Travel in Europe

LynandJim · Aug 22, 2015

We are hoping to travel to Germany via France next year. We are taking our Pointer Merlin who will be two.
He's never been abroad and I know I need a pet passport but am wondering about the worm treatment.
The government website says you have to go to a recognised vets not more than 5 days before travelling home to have a worm tablet. (The dog not you)
Are vets easy to book I. Calais as we will be using the eurotunnel and do you have to book in advance?
Any other travel tips ?
We've only had our Cali four weeks but Merlin absolutely loves it, he sleeps on the turned around passenger seat and when were driving around sleeps on his basket behind my seat.

LynandJim · Aug 22, 2015

Here he is asleep

Hotel California · Aug 22, 2015

Looks like a lovely dog !
We travel with our Vizsla all the time and took her to Norway recent and England last year for COTF .
As we are from Belgium we also got to be in order with pasport,....
Just check on your vet for info .
Do look out with the dog in a car not only Cali's that in the summermonths it gets pretty hot in the south of Europe , even here in Belgium we had a hot summer sometimes up to 30degrees .
Not ideal to travel with pets in a car!

GrannyJen · Aug 22, 2015

LynandJim said:
We are hoping to travel to Germany via France next year. We are taking our Pointer Merlin who will be two.
He's never been abroad and I know I need a pet passport but am wondering about the worm treatment.
The government website says you have to go to a recognised vets not more than 5 days before travelling home to have a worm tablet. (The dog not you)
Are vets easy to book I. Calais as we will be using the eurotunnel and do you have to book in advance?
Any other travel tips ?
We've only had our Cali four weeks but Merlin absolutely loves it, he sleeps on the turned around passenger seat and when were driving around sleeps on his basket behind my seat.View attachment 9617

You can just google dogs worms treatment pet passport and you will find all sorts of websites that allow you to find vets by location. It is a well travelled path.

philrich99 · Aug 27, 2015

Hi, as the tape worm treatment has to be at least 24 hours before you return to the UK it's probably easier to have it done further away than Calais, unless you are planning on staying there anyway. We have not had any problems, we usually find a vet in the area we will be in at the necessary time on the Internet before we go and email them well in advance to book the dogs in. If you are pre booking accommodation, ask the owners of wherever you will be staying a couple of days before your return if they can recommend a local vet.

You do need to book Eurotunnel in advance and will need to allow extra time for the dog when you return. It doesn't take long, but I think they say an hour. We always use Tesco vouchers for the van, but you can't use them for the dog.

We have found the cost varies greatly, from a couple of Euros for the tablets & no consultation fee, to eighty Euros (that came as a shock, although it was the plushest & most high tech vet's consultation room I've ever seen!), so best to ask before you book.

We have taken our 2 dogs to France, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, Italy & Greece, & are off to Portugal soon. We find the dogs are happy travellers as long as we stop regularly to let them stretch their legs. We try not to drive more than 4 or 5 hours in one day, and always try to keep to regular walking & feeding routines wherever we are. They travel in harnesses on the back seat, & the rear air conditioning in our Cali is ideal for keeping them cool, although we tend to go spring & autumn when it's cooler anyway. Although we do camp in the Cali, we also stay in hotels & villas, and have found some great dog friendly ones.

Good luck, it needs a bit more planning, but we really enjoy taking ours along on this type of holiday & the Cali would seem empty without them.

Myra & Phil

skinnywhippet · Aug 27, 2015

Our two whippets travel everywhere with us. We tend to make sure our last campsite is walking distance of a vet, and then just double-check they complete all the parts of the passport - name of treatment, manufacturer, date and time, stamp etc.

At French pet check-in yesterday (Eurotunnel) one family was having a problem because the vet they used hadn't actually stamped the passport, although they had noted all the treatment.

We find all of Europe to be incredibly dog-friendly compared to UK.

Hotel California · Aug 27, 2015

For us before the departure to the UK we need a vet visit not to go home , but you guys need a vet visit on the way back home to the UK...not so evident!

Do all those illigal channel crossers from Calais got a worm treatment?
Our dogs ar in better health ....

LynandJim · Sep 1, 2015

Some brilliant advice guys, Thankyou, Ive noted all your answers and will be well prepared in advance

The Merle · Sep 6, 2015

Hi
I've taken zen my mad collie to France and Italy loads, you can normally just turn up at any vets and they seem to always squeeze me in. Only takes five minutes for vet check and worm tablet, tends to cost €25-€35 but I never get it done near Calais as I've heard it's really expensive.
There's an amazing vets in Sancerre and a great place to visit especially if you like wine!

belinda · Feb 27, 2016

Hi

I have been looking in to getting Pet Insurance that would cover the dog at home and while away. We intend to travel through Europe for about 10-12 weeks with our 7year old Springer. Direct line who did insure the dog won't do more than 28 days per year, other companies wouldn't do any indemnity outside UK. I want 3rd party indemnity incase, god forbid, Dylan was involved in an accident and caused a problem. The only insurance that I have found that does longer trips and 3rd party indemnity out of UK is the Kennel Club. Any one else looked into this issue. The KC prices are not as high as Direct line and seem reasonable.

skinnywhippet · Feb 27, 2016

If you join The Dogs Trust charity you automatically get 3rd party insurance for any of your own dogs, and this includes Europe.

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Sp0_0k · Feb 28, 2016

Had an idea to visit UK with our dog from EU. Read the rules and figured out might be unaccomplishable

Hotel California · Feb 28, 2016

Sp0_0k said:
Had an idea to visit UK with our dog from EU. Read the rules and figured out might be unaccomplishable

Why ? I visited the UK with ours without trouble , and Norway last year ...
And going back to the UK this year...

Sp0_0k · Feb 28, 2016

Norway has very soft rules now. Last time I checked with UK there was even a quarantine involved. I might be wrong though and lots of things changed as well.

SqueakyWheel · Feb 28, 2016

Sp0_0k said:
Norway has very soft rules now. Last time I checked with UK there was even a quarantine involved. I might be wrong though and lots of things changed as well.

There's no longer quarantine for bringing pet dogs ( cats etc ) into the UK from EU countries with a few simple rules. The dog has to be microchipped, have a pet passport ( available from most vets ), vaccinated against rabies at least 3 weeks before entry and treated for tapeworm by a vet ( recorded in the passport ) 1-5 days before travel. The tapeworm requirement might need a bit of planning if you're on the road for a few days before reaching the UK, but I think most dog owners that travel would have the other points already covered.

Hotel California · Feb 28, 2016

Sp0_0k said:
Norway has very soft rules now. Last time I checked with UK there was even a quarantine involved. I might be wrong though and lots of things changed as well.

UK and Norway is exact the same , and no quarantine needed.
Just dog pasport chip or a clear tattoo, and ok with some special vaccination

Sp0_0k · Feb 28, 2016

Wow that's a nice surprise. We might visit the Ireland after all. Thank you for the good news )

AlisonF · Feb 28, 2016

HC is right. I travelled from Norway to the Netherlands and back whilst living there, and also relocated back to Blighty with the dogs in 2010. In those days the rabies jabs needed to be done every year and kept up to date, and the first trip couldn't be until 6 months after the injections. Now it's just a matter of weeks, so we'll be heading the other way (over to NL) later in the year.
There's a very informative gov.uk website on the requirements if you google it.

Spud · Aug 1, 2016

Any recommendations for central Brittany vet, don't want to leave it till 24 hrs before ferry, so need find one on route back via coastlines west to east - st Malo