Taking man's best friend

[Mobilvetta]

My cousin fancies coming with us in January to Europe with his motorhome, he has a dog so it's likely the Portsmouth to Santander pet friendly cabins will be gone. We are thinking Newhaven to Dieppe will be better or the tunnel. The dog is micro chipped but doesn't have a pets passport or a rabies Jab, what is required please to take a dog to Europe these days and can we get it done the day before near Newhaven and then will we need to get something else done on our return to the UK. Can anyone recommend anywhere were the vet fees aren't extortionate, if there is such a thing. Cheers

 

[rugbyken]

it’s pretty much bite the bullet this side to get the animal health certificate anything from £95-250 cheapest is usually abbeywell vets at folkestone all done online though you have to physically go through & collect it after they’ve scanned the dog , once done you can get a passport easily in spain or portugal though spain is annual rabies portugal 3 year , though there is more work on the passport which is lifetime & contains exactly the same information as the AHC should be between €20_40

 

[SimonM]

Go to your local vet, get the dog jabbed for rabies - I ‘think’ there’s a time limit prior to travel if it’s the first jab, or it maybe it will need a blood test check to ensure it’s worked.

Then enquire about the AHC which will be needed prior to travel, but no longer than 10 days after the AHC has been created. The rabies jab is necessary before travel too. yes, it’s a licence to print money for the vet.

Every last detail must be filled in correctly or the Gestapo at both sides of the channel checkins will take great delight in finding a way to prevent your travel.

 

[El radge]

Go to your local vet, get the dog jabbed for rabies - I ‘think’ there’s a time limit prior to travel if it’s the first jab, or it maybe it will need a blood test check to ensure it’s worked.

Then enquire about the AHC which will be needed prior to travel, but no longer than 10 days after the AHC has been created. The rabies jab is necessary before travel too. yes, it’s a licence to print money for the vet.

Every last detail must be filled in correctly or the Gestapo at both sides of the channel checkins will take great delight in finding a way to prevent your travel.

Shop round for AHC . Prices vary from well over £300 to under £100 .
There have been a few threads on this subject . Check them out .
If your cousin thinks he will tour EU regularly look into getting Spanish or French dog passport.
He will find vets over there are not extortionate

 

[Jo001]

I ‘think’ there’s a time limit prior to travel if it’s the first jab, or it maybe it will need a blood test check to ensure it’s worked.

The time between rabies vaccination and travel must be more than 21 days. The blood test to check the antibody level isn't done any more. I'd have it done sooner rather than later, then in Spain (if you are still planning to go even if not on the Santander ferry) you can get a Spanish pet passport which allows you to travel back and forward without a new AHC for each trip. When you get the passport they should give the dog a rabies booster as the date of the rabies vaccination mustn't be earlier than the 'chip read' date in the passport. There's no harm in having a booster early, as it's a dead vaccine. The only drawback is that future rabies boosters need to be done in the EU, so try to get a three year vaccine done in the North of Spain as further south they only do one year vaccines because of the greater risk of being closer to North Africa.

There's a number of vets who do the £99 AHC, some come to your home and others you have to collect, if @Mobilvetta wants to share their general location I might be able to suggest someone.

 

[Jo001]

look into getting Spanish or French dog passport.

It's much harder in France, because there the dog "should" also be registered on the ICAD microchip database, which requires an address and a longer stay in France. The word "should" is interpreted more strictly by some vets than others but it is much, much harder.

 

[SimonM]

Yes, I was refused in N.France but my sister has 3 dogs and a holiday house in S.France and a partner who speaks better french than most of the French and she has 3 passports for hers.
I believe they are a bit more lax about things in Belgium.

 

[Millie Master]

If you LOVE your dog(s) the ONLY loving dog friendly way of crossing the Channel is on board the truly excellent Channel Tunnel trains.

It is the fastest way of crossing the Channel and best of all, you are with your faithful four legged friend throughout the crossing.

As a person whose very life is dedicated to the welfare, care and love of my dogs, we only ever cross the Channel using the tunnel, if this wasn't a travelling option then we would never ever consider going over the mainland Europe.

 

[Jo001]

believe they are a bit more lax about things in Belgium.

Yes, definitely easier; although it's not really about being lax - the passport is a perfectly legal document. The name 'passport' is misleading, it isn't anything to do with nationality or residency, it is only a record of rabies vaccination. So getting one isn't in a way exploiting a loophole.

 

[Jo001]

the ONLY loving dog friendly way of crossing the Channel is on board the truly excellent Channel Tunnel trains.

We went on the P&O ferry (I know, awful employment practices but there were reasons) and used the pet lounge. It was excellent. It had direct access to the outside deck, it was well designed with booths so nervous dogs had privacy, and there was even decent coffee.

