PETS (Travel Scheme) and taking your animals abroad
Discussion
Who has a pet passport for their pet? Ours will be ready for the youngest in June and we're planning a little road trip later in the year.
The window for worm/tick treatment when returning is fairly small (not less than 24 and not greater than 48 hours from time of travel). Given that the French are always closed, on strike, on a bank holiday and just plain lazy I am a little concerned about how this bit will work.
Has anyone else done this and how did you get on?
The window for worm/tick treatment when returning is fairly small (not less than 24 and not greater than 48 hours from time of travel). Given that the French are always closed, on strike, on a bank holiday and just plain lazy I am a little concerned about how this bit will work.
Has anyone else done this and how did you get on?
Clearly you all selfishly abandon your animals in pet detention centres whilst off enjoying yourselves.
Anyway, we've found that Britanny Ferries allow dogs in cabins on the Portsmouth > Bilbao route and also the Plymouth > Santander route.
Incase any of you evil animal abandoners are interested.
Probably not.
Anyway, we've found that Britanny Ferries allow dogs in cabins on the Portsmouth > Bilbao route and also the Plymouth > Santander route.
Incase any of you evil animal abandoners are interested.
Probably not.
I forgot to reply to this the other day.
Personally I'd never take my dog abroad, too many horrible illnesses for them to pick up that we don't have in this country. Everyone panics about rabies because it's zoonotic but it's not the only one too worry about examples:
http://www.gsdhelp.info/pettravel/diseasesabroad.h...
My 7yr old dog has never been in kennels, he's either joined us on hols in this country or parents have had him, problem dsolved
My answer was going to be that I've never had anyone report this as being a problem before. Most people I know look up vets in the area they'll need to have the check done and get in touch with them in advance. Some just chance it and always seem to do ok. Not sure if that's a help or not.
hope you all have a nice holiday
Personally I'd never take my dog abroad, too many horrible illnesses for them to pick up that we don't have in this country. Everyone panics about rabies because it's zoonotic but it's not the only one too worry about examples:
http://www.gsdhelp.info/pettravel/diseasesabroad.h...
My 7yr old dog has never been in kennels, he's either joined us on hols in this country or parents have had him, problem dsolved
My answer was going to be that I've never had anyone report this as being a problem before. Most people I know look up vets in the area they'll need to have the check done and get in touch with them in advance. Some just chance it and always seem to do ok. Not sure if that's a help or not.
hope you all have a nice holiday
Edited by bexVN on Sunday 8th May 13:31
We crossed the channel via the tunnel a week or two ago, with our dog. We travel from Europe->UK->Europe, so didn't have the problem of finding a vet to give the worm/tick treatment.
In our case, everything went smoothly - remember to allow an extra 10-15 mins to have your pet checked at Calais, otherwise, no probs. At either end of the tunnel, there were fenced off grass areas to allow the dogs a bit of excercise, which I thought was a nice touch.
I didn't use the channel ferry, partly because the dogs have to stay in the cars alone(which is understandable). Tunnel was no problem in that respect.
In our case, everything went smoothly - remember to allow an extra 10-15 mins to have your pet checked at Calais, otherwise, no probs. At either end of the tunnel, there were fenced off grass areas to allow the dogs a bit of excercise, which I thought was a nice touch.
I didn't use the channel ferry, partly because the dogs have to stay in the cars alone(which is understandable). Tunnel was no problem in that respect.
We took our two all over Europe last year (France,Spain,Andorra,Gibralter,Switzerland,Germany,Denmark,Sweden,Norway,) and it was completely hassle free. They had their worm/tick treatment in Norway and we planned the timings meticulously. When we got to Eurostar we were stunned at just how easy the pet border control was as we had heard many horror stories.
Lots of friends have also taken their dogs and it is quite well known amongst owners that vets in France and Spain will 'adjust' your passport accordingly if need be.
Prior to the trip our vet recommended that our little ones also get scalibor collars which protect from sand flies and other nasties.
Do check before going whether countries that you are travelling to have their own rules re taking your pet with you. Norway was the only country that we visited where we had to register the dogs within 24 hours of entry to the country and also have them treated for worms/ticks.
Probably the most important bit of advice I can give from experience is to check and double check all entries made into your dog passport. We had a couple of wrong entries by vets that could have led to difficulties had I not been so eagle eyed.
ETA: Forgot one of the countries we visited!
Lots of friends have also taken their dogs and it is quite well known amongst owners that vets in France and Spain will 'adjust' your passport accordingly if need be.
Prior to the trip our vet recommended that our little ones also get scalibor collars which protect from sand flies and other nasties.
