and its rigidity, it would be a risky choice).

The Juneau Empire‘s Melissa Griffiths wrote an engaging article about musician Danny Kean, who has been traveling for years (in Alaska and throughout North America, as well as Mexico) in a truck with a piano in the back, first with his dog Bo, and now with an English Bulldog/Beagle mix named Mo — meeting people and making music. Check out Kean’s blog about their travels for more pictures and stories. In other news, BizReport, um, reports that, according to an eBay Local survey, significant numbers of consumers like to shop at pet-friendly stores, and suggests that businesses consider allowing pets as a way of attracting and engaging customers.

And that brings us to Will My Dog Hate Me?, which gladdened my heart by (1) including Dog Jaunt in a list of wonderful dog travel writers (thanks, Edie!), (2) recommending a couple of dog travel writers I’d never heard of — check out her list, and (3) offering people who aren’t able to travel abroad a “virtual world journey” via pictures of dogs in outrageous “international costumes.” No question about it — if you haven’t already bookmarked Edie’s blog, you need to.