New dog owners & new to travelling with a dog
As is usual with life events, they don't happen in the most convenient way. We finally found the
pup to make our family complete, and she arrived just three weeks ago. We are also a fostering family and have had a holiday planned for almost a year, travelling to France and Spain from Saturday for two and a half weeks.
Were looking for hints and tips to help make all of our lives more comfortable whilst abroad on pups first trip.
We have her passport, she has been vaccinated against rabies and has a flea/tick etc. collar, she is fully vaccinated, she has had two types of worm tablets, we have a comfy crate for her and a plush bed, treats and chew toys. We also have a tether thingy as she is still being trained and cannot yet be trusted not to run off to chase something interesting. We bought her cool mat which she immediately punctured. We have a fan. We've checked our sites are dog friendly and have asked our final campsite for help in finding a vet before we return for the final worming tablet before we return.
Have we missed anything? Are there any additional things we haven't thought of?
Comments
-
Agreed. You seem to have it all under control. If you use the tunnel, the pet conrol has a huge sign to the right of the barriers, you get your pet's chip checked against its paper work ...... you'd think you couldn't miss it ..... but we did
wondered why the terminal wouldnt us check in 
0 -
Don't forget 24 hours has to pass from worming and vet stamp before returning.
Not sure if it is at ports, but at Calais tunnel we are given the scanner to record the chip number, make sure you know where the chip is implanted.
I let the vet supply the worming tablet but some owners provide their own, it can work out cheaper.
Enjoy your trip.
0 -
Quite agree MM
but having been in the queue behind a few owners who have never handled a scanner and no idea where the chip should be, I have seen the scanner upside down, wrong way around and scanned under side, backside, chest and eventually the right place. 1 -
The position of the Chip should be recorded on Page 3 of the Pet Passport, our dogs says 'Between shoulder blades', and it's still there 10 years on.
Which ever Vet you use could you let me know details and, if you'd recommend them, I'll add it to the Google Map of Vets.
The further you are from the Ports when you visit a Vet the more likely the price will be cheaper.
With five days available you can be almost anywhere in Europe and still make it back to the Ports in time.
Be careful you don't 'over' worm the dog – too much can be as bad as too little.
You seem to have planned your sites in advance – the first time we went to France I planned a route and places to visit for months – it went wrong before we even got to France due to unexpected delays and Plan B had to be hastily implemented – we've never planned since.
Expect to spend a great deal of time having your pup 'fussed' when out and about – the French love their dogs.
0 -
Hi SteveandWendy50
Sounds like you've a great holiday ahead of you. Have you added your pup onto your booking for the ferry/tunnel crossing? You can find a lot of useful information for taking pets abroad by clicking here.
Have a great time and hope you all enjoy yourselves.
Take care.
Tracy
1 -
Recently back from France with a young dog, his first time there. Much easier with a dog there than here. He went to the restaurant a couple of times and to a large diy chain store a couple of times. As long as you ask permission it's usually ok. Vet visit day before returning was organised by the site we were on. They made the phone call. All very straight forward. Enjoy.
0 -
As to the scanning issue - the scanner in pet passport control is an extremely sensitive one, way more sensitive than the one our previous vet used. You only have to get it remotely close to the chip location and it beeps.
As to location it is worth noting they can migrate so if the Pet Passport states 'between the shoulder blades' that will be where it was inserted but isn't necessarily where it is now. But as said the scanner there is very sensitive so waving it about close to and in the general area will pick it up.
As to the OP no I think you have thought of just about everything.
Access with a caravan into the car park at Pet Passport control at Coquelles can be tricky if it;s busy so its best to allow plenty of time, It was pretty deserted on our last trip through but I have heard of people finding it quite tight if it's busy.
As you approach the tunnel watch out for the 'paws' signs' which direct you to the car park and entrance. You also need to take a copy of your booking reference and not just the Pet Passport into the building with you. If you have booked through the CAMHC the booking reference is NOT the CAMHC reference but rather the carriers (Eurotunnel) reference.
I agree with the sentiments that France is very dog friendly and we would never travel there with out ours, as long as he can get in the shade when it's really hot he is normally fine.
0 -
We have her passport, she has been vaccinated against rabies and has a flea/tick etc. collar, she is fully vaccinated,
Is the flea / tick collar a travel requirement? - we use a tablet treatment for our dogs from our vet.
Just in case I have missed something
0 -
A collar is not a Travel requirement but many do use them – probably with limited effect.
Flea and tick collars do work to a degree but ticks especially are determined creatures and even the best collars can't guarantee them being stopped from latching on to the dog and conveniently keeling over straight away..
A plastic Tick removal tool has been an essential part of our kit for many years and has kept the little devils at a minimum.
Our long haired Border Collie always manages to 'pick up' a few ticks wherever he goes and a daily feel around his fur is required, and tick removal needed, when in foreign parts.
He has never had fleas, at home or abroad, so they have never been a problem area.
0 -
I have always been given the machine to scan the microchip and one point is to make sure the person in the booth had switched it on! I was searching desperately for the second chip and it hadn't been turned on - that has happened twice to me!
Have a wonderful time - it sounds as though you are covering quite a few miles - one thing I have found is that one of my dogs is not all that good of doing her business in a strange place - so perhaps you could take your pup to different places before you go overseas?
0
