# Can anyone clarify new passport rules please.



## adonisito

Bramble always comes with us about 5 times a year so you can imagine its a bit pricey. Now, if I understand the DEFRA docs. correctly, then from next year he will not require tick treatment and possibly not worming either. If this is the case (and the worming bit is"under consideration",) what exactly will a French vet do? Do we have to go to a vet atall, if so, what's the 24 - 48 hour wait about?
He's got all the other docs, chip, vaccination etc.


Have I missed something here? :? 

Thanks

Peter


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## Zebedee

adonisito said:


> Have I missed something here? :? Peter


Yep - maybe. :wink:

Someone posted a link an hour or so ago - I'll find it for you in case you haven't seen the document.

http://www.motorhomefacts.com/ftopicp-1116687.html#1116687

That *might *help clarify the matter, but I have to say I don't find it crystal clear (or comprehensive) and would be left with the same queries as you. :?

Dave


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## adonisito

Yes, that's the document that is causing the confusion. If there's no tick treatment and "possibly" no worming then what's the vet going to do. Look at my passport and charge me for it? All ours does extra is weigh him and nod! :?


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## peedee

They are also supposed to check the dog is healthy and without tics or flees. 

peedee


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## 747

Ever so slightly off topic.  

One of our Whippets has an ear tattoed instead of a chip. If we decide to take them abroad, will he need a chip or is the ear tattoo accepted.

Thanks.


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## BrianJP

Hi

it was me that re posted the DEFRA link.

To summarise.
Pets will still require ; Passport and Rabies Vac,however pets new to the system will not require blood test or 6month wait before entering/re entering UK. From 01/2012 they will only need to wait 21 days from date of Rabies jab before re entry.
Pets will not require Tick treatment but UK plus some other countries want to retain worming treatment prior to re entry and this is being decided at the moment. The suggestion is if it is retained for the UK plus others is that this treatment will have to be administered 1- 5 days before entering UK and this treatment could be carried out by a vet or a pharmacy ie; someone who has the authority to confirm this has been done.It appears that the controls at UK entry points eg Eurotunnel will retained as they are at the moment.


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## waz

Hi 747 he will need to be chipped, tattoo is not recognized.

Waz


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## adonisito

Ah, so if worming regulations are in force we need to visit a vet or qualified person to certificate that this has been done 1-5 days before departure. If the EU decides that this is not required , then no vet visit before departure from France? 

Right?  

Still confused!


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## KeithChesterfield

I've just rung DEFRA (0870 241 1710) to find out what is different to the Vet procedure when returning after Jan 1st 2012 if you already have a Pet Passport.

Not a lot!

And I'm still confused - perhaps it's a Senior moment.

He said that the French Vets don't require a blood test (?) but still have 'quite a bit of work to do'

I must admit his Liverpudlian accent was difficult to follow but apparently everything is the same as now!

Would anyone else like to ring Defra and try to find out what may, or may not, happen next year?


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## gaspode

We've just returned from France with our dog and as usual took her to the vet in Calais for tick and worm treatment.

When we were leaving we said said we would be back again next year and the vet said that it would not be necessary. She said that French vets had been officially notified that from 01/01/2012 they will no longer be required to carry out tick or worming treatment nor health checks on dogs returning to the UK.
We did ask at the Eurotunnel pet check-in if they could confirm this but they seemed blissfully unaware of any changes. :roll: 

I hope this information is correct as it will make returning to the UK much easier in future.


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## rayrecrok

Hi.

Thanks for the "heads up". but ticks are nasty little buggers here or on the continent, so having the tick treatment which after all is easy to do just squirting the chemical on the fur at the back of the neck is maybe not a bad thing, and it does not cost much.

Have you been to Scotland and let you pet run around in the bracken and heather, well ticks are there in abundance, same in the wild heaths of most of the country in the UK at certain times of the year..

Maybe make sure you carry some of the stuff you put on them to kill the ticks, in the van.

Ray.


