Driving Calais to Brittany + dog requirements

[RobinBHM]

I became a dog owner for the first time this year

Of course it does restrict options for travel, so Ive booked a Gite in Brittany next July. ( location near Malestroit)

Id be grateful for any advise / recommendations. I was thinking about getting the tunnel early, driving to somewhere between Caen and Rennes for a stop overnight. On the way back maybe stop closer to Calais, say Le Touquet.

I have done the Portsmouth to St Malo previously, but am choosing the tunnel so Tilly can travel with us.

If I have interpreted the pet passport rules correctly, the dog must have been vaccinated for Rabies at least 21 days before travel (I dont know the maximum period is before a booster is needed). And the dog must be wormed 2 to 5 days before leaving by a vet.

Cheers Robin

 

[Student]

Robin, if you don't get a definitive answer regarding the paperwork etc in the next few days, I'll ask my daughter. She lives in France and is a border collie fanatic. At present, she is on her way back from Scotland having collected a 6 week old puppy from a breeder. It's the third pup that she's collected from this breeder in the last 6 years so she's well aware of all the necessary paperwork.

She's got a drive from Dundee to Dover to cope with, then a drive from Calais to 200 miles east of Paris; the actual driving time is about 6 hours from Calais. She won't know much about stop offs en route to/from Brittany but she is well used to making long journeys with her dogs.

 

[John Brown]

It's more than ten years since we took our dog to Normandy, but there were some fairly strict regulations about seeing a vet in a certain time frame before returning to the UK. I'm sure your vet can fill you in on the details.

 

[RobinBHM]

Many thanks for your input, Student and John.

I hadnt thought of asking my own vet, but thats probably a wise idea, he will know about the rabies vaccine and how long it lasts before expiry. The DEFRA site makes it clear a minimum of 21 days from the day following the vaccination is required for travel, but doesn't state the maximum period.

Student -that is a long way to travel to buy a dog, your daughter must be a border collie fanatic! I thought I had travelled a long way to collect my dog from the breeder based in Oxfordshire (it is a Portugese Podengo, quite a rare breed in the UK).

cheers Robin

 

[Woodcrafts]

And of course the dog must be microchipped, and the number of the chip entered on the pet passport.

 

[kostello]

I met a podengo this morning when out with my dog...... Very pretty

 

[hanser]

Eurotunnel is the best way to travel with your dog. We did it many times with our sadly departed Westie. On return formalities with your French vet cost around 40-45 euros depending on mood/grade of staff. Checks are then made on the return journey prior to the Tunnel ticket control. This is signed by a 'pets paw'. Obvious really but I missed it first time. Doh! We have fond memories of Ricky in France where he enjoyed a lot more 'off lead' time compared to city life over here.

 

[dickm]

Daughter and son-in-law have used both ferries and tunnel over the years with their now aged hound (he's 12, and has more stamps in his passport than I do!). Both seem to work well, depending on starting point and destination. All the info above is correct - passport, microchip, certified rabies vaccination between 21 days and (I think) 2 years before travel and certified worming 2-3 days before crossing channel on the way back.
And if anyone wants to read more about the dog's experiences and to contribute to the Dogs Trust, look up Borderless Collie by Tamsin Morris - a snip at £6 for the e-reader version :lol: