We love walking dogs on beaches on our THS sits .
However, I have just read this recent news story about a dog walker in U.K. that had to be rescued by Coastguard after sinking into mud ( which looked like sand ) and becoming stuck .
Sharing this as it’s a potential danger for sitters to be aware of when we are walking dogs on beaches especially in areas that we are not familiar with .
A scary story
The Wirral is a not your typical sandy beach. In some respects similar dangers as in Morecombe Bay.
I agree @pietkuip this is quite common in beaches on river estuaries. There is also quicksand / sinking mud on beaches on the Bristol Channel around Weston Super Mare
That had to be really frightening for both the Walker & the dog.
I just want to add another danger with dogs on beaches, if the beach has grassy dunes or scrub areas of sea hardy plants, there is always the chance of adders being present. It’s natural for dogs to sniff around areas of plantation, as we all know & this is where the snakes like to bask.
If your dog is unlucky enough to get bitten, don’t panic, pick up your dog & take it to the nearest vet. They are all familiar with the bites & have antidotes. If your dog is to heavy, then walk it steadily & calmly, remember if you stay calm, then your dog will be.
I live near the beach & 2 dogs have been bitten this year so far. My own dog was bitten some years back, but after being in the vets over night, she was completely over it….
In May we did an 8 day sit in the Wirral and walked the dog along the promenade rather than on the beach which looked really muddy. Any dog that had been on the beach was covered in mud from head to tail. An RNLI volunteer told us they had to recently rescue a woman that got stuck in the mud when she tried to walk all the way out to the water (the tides are huge)
This post reminded me of a visit to see Antony Gormley’s art installation Another Place on Crosby Beach UK. We walked the dog on the beach and reached a spot where she just stopped dead in her tracks. I tried to encourage her to walk on but when I did it went from firm sand to really soft mud immediately.
The dog obviously sensed it before I did. Clever dog 
@Crookie wow, some people just don’t have the sense they were born with! The walker must have known how sticky the mud was becoming, yet didn’t turn back 
@Twitcher
Yep, dogs normally know 
@LucyCharm - the sand in front certainly didn’t look any different and it was instant. Not sticky at first