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## peribro

According to the Defra website here , step 4 of the requirements from 1 January 2012 is " Tapeworm treatment- We expect the European Commission to shortly come forward with proposals to allow UK to still require pets to be treated against tapeworms. There will be no mandatory requirement for tick treatment." Clicking on the embedded link takes one to the page that states that tapeworm treatment is required not less than 24 hours and not more than 48 hours before you check-in for the return journey and that it must be recorded in the passport by a vet. It seems to me that a visit to the vet will still be required assuming that the EC allows the UK to continue with its requirement for tapeworm treatment.


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## gaspode

peribro said:


> It seems to me that a visit to the vet will still be required assuming that the EC allows the UK to continue with its requirement for tapeworm treatment.


That's what we assumed - but the French vet was quite adament that we wouldn't need to visit her again on our next trip in 2012.

Who knows, wait and see. :?


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## leseduts

Our French vet knew nothing about the changes. As I understand it, if they keep the worm treatment we will have between 24 hrs and 5 days to return to UK. DeFRA do not seem to know anymore than we do, they are waiting for a decision. As it is possible to travel around the rest of Europe with little hindrance, and the UK are stopping the blood tests for Rabies it seems a bit pointless carrying on with the worming. Regular travellers love their animals and will still treat them for ticks and worms whether it is written in black and white or not.


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## Spacerunner

It seems that these new rules came about because the EU commissioners reckoned that UK pet owners were being discriminated against as compared the other dog owners in the EU.

Maybe we could invoke the Human Rights Act to force Brussels to give pet owners exactly the same rights as the rest.

I look forward to letting my future mutt crap all over Europe! :lol:


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## tramp

Hi all,

we got Dillons passport yesterday so the info is uptodate.

you dont need the tick treatment BUT the wormming is still required for the time being BUT they may move the treatment from 1 day before departure thats 24 hrs + to 5 days but we will find out at Christmas when we go.

Also as of january anydog that has a new petpassport set uo doesnt require the blood test and after only 21 he can go out and return not 6 mnths as before.

Also in the intrim period we have had him jabbed and bllod tested but he failed this .. why we dont know but as we leave uk at christmas and return after jan 01-2012 we dont need a new test etc.

hope this helps people.

Also you MUST still go to vets for check up and the important chip test and they must check this and the passport before issuing the paper t ore-enter the uk.

If anyone has a problem phone defra as they are VERY hot and helpfull at the moment and the vets actually man the phone lines


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## KeithChesterfield

Just an update on the new 2012 Pet Passport requirements.

Rory had his annual booster and kennel cough treatment yesterday.

I asked the Vet what they knew about the new regulations in January and they kindly rang Defra to ask what the latest position is.

Defra say that they are still waiting for the European Commision to decide if the tapeworm treatment is still necessary and if there are to be any changes from the 24 - 48 hour time scale at present.

So Defra blame the European Commision and the rest of us wait and wait and ...............!

The Defra position is as below ----

'What you need to do if you are travelling from 1 January 2012

Under the new rules there is no requirement for pets to be treated for ticks before their arrival in the UK.

The UK is currently in discussion with the European Commission about continued controls on tapeworm for dogs entering the UK.'


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## BrianJP

Spacerunner said:


> It seems that these new rules came about because the EU commissioners reckoned that UK pet owners were being discriminated against as compared the other dog owners in the EU.
> 
> Maybe we could invoke the Human Rights Act to force Brussels to give pet owners exactly the same rights as the rest.
> 
> I look forward to letting my future mutt crap all over Europe! :lol:


Perhaps you should have read the PDF on the DEFRA website regarding Tapeworms .They did an in depth study of this proiblem as this particular type of worm is not yet endemic in the Uk as it is in other EU state for example France.
The fact is that 48 hrs after you give a dog/cat a worming tablet they can be re infected that is why the UK want to keep the staus quo.
I have 2 dogs that regularly travel with us from Spain to UK and back so obviously want to see relaxing of rules and costs to our advantage but not at the cost of introducing a potentially dangerous tapeworm to Pets and Humans into the UK.