 

[Ardachaidh]

There’s a very good Facebook group on all the ins and outs of the AHC, rabies vaccination requirements etc. (they won’t allow discussion of getting an EU Pet Passport as it’s about the AHC). I used it before we went to Spain in December to get reliable info on the process, to find a “low cost“ vet near us who does most of the paperwork by email, (getting health info from your own vet) and suss out other tricky bits. (We have a dog with a UK pet passport, no longer valid, and a new dog which was starting from scratch)

The advantage of using an “online” vet is that they will be doing dozens of AHC’S and so should get it right, while our local vet had never done one before and was considerably dearer. The Group page has ”help” sheets and an interactive map of low cost vets. You have to join the group to get all the info and post. There’s lots of reliable advice from vet members of the group too.

Most of these vets charge much less for a repeat AHC, so we’ve decided that’s what we’ll do for subsequent trips, as that means we can get rabies boosters from our local vet as usual and there’s no danger if the EU decides to prevent non-EU citizens from using a PP. (We’re naturally cautious )

AHC - Animal Health Certificate U.K. | Facebook

Travelling from the UK to the EU with your pet? This group will help you thru the minefield of the AHC (Animal Health Certificate) with easy to understand information.

www.facebook.com

 

[Mobilvetta]

Thank you everyone for taking the time to reply, very useful information.

 

[Jo001]

there’s no danger if the EU decides to prevent non-EU citizens from using a PP. (We’re naturally cautious

I understand your concern, and obviously you make the choices that suit you best and I'm not in any way disagreeing - but I think it's important to clarify that the passport relates to the dog, not the owner's citizenship (look how many UK people adopt dogs from Spain, Cyprus and Eastern Europe, which come over with their passports already in place). And as I said, the name passport is unfortunate as it's only a record of the dog's rabies status.

For comparison, our pet passport in Spain 14 months ago cost the equivalent of £41.65 including the rabies booster. And it is valid for as long as there are spaces left to record the boosters.

 

[TJBi]

Yes, I was refused in N.France but my sister has 3 dogs and a holiday house in S.France and a partner who speaks better french than most of the French and she has 3 passports for hers.
I believe they are a bit more lax about things in Belgium.

Not so much lax as different regulations.
Canalsman on WildCamping can recommend a vet in Belgium.

 

[witzend]

heres a link which will help finding vets in France

European Vets Recommended for Pet Passport - Google My Maps

Any new Vets or alterations to existing info - please post to - https://www.facebook.com/keith.davies.923519 Vets in Europe who are recommended by Motorhome owners and are familiar with the Pet Passport scheme. PLEASE NOTE - CHECK THE VET HAS STAMPED AND DATED THE PET PASSPORT CORRECTLY. IT IS...

www.google.com

 

[El radge]

If you LOVE your dog(s) the ONLY loving dog friendly way of crossing the Channel is on board the truly excellent Channel Tunnel trains.

It is the fastest way of crossing the Channel and best of all, you are with your faithful four legged friend throughout the crossing.

As a person whose very life is dedicated to the welfare, care and love of my dogs, we only ever cross the Channel using the tunnel, if this wasn't a travelling option then we would never ever consider going over the mainland Europe.

Sorry you are making some rather extreme claims there .
I do love my dog and travel by ferry, often Newhaven to Dieppe.
If I thought for a second my dog would suffer I wouldn't do it .
Suspect I'm not the only dog loving member on here who does this

 

[jagmanx]

If you LOVE your dog(s) the ONLY loving dog friendly way of crossing the Channel is on board the truly excellent Channel Tunnel trains.

It is the fastest way of crossing the Channel and best of all, you are with your faithful four legged friend throughout the crossing.

As a person whose very life is dedicated to the welfare, care and love of my dogs, we only ever cross the Channel using the tunnel, if this wasn't a travelling option then we would never ever consider going over the mainland Europe.

Same with me and the wife !

 

[Mobilvetta]

The dog eats Chappie and Harrington's dog food, can you buy this in France or Spain or a similar product please, unfortunately it's not something I've ever looked at.

 

[El radge]

The dog eats Chappie and Harrington's dog food, can you buy this in France or Spain or a similar product please, unfortunately it's not something I've ever looked at.

There are similar dry dog food products
I supplement dogs diet with chicken and tinned sardines. Find it hard to get affordable cooked chicken

 

[TJBi]

There are similar dry dog food products
I supplement dogs diet with chicken and tinned sardines. Find it hard to get affordable cooked chicken

If you LOVE your dog(s) you wouldn't begrudge the cost of cooked chicken.