Taking my dog on holiday!

Taking my dog aboard - what do I need to do to be able to take my dog from the UK to Europe??

When my hubby got a short term (6 month) secondment in Switzerland, I jumped at the chance for me and the doggies to embark on a mini European adventure! Since BREXIT things have got a little trickier if you want to take your dogs to the continent, but it's still doable!

Here are the things you/your dog(s) will need:

• A microchip (UK legal requirement anyway but make sure the details are all up to date!)

• An up to date rabies vaccination (I think I paid c£150 for both mine to get jabbed)

• A travel health certificate

The new health certificates can only be issued 21 days following the rabies vaccination and are valid for 4 months of travel in Europe. Your rabies vaccination should last you 3 years, but your health certificate is only valid for one trip and you will need to be back in the UK within 4 months of issuing.

To come back to the UK (from most countries - Ireland and Iceland are the 2 exceptions that I know exist for this, but there may be more so check for your specific trip) you will also need a vet to administer a tape worm tablet more than 24 hours but less than 72 hours before your dog re-enters the UK.

TOP TIP - I was going to get my health certificate from the vet that did the rabies vaccination (our usual vet in Somerset) but he recommended that I contact Euro Pets in Folkstone https://europets.co.uk/ (as we were travelling over on the Euro Tunnel) as they would be MUCH cheaper! I think the charge from our regular vet was going to be c£350 for the two dogs and I paid £120 to Euro Pets. They also made it super easy. They requested all their medical records from our vet before hand and had everything printed out and ready for me to sign when we arrived. They just scanned the chips and I signed each page - we were in and our within 20 minutes! Highly recommend!