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## andyangyh

Typical EU roundabout. One thing that is certain is that you should always - that is ALWAYS - treat your dog with Frontline before going to France. Having lived there and lost a dog to pyroplasmosis I don't want my dog - or anyone elses - in France unprotected. This disease is carried by ticks and doesn't exist in the UK. The tick injects a parasite that kills the red blood cells very quickly. Our dog went from well to ill to dead in three days and our current dog only survived an attack because I recognised the symptoms next time round and got her to a vet within 30 minutes. Whatever the requirements to cross borders the health of your animal comes first so treat with Frontline every month. Also, if travelling to Spain, treat with Stronghold (either by drops or with an impregnated collar) to prevent another nasty killer spread by mosquito bites called heartworm (the clue is in the name!). Mainly a risk during the summer months near the Med but possible wherever there is a risk of mosquito bites. 

The paperwork is important - we watched some stupid woman at Roscoff trying to argue that she didn't need the passport stamped by a vet as she had wormed her dog herself the day before. "No-one told me about the rules!" she bleated. That would be the rules clearly stated on the website if she bought her ticket online or laid out in the leaflet that accompanied her ticket if she got it through the post or a travel agent. We are in Spain at the moment, coming back in December and returning in February. Until I have an official notice from DEFRA in my hand I'll be doing what we've done for the past 7 years and taking my dog to the vet and getting her wormed, Frontlined and her passport stamped before risking the controls coming back to the UK.


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## andyangyh

"Also in the intrim period we have had him jabbed and bllod tested but he failed this .. why we dont know but as we leave uk at christmas and return after jan 01-2012 we dont need a new test etc."

Slightly worried by this comment. The blood test is to see if the dog has produced rabies antibodies after the injection. ie - to see if the vaccination has worked. Vaccination works by injecting an attenuated (effectively "dead") dose of rabies to fool the body into producing antibodies. That's why you rarely get chickenpox twice, for example - your body has manufactured the defences after the first time you got it. So if your dog HASN'T developed antibodies then effectively the vaccination didn't work. Go back to your vet and ask for more information. The previous rule was that a dog couldn't be brought back into the country less than 6 months after a POSITIVE blood test for antibodies. The rules are changing so that this period is being reduced but the need for a certified POSITIVE test to be in the passport is unchanged. If your dog "failed" the blood test he won't be allowed back - unless you misunderstood what the vet said and he has developed antibodies. In either case you need clarification before risking your dog being denied entry to the UK when you return.


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## Remus

Was speaking to a vet two days ago. She said they (Defra) were considering allowing owners to do their own worm/tick treatments on their pets before return to uk. Personally, I think this would be a bad idea as, sooner or later, some people either a) won't bother or b) will forget to do the treatmentt or c) will manage to lose the tablets while touring. As I said it's just being 'considered' at the moment, I think she said a final decision will be in January sometime.


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## Rosbotham

andyangyh said:


> The rules are changing so that this period is being reduced but the need for a certified POSITIVE test to be in the passport is unchanged. If your dog "failed" the blood test he won't be allowed back


I'm not absolutely sure that's the case, at least for EU trips. The new rules means that there'll be no blood test. In essence, I guess they're taking a balanced risk approach that the vaccination is successful. The quote you post from highlights the risk they're accepting - in essence that small proportion of dogs that don't develop antibodies so are unprotected won't be unlucky enough to contract the disease. I won't get onto the rights and wrongs of that.

So no blood test required to get the passport. But it's an interesting question that if a dog's had a blood test under the current regime which has proven the vaccination hasn't taken, whether a passport could be issued under the new regime...

Obviously, regardless of the rules, a failed blood test should mean any responsible owner would revaccinate (and if it was me, retest as it would mean the dog's susceptible to the jab failing).


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## BrianJP

andyangyh said:


> "Also in the intrim period we have had him jabbed and bllod tested but he failed this .. why we dont know but as we leave uk at christmas and return after jan 01-2012 we dont need a new test etc."
> 
> Slightly worried by this comment. The blood test is to see if the dog has produced rabies antibodies after the injection. ie - to see if the vaccination has worked. Vaccination works by injecting an attenuated (effectively "dead") dose of rabies to fool the body into producing antibodies. That's why you rarely get chickenpox twice, for example - your body has manufactured the defences after the first time you got it. So if your dog HASN'T developed antibodies then effectively the vaccination didn't work. Go back to your vet and ask for more information. The previous rule was that a dog couldn't be brought back into the country less than 6 months after a POSITIVE blood test for antibodies. The rules are changing so that this period is being reduced but the need for a certified POSITIVE test to be in the passport is unchanged. If your dog "failed" the blood test he won't be allowed back - unless you misunderstood what the vet said and he has developed antibodies. In either case you need clarification before risking your dog being denied entry to the UK when you return.


