Driving with dogs

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EBucky
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Joined: Wed Oct 17, 2018 10:35 pm
Location: La Linea

Driving with dogs

Postby EBucky » Fri Oct 19, 2018 10:16 am

Hi guys!

I'm new here. So I'll first introduce myself.

My name is Emily, I'm newly married to fellow expat Sam, We live in La Linea and work in Gibraltar, we have a nearly 3 year old French Bulldog called Onyx!

My parents moved to Estepona in 2001 when I was 9
And Sam's parents moved in 2003 when he was 16
We met, we fell in love, and after 6 years together we got married!

But...
We have decided to leave Spain, and return to the UK for better jobs, and getting on the property ladder.

I have been offered a job in Bristol!
This means there is now a mad dash to get the whole family packed and on our way to our new life.

so we were planning on
driving to Bilbao/Santander , hopping on a boat and going to Portmouth/Plymouth.... But they are all full

We have found a good route from La Linea to Irun, stopping the night, then going to cherborg to Poole

So, can anyone share their knowledge and experiences
regarding driving through Spain and France with a dog, I won't part with my dog as he has special dietary requirements. I'm worried about what I've heard with the french taking dogs in quarantine.

Thanks in advanced.
Emily!

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knowal
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Joined: Fri Aug 27, 2010 9:35 pm
Location: England

Re: Driving with dogs

Postby knowal » Fri Oct 19, 2018 10:38 am

You can only use approved routes:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... ou-can-use

We used the Eurotunnel when returning to the UK with a dog and 2 cats. We stopped at a hotel in Millau which accepted dogs.
Try to keep your overnight stops to a minimum.

I've heard reports of people travelling on ferries being forced to leave their dog in the lower decks of the ship for the duration of the journey.

Good luck with the trip.

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Enrique
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Location: Mytchett/Alcala La Real

Re: Driving with dogs

Postby Enrique » Fri Oct 19, 2018 10:57 am

Hi Ebucky,
You will have a pets passport and all up to date on Jabs...... :?:
I would recommend using Brittany Ferries.
The Pont Aven has the most Kennels of the three ships that do the run back to UK from Spain.

If you book on line and the Booking Fails for no Dog space ring Brittany Ferries and do a manual Pet Booking.

Trying to Book a Pet friendly Cabin is a year a head job from what I seen in all the years I've been taking my Dog .

Some light reading........Pet Check list............

http://www.brittany-ferries.co.uk/infor ... -checklist

The Pet Passport must be spot on any corrected errors on the pages must be initialed and have a vets stamp.

Dog friendly Hotel for overnight up to Santander.............just 33km south of Burgos at Lerma.

http://www.hotelalisa.com/lerma%28i%29.html
All my best learning experiences start with a problem I need to solve.

Gasman
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Joined: Fri Jul 24, 2009 10:53 am
Location: Huelva province

Re: Driving with dogs

Postby Gasman » Fri Oct 19, 2018 7:52 pm

Some quick notes for you then the link for you to check out.

Travelling in Spain, and also in France, it is obligatory (but not always enforced!!) that dogs travelling in cars should be "safe" in case of accident and should not be a threat or distraction to the driver - basically this means that either a barrier is put up between the seats and the dog - cheap meshes are available from Car Accessories shops etc - or that the dog should be in a travel-box/crate, or another option is a harness fixed to a seat-belt fixing, but this last has been shown to be potentially injury-causing if there is an emergency stop situation. A good option is a travel crate fixed onto the back seat via strapping.

To enter the UK and to travel from Spain into France, the dog must be microchipped, and then the chip number is linked to the Rabies vaccination, carried out annually. The dog must have a pet passport, with vaccinations and parasite treatments, and preferably also any special treatments your dog has noted,though this last is optional, and of course the chip number is marked into the passport also. All this is easily available at a reputable vet and is not overly expensive to do. See the link below for the full details.
Ferry companies vary in their booking process for pets so if in doubt phone and check the details, and a charge is made for the pet in addition to the car+passengers. At the ferry terminal the dog is checked with a chip-reader, usually at the barrier as you pass into the line for the ferry, as you show your ticket and get boarding details, often you may then find yourself at a special part of the queue. On the ferries, the dog must stay in the car on the cardeck, and you are not normally allowed to visit during the crossing. Cherbourg is quite a long crossing so you may want to reconsider your route?

If you consider using the eurotunnel, do a Google search on taking your pet through the eurotunnel and you will get lots of detail. The dog stays with you in the car! Google searches will be very useful for you planning all of this trip!

For your overnight stops, when you do your bookings via booking.com or other such search engine, put into the filters "pets allowed" and this will give you access to pet-friendly accommodation. There is usually no problem in these places in allowing a dog, especially a smallish one like a Frenchie, to stay in the room with you, but not to be left alone in the room - suggest you put him in the car if you go down for dinner!!

https://www.pettravel.com/immigration/France.cfm
and check out the approved routes to the UK

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costakid
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Re: Driving with dogs

Postby costakid » Sat Oct 20, 2018 9:54 am

If you do the long drive and cross at Irun then I would use the channel tunnel. 40 minutes and all the time before you can stop, exercise and be with your pet. The long ferry can be distressing if the crossing is rough.There are lots of pet friendly hotels but the trip is doable with a 1 night stop but 2 is better.

katy
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Re: Driving with dogs

Postby katy » Sat Oct 20, 2018 11:35 am

We have used the tunnel a few times with our two dogs, would recommend it. Nice recreation are for them too on the French sideand no upset as you can sit in the car with them. Very quick to drive on/off. France is very pet friendly.


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