Do check before going whether countries that you are travelling to have their own rules re taking your pet with you. Norway was the only country that we visited where we had to register the dogs within 24 hours of entry to the country and also have them treated for worms/ticks.
Probably the most important bit of advice I can give from experience is to check and double check all entries made into your dog passport. We had a couple of wrong entries by vets that could have led to difficulties had I not been so eagle eyed.
ETA: Forgot one of the countries we visited!
Edited by Albert Bridge on Monday 9th May 11:52
Thanks Bex and Albert Bridge.
Bex the additional infections link was very useful b ut sound really worrying! I'll speak to vet and make sure they are completely protected. If there is any risk I don't think I'll take them. We're going to be on the coast and plan lots of walks so we need to be reassured that we can protect them effectively from all that.
Albert, your comments were very useful especially the collars. We're only going to Spain so we'll check with the authorities and make sure there are no hidden surprises.
We're planning to book crossings that give us the right time window for the return treatment and vet trip. We're also going to book the vet ahead from the UK from a recommended list (found a couple of good sources).
There's so much planning to do! we hate leaving them though.
Bex the additional infections link was very useful b ut sound really worrying! I'll speak to vet and make sure they are completely protected. If there is any risk I don't think I'll take them. We're going to be on the coast and plan lots of walks so we need to be reassured that we can protect them effectively from all that.
Albert, your comments were very useful especially the collars. We're only going to Spain so we'll check with the authorities and make sure there are no hidden surprises.
We're planning to book crossings that give us the right time window for the return treatment and vet trip. We're also going to book the vet ahead from the UK from a recommended list (found a couple of good sources).
There's so much planning to do! we hate leaving them though.
We have never left ours in all the time we've had them - we can't bear to be apart! It was certainly a lot easier than we'd anticipated and the dogs loved the whole adventure.I don't want to scare you into not doing it, I just want to make you aware of what is out there that we don't see in this country. Whilst cases are seen in this country from dogs going abroad it's far less than the dogs that actually travel. It also helps to be aware in case your dog falls ill as vets over here won't necessarily think of these diseases.
It's still enough to put me off doing it though (plus the expense!!) but I think that it'd just be my luck for my dog to pick something up (vet nurse animals seem jinxed sometimes
)
It's still enough to put me off doing it though (plus the expense!!) but I think that it'd just be my luck for my dog to pick something up (vet nurse animals seem jinxed sometimes
)Thanks Bex, I'd rather have all the information so we can make an informed decision - than put the dogs at risk because we hadn't done enough research.
Albert, we hate leaving them too, they are my children, I work part-time as it is and they would be very unhappy in kennels. One has anxiety issues as it is and is currently seeing a behaviourist... I have found a fabulous dog friendly hotel in Spain right on the coast and picture them romping on deserted beaches, forests and lake walks..... the sand flies are worrying me a little - need to find out more about that.
Cheers to both of you for your help.
Albert, we hate leaving them too, they are my children, I work part-time as it is and they would be very unhappy in kennels. One has anxiety issues as it is and is currently seeing a behaviourist... I have found a fabulous dog friendly hotel in Spain right on the coast and picture them romping on deserted beaches, forests and lake walks..... the sand flies are worrying me a little - need to find out more about that.
Cheers to both of you for your help.
I regularly travel with my hounds. Make sure that their rabies shots are up to date. If the dog has never travelled abroad before, a blood test needs to be done at least 6 months before travelling before returning to the UK.
If going to Spain, make sure that the dog has been protected for southern European diseases Leishmaniasis, Ehrlichiosis and Dirofilariasis. This sounds like Southern Europe is a death trap for your dog, but it is not as bad as it seems. I am involved with dog rescue in Spain and most of the abandoned dogs in Spain don't have these diseases after being on the streets.
Have fun.
If going to Spain, make sure that the dog has been protected for southern European diseases Leishmaniasis, Ehrlichiosis and Dirofilariasis. This sounds like Southern Europe is a death trap for your dog, but it is not as bad as it seems. I am involved with dog rescue in Spain and most of the abandoned dogs in Spain don't have these diseases after being on the streets.
Have fun.
Cloggie said:
I regularly travel with my hounds. Make sure that their rabies shots are up to date. If the dog has never travelled abroad before, a blood test needs to be done at least 6 months before travelling before returning to the UK.
Have fun.
Thanks. They have PETS passport which means all of the above has been completed. Bex linked to the other conditions which I'm going to check out. We're going at the end of 'sand fly' season so hopefully it won't be too bad but I'm going to check with vet that they are covered. Thanks Have fun.
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