Blood test will not be required after Jan 2012 to harmonise with rest of EU. Only requirement is that Rabies jab is given 21 days before re entry to UK. Not withstanding necessity for chip and passport and worming subject to clarification


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## andyangyh

Not sure what's being "harmonised". Certainly in France there is still a requirement for a blood test to prove the dog is protected. I'd be very concerned if my dog had not produced antibodies as that would mean that the vaccination was unsucessful. It was, when I lived in France full time, a requirement that rabies boosters be given annually and not bi-annually as is recommended in the UK. They take rabies VERY seriously in France and I can't believe that the UK has decided to take the risk that unvaccinated dogs (which is what a dog that has failed the blood test is) can enter the country after all these years of the UK being rabies free.


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## BrianJP

andyangyh said:


> Typical EU roundabout. One thing that is certain is that you should always - that is ALWAYS - treat your dog with Frontline before going to France. Having lived there and lost a dog to pyroplasmosis I don't want my dog - or anyone elses - in France unprotected. This disease is carried by ticks and doesn't exist in the UK. The tick injects a parasite that kills the red blood cells very quickly. Our dog went from well to ill to dead in three days and our current dog only survived an attack because I recognised the symptoms next time round and got her to a vet within 30 minutes. Whatever the requirements to cross borders the health of your animal comes first so treat with Frontline every month. Also, if travelling to Spain, treat with Stronghold (either by drops or with an impregnated collar) to prevent another nasty killer spread by mosquito bites called heartworm (the clue is in the name!). Mainly a risk during the summer months near the Med but possible wherever there is a risk of mosquito bites.
> 
> The paperwork is important - we watched some stupid woman at Roscoff trying to argue that she didn't need the passport stamped by a vet as she had wormed her dog herself the day before. "No-one told me about the rules!" she bleated. That would be the rules clearly stated on the website if she bought her ticket online or laid out in the leaflet that accompanied her ticket if she got it through the post or a travel agent. We are in Spain at the moment, coming back in December and returning in February. Until I have an official notice from DEFRA in my hand I'll be doing what we've done for the past 7 years and taking my dog to the vet and getting her wormed, Frontlined and her passport stamped before risking the controls coming back to the UK.


Actually for SouthernEurope Frontline is not the best treatment. Get Advantix ( by Bayer) this treats everything that Frontline does plus treats for Mosquitos especially the Sandfly ( Leishmaniosis) which is endemic in most of Spain and southern Europe and is deadly to dogs and also bad for humans


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## BrianJP

andyangyh said:


> Not sure what's being "harmonised". Certainly in France there is still a requirement for a blood test to prove the dog is protected. I'd be very concerned if my dog had not produced antibodies as that would mean that the vaccination was unsucessful. It was, when I lived in France full time, a requirement that rabies boosters be given annually and not bi-annually as is recommended in the UK. They take rabies VERY seriously in France and I can't believe that the UK has decided to take the risk that unvaccinated dogs (which is what a dog that has failed the blood test is) can enter the country after all these years of the UK being rabies free.


Not according to DEFRA or I have to say the vet I regularly visit in France perhaps things have changed since you were there ? anyway latest position is all here 
http://www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-pets/pets/travel/pets/pet-owners/#from1jan


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## andyangyh

Not sure what's being "harmonised". Certainly in France there is still a requirement for a blood test to prove the dog is protected. I'd be very concerned if my dog had not produced antibodies as that would mean that the vaccination was unsucessful. It was, when I lived in France full time, a requirement that rabies boosters be given annually and not bi-annually as is recommended in the UK. They take rabies VERY seriously in France and I can't believe that the UK has decided to take the risk that unvaccinated dogs (which is what a dog that has failed the blood test is) can enter the country after all these years of the UK being rabies free.

