# Rabies vac for dogs going to Spain



## MalanCris (Apr 2, 2007)

We have been taking our dogs to Spain for the last ten years and were told by our vet that the dogs needed a rabies injection every year to go to Spain and Portugal, however we have recently changed vets and the new vet says that the one year thing is only for doge resident in the country. Can anyone clarify this please?


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## CliffyP (Dec 19, 2008)

Dont know about Spain but Dogs resident in France need the Jab once a year, but its every Two years for the passport/ visiting requirements.


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## zulurita (May 9, 2005)

MalanCris said:


> We have been taking our dogs to Spain for the last ten years and were told by our vet that the dogs needed a rabies injection every year to go to Spain and Portugal, however we have recently changed vets and the new vet says that the one year thing is only for doge resident in the country. Can anyone clarify this please?


Your new vet is correct.

I did clarify this with DEFRA sometime ago.

We in the UK adhere to the Pets Passport and the vaccination entry. If the entry in the pets passport say 3 yrs for the anti-rabies then THAT IS CORRECT.

Do check the validity date as some vaccinations were 1 yr, some 2yrs and now mostly 3 yrs.

You only need to vaccinate against rabies if you are in a country i.e. Spain, Portugal, France etc for 3 MONTHS OR MORE. Then the dog is classed as resident and the countries policies then apply i.e. yearly vaccinations.

If only going on holiday and spending less than 3 months in a country then the date in the Pets Passport is what you go by.

I did have a "Sticky" in the Pets section with the reply from DEFRA.

Hope that answers your question.


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## thieawin (Jun 7, 2006)

The requirement for resident Spanish or French dogs is annually at present

Your dog is resident in UK

The original vaccines used for pets passport had to be given annually but now they are twop or three years

Your PETS passpprt is to get your pet back nto the UK and so it is UK law and practice you have to observe

On the other hand annual injections can be a help if there is a question on how long you have stayed in France and have you and yor dog become residents rather than visitors


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## Briarose (Oct 9, 2007)

Zulurita's post is correct, see the sticky at the top of the forum.

I also emailed DEFRA as I was concerned ref my dog having a three year vaccination, you can see a copy of the reply etc in the stickies at the top.

We recently had Megan's booster which was actually due this April, but as we weren't sure if we would be going abroad or not in the next few weeks decided to get it done a tad early. Our Vet said the three year vaccination is now getting used more and more.

Just one other thing when I asked at Calais they said they always go by the expiry date on the dogs passport...........again I think I posted that in the above sticky, we have travelled with Rolo on the two year vaccination and no one has even asked how long we have been in Spain, France etc HTH

*Edit to add your vet is correct ref the pet being resident you go by the requirements of your own country, unless you reside abroad for three months or more such as France..........DEFRA informed me of that over the phone a couple of years ago.


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