# Taking my dog to France



## Robbins33 (Jul 19, 2013)

We have just got our retired guide dog and intend to take her abroad next year in our motorhome to tour France for a few weeks now that I am retired. Can anyone please give me the brief details for taking to and from France our new dog. Also, any advice for motor homing with our dog as this is new to us and looking forward to a new life now that we are retired.





site helper note - thread moved to pets forum, where there are lots of threads about taking dogs abroad.


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## adonisito (Nov 6, 2009)

Go to the vet, get a passport, follow all instructions ! Its easy as long as you stick to their rules. And use the tunnel. You can stay with the dog and it's quicker.


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## HurricaneSmith (Jul 13, 2007)

We did all the necessary and obtained a passport for our dog. We take her to Europe with us, and I agree that it's very easy now that the rules have been relaxed a little.

Here is a simple and clear guide to what you do:-
https://www.gov.uk/take-pet-abroad/overview

Every dog is different, but ours sits quite happily on her bed between our van's front seats as we trundle along. She has a seatbelt which ensures she is safe, and we stop every so often for for us all to have a drink and use the loo.


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Your dog will love the freedom

As Adonisto ( the almost perfect one :wink: )

Says before for the sand :lol: , I digress

I'm so GOOD at digressing

You will find he/she loves it

The tunnel is better for dogs who would find separation difficult

Ferries are often cheaper for laid back dogs

Watch the long haul ferries, they are not always what they promise

Better if you have a dog friendly cabin

Aldra


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## Spacerunner (Mar 18, 2006)

Get and use a retractable lead. You don't want your dog getting lost abroad but an extending lead will give it as much freedom as possible. ...safely. 
You can get a good variety of dog food in french supermarkets but if your dog is a fussy eatertp then make sure you take a good supply with you.


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## KeithChesterfield (Mar 12, 2010)

As she was a guide dog will she be in charge of the Sat Nav?

I'm not joking!


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## PeteFarnell (Nov 20, 2013)

Micro chip - I guess as a guide dog she will already have that.
Rabies jab - vet will sort, should last for three years.
Pasport - vet will sort, lasts until it's full.
Tunnel crossing means the dog sits with you rather than being left on it's own in the vehicle if you travel by ferry.

You need to visit to a vet on the continent before you return, between 1 day min and 5 days max of your time of crossing. This is to administer a worming tablet containing the drug Praziquantel. Many continental vets are familiar with this and if you look through the pets section of this forum you should find a spreadsheet with address and phone numbers of continental vets recommended by users of this site.

A plea - please consider getting a chest harness for her and a short lead which connects to a seatbelt socket. In the event of a crash the result of a loose dog being thrown about inside the vehicle doesn't bear thinking about.
Enjoy your travels together!
Pete


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## Lesleykh (Apr 13, 2009)

We took our old dog, Charlie, away with us for a year and he was great. Our new dog, Pommie, has just been to Germany with us on her first trip abroad and was a perfect travel companion.

What others have said is good advice. Id just add a couple of comments.

We've never used the tunnel, but have always taken a short Dover/Calais ferry at night. It's cheaper than day ferrys, but also a lot cooler. Our dogs stay in the van, where they are settled in familiar surroundings and have never shown any sign of distress. In fact, Pom didn't really register we'd come back to the van at first as she was so sound asleep on our bed (rubbish guard dog!).

The car deck can be noisy though, as car alarms seem to be going off all the time, so if that sort of thing might bother your dog it's worth knowing about.

As to the pet passport stuff, we've always taken our own worming tablets and tick treatment abroad (lots of ticks in northern France and southern Germany), as it come with our vet's pet health package, but it has meant that we've only once actually paid a vet fee for signing the passport ready for return. On 3 occasions the vets we saw didn't charge at all, which was partly because we provided the treatments. It might also be because we always use vets a long way before the port, so the time we did pay it was only about €15. Also, Rob's French & German is fluent, so he always has a good chat with the vets, but most of them have quite a bit of English.

We have a good, strong rope with a clip on the end, so we can have the dogs outside the van while we are stopped. Pom is large and strong, so one end is attached to the bottom metal frame of our passenger seat. She can also chew her way way through pretty quickly, so we were thinking of getting chain and covering it with a fleecy cover, but we didn't need to in the end as her overwhelming instinct is to sleep (unless she spots a rabbit, or the ducks mooching around the vans at Enkirch on the Moselle).

Hope you all have a great time away.
Lesley


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