I 've just read the DEFRA site and it seems that the requirement is for "vaccination" and not the blood test - that requirement is just for non-EU countries. We seem to have caught the "Open Borders" disease from our Border Control Agency. Only a matter of time now before the first rabid animal lands. We've gone from the strictest animal transport rules to a dangerous laxity it seems. With the proposal to allow self-medication without certification how long before we have pyroplasmosis and other tick-borne diseases currently unknown here. I'm a conscientious owner as, I am sure, is everyone else posting here but with no controls it only takes a few idiots and we are in trouble. See my previous post about the idiot woman at Roscoff. There will be plenty more like her and no-one will be stopping them bringing their potentially disease carrying animals into the country.


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## BrianJP

Actually if you read other data the likelyhood of Rabies in Uk following harmonisation in 2012 is negligible.However I would say that the tick borne disease you mention is here anyway .In 2006 one of my dogs died from a blood related illness .This was later identified as tick related. we lived at the time in Kent and this dog was regularly walked in an area where foreign HGV trucks parked up overnight and our vet suggested this was the most likely source.


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## BrianJP

andyangyh said:


> Not sure what's being "harmonised". Certainly in France there is still a requirement for a blood test to prove the dog is protected. I'd be very concerned if my dog had not produced antibodies as that would mean that the vaccination was unsucessful. It was, when I lived in France full time, a requirement that rabies boosters be given annually and not bi-annually as is recommended in the UK. They take rabies VERY seriously in France and I can't believe that the UK has decided to take the risk that unvaccinated dogs (which is what a dog that has failed the blood test is) can enter the country after all these years of the UK being rabies free.
> 
> I 've just read the DEFRA site and it seems that the requirement is for "vaccination" and not the blood test - that requirement is just for non-EU countries. We seem to have caught the "Open Borders" disease from our Border Control Agency. Only a matter of time now before the first rabid animal lands. We've gone from the strictest animal transport rules to a dangerous laxity it seems. With the proposal to allow self-medication without certification how long before we have pyroplasmosis and other tick-borne diseases currently unknown here. I'm a conscientious owner as, I am sure, is everyone else posting here but with no controls it only takes a few idiots and we are in trouble. See my previous post about the idiot woman at Roscoff. There will be plenty more like her and no-one will be stopping them bringing their potentially disease carrying animals into the country.


Just to clear one point made here.
The period between Rabies booster jabs depends on the vaccine given.
Some are valid for 1 year some for 2 years and there now in the UK at least some valid for 3 years


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## Patty123

Earlier this year we went to Norway, we wanted to drive through Sweden to get there, according to regulations dogs need to have proof of a blood test taken at least 120 days after the Rabies injection to enter Sweden. Betty was 3 years old and had her Rabies at 4 months old so she was well within 6 months of her booster. We took her for her blood test and she failed. What a shock - we had had been to Luxemburg the year before and the The Netherlands the year before, so had she been unprotected all that time. Obviously she had had her blood test after the her 1st Rabies shot. So we were advised to have her booster then and a blood test 3 weeks later and got the results the day before we were due to travel, and fortunately it was positive. We were unable to travel through Sweden so went by ferry from Denmark to Norway instead.

The vet queried this with the lab who do the blood tests and was told that if a dog is given their Rabies shot as a puppy they should have their booster at a year old. Betty was only 3 months old when she had hers. Where is this documented?? we certainly wouldn't have taken Betty out of the country if we thought she was not protected. We have just bought a new puppy, we took him to the vet for his check-up and asked about getting his passport, and because of the ruling of not having to wait 6 months to return as from January 2012 we are going to wait and until about February before we have him vacinated, he will be about 7 months then, but think I will ask for a blood test to be 100% sure its taken.

Patty


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## rugbyken

tried to get molly's passport sorted for the trip we've just returned from, unfortunately she failed the blood test and we had to leave her behind, the vet was livid because the vaccine manufacturers req a blood count of 2 for success, molly was 2.9 but defra insist on a score of 5 apparently


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## Sonesta

Hi there,

I have read this thread with great interest especially as only yesterday we took our 2 little dogs to our local vets to have another blood test taken. Reason being is that when they both had their first Rabies vaccination, the subsequent blood test results (which were both successful) were recorded on their pet passports 27 days after the vaccine was administered and the pet passport rules for travelling to certain countries state that the blood test results have to be 30 + days thereafter! 

We are considering travelling to Morocco with our dogs in the motorhome sometime next year and we have been told by DEFRA that the new passport rules will now allow us to take pets to Morocco after the December 31st 2011 (unlisted country pet passport rules apply.) We were delighted to learn this as we long to return to Morocco but sadly the current Pet Passport rules do NOT allow you to travel to Morocco with dogs; well not unless you are prepared to have them go into quarantine before re-entering the UK. However, we have been told by Defra that after the 31st Dec 2011, dogs can re-enter the UK without quarrantine providing they hold a valid pet passport and a successful Rabies blood test result was taken 30 days or more after their first ever Rabies vaccine. 

Unfortunatley, when we got to the vets and explained the reason for our wanting another blood test, our vet refused to take a blood sample because she did not believe that the information we had been given by the lady at DEFRA re pet travel to Morocco was correct! We have since telephoned DEFRA again to double check everything and we were indeed correct in what we told our vet and because our pets will be travelling to an "UNLISTED COUNTRY" the rules are slightly stricter to those of a "LISTED COUNTRY" However, when I telephoned my vet to explain all this, she was still not convinced and said DEFRA were talking complete rubbish and so she was going to to ring them hereself to clarify the matter. She said she would ring us back after she had spoken to them but as yet we have not heard from her re this. However, she did say that if what we were telling her was indeed correct, she doubted if the blood test results would show enough antibodies to pass and so she recommended we revaccinate our 2 dogs all over again! They both only had their Rabies boosters last year in Sept, which is only 14 months ago but nevertheless she said if the blood tests did fail - we could end up paying for 2 blood tests in the end, which of course would be very expensive! So in her opinion in order to be on the safe side she'd recommend that we start all over again! Ooh what a flipping pallava! :roll: 

My concerns are that if our dogs are revaccinated with the Rabies vaccine would the fact they only had their Rabies boosters just over a year ago be harmful to them in any way, as the last thing we want to do is put them at risk by any of this. We would love to go back to Morocco and have our dogs with us - but certainly not at the risk of harming our 2 preciou babies. 

My friend suggested I ring the makers of the vaccine to ask them if 2 doses in 14 months could be harmful - so first thing on Monday morning I will ring them to ask their advice.

If anyone has come across anything like this before, then I would greatly appreciate their knowledge, experience or advice.

Sue


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## aldra

Its a bit worrying if the vets are not sure on the new DEFRA rules

Must check with our vet to see if he does, I don't find them that clear

Shadow was given Frontline by the vet along with his worming tablets

Is avetex compatible with the tablets as I'm sure my vet changed it to frontline when I requested a tablet to protect from heart-worm

Aldra


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## peribro

The Defra rules seem quite clear that 30 days must elapse - "From 1 January 2012 a blood test will only be required for pets entering the UK from unlisted third countries. The blood sample must be taken at least 30 days after vaccination."

As for a second vaccination, our vet actually recommended that our dogs were vaccinated twice before the blood test was done. He said that there was a reasonably high failure rate after only one vaccination and to avoid the relatively high cost of having the blood test re-done, it was his recommendation to vaccinate twice to ensure a pass. He didn't specifically say that there was no harm from vaccinating twice but I would be surprised if there was as he was recommending it to all pet owners. As it was, I took a chance and both dogs passed.

Also the Defra website mentions vaccinating twice - "You should seek advice from your vet if your pet fails its blood test (in other words, the result shows it has not been satisfactorily protected against rabies). Your pet will need to be blood tested again. Your vet will advise whether re-vaccination is necessary.

To help avoid this situation, you may wish to consider getting your pet vaccinated twice before it is blood tested. This may be particularly helpful in the case of young animals. You should discuss this with your vet."


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## goldi

I wrote to The rt honourable Caroline Spellman MP only last week to make my views known.
All dogs in this country should be microchipped whether travelling abroad or not. Th defra website states that an incident of rabies migh occur every 2000 years how ever this is a paticularly nasty disease and all dogs should be vacinated against it.

It does seam discriminatory that dutch or german can travel from southern Spain to northern europe without hindrance.

The extension from 24-48 to one and 5days would mean that you could se your vet in uk for short trips.
I strongly suggest that you write to defra and let them knowyour views.


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## Spacerunner

Our vet insisted on, initially, giving two rabies vaccinations a fortnight apart.
Her reasoning was that the vaccination was more likely to take and the blood test almost certainly prove positive, thus saving the expense of another bloodtest, the most expensive part of the pets' passport procedure.


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## Patty123

As I stated earlier our Betty failed her blood test which was well before her booster was due, as Sweden needed her to have the blood test at least 120 days after her vacination, so she had her booster early, we couldn't drive into Sweden as there wasn't enough time to get the 120 days test. Our vet said that the lab who do the testing in UK, there is only a few, said if the dog had the vacination as a puppy(Betty had hers a 4 months old) they should have the 1st booster after 1 year. This is not documented anywhere so how are we supposed to know that. 

To me the whole issue seems a bit hit or miss!!

Patty


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## adonisito

We're in France over New Year coming back early Jan, it will be interesting if the French vets know the new rules! For my part, having started the thread I am STILL unclear what I will get for Bramble's 49 E check up. Last one at Broglie by the way, a good vet, very near a very good aire and not far from Calais.


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## andyangyh

We get our dog's rabies booster done every year. Our vet uses exactly the same vaccine as was used when we lived in France. According to our vet this is exactly the same vaccine given in America where they give it every three or four years. I worked for 30 years in the pharmaceutical industry and I know how information from trials etc can be read in different ways in different countries. Probably why French doctors tend to give you suppositories for migraine while British ones (thank God) don't. They vaccinate annually in France because that's what they think is the best. In the UK, given the same data, we decided that every 2 years was the optimum. I haven't seen any evidence of dogs suffering side effects from annual rather than bi-annual rabies shots so I'll keep up with what was the custom when we lived in France.

Our vet has prescribed a valium suppository for us to carry if our epileptic spaniel won't come out of a fit. Used it twice in 6 years and it works. Our French vet has never heard of this and valium suppositories (for animal use anyway) are unknown and unavailable in France. We don't have harmonisation across the EU on these things because customs and beliefs are different in each country - although they all read the same journals and see the same peer-reviewed trials. I'd be a lot happier if Defra got its act together and gave a definitive answer to exactly what we need to do from January 2012 and I'd be even happier if they published proper guide lines advising on preventative treatment for pyroplasmosis, heartworm and the other serious diseases that an unprotected dog can get while travelling in Europe.

http://www.reverbnation.com/andyharding


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## aldra

I agree,

Im not stupid but understanding all the unclear guidelines 8O

I just want to keep shadow safe and bring him home knowing he presents no risk to anyone

Well other than he is totally mad :evil: but even DEFRA cant legislate for that :lol: :lol:

Aldra


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## zulurita

We also asked our vet recently about the worming. They aren't happy with the new rules and consider pets needing worming tablets as a necessary requirement.

Our puppy had two rabies vaccinations as vet thought it best as she was quite young at the time. and then we had the blood test at the required time and she passed (had immunity).

Defra I feel should have this sorted by now, it is very bad to leave people in this situation. Especially as a lot of people go abroad at this time of the year and come back in the New Year!

If Data suggests that a dog can be reinfected after 48 hours it does seem silly then if Defra do extend the period for worming from 24-48 hrs to 5 days!

Yes we would like to administer the required treatment as we would be responsible. But I agree there will be those that do not understand the rules or will totally ignore the rules.

Lets hope DEFRA come up with something by January. I did email them recently but to no avail. Just told me to look at their web site!!!

We use Advantix when abroad.


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## Nikaunwin1403

*Rabies vaccine and Spain*

Could anyone tell me if we need to get ted vaccinated annually for rabies to comply with Spanish regulations?. My vet unclear 
Nika


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## greygit

*Re: Rabies vaccine and Spain*



Nikaunwin1403 said:


> Could anyone tell me if we need to get ted vaccinated annually for rabies to comply with Spanish regulations?. My vet unclear
> Nika


I hope not as we have never done that. 8O


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## BrianJP

No you dont .This rule introduced in France and Spain only applies to residents not visitors (my Spanish vet said up to 3 months).as long as rabies vaccine date is valid for UK you are ok.


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## Spacerunner

If your dog is not resident in Spain then the vaccine manufacturer's recommendations apply. In my dog's case its every 3 years .


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