EU Travel Help required, aka pet passport procedure for dummies....

[BehindLockNumberNine]

We are toying with the idea of taking the Whippety One to the Netherlands with us when we visit my mum this summer.
I know the steps to undertake to get the passport done, I know that I need to have the Whippety One treated for tapeworms by an approved vet between 1 - 5 days before re-entering the UK.

My (possibly daft) question is this:

We are staying my mum's in the North of the Netherlands. We are (due to cost and logistics) taking the ferry to and from Calais. In the past we have simply got up in the morning and driven (with frequent stops and a few hour's break in Brussels or Antwerp) to the ferry.

Now, as Whippety One will need his tapeworm treatment no less than 24 hours before we board the ferry, can I have this done in the Netherlands despite taking a ferry from France? Or must it be done in the country I travel from?

Extensive googeling has not shed any light on this (possibly I don't know where to look)

Help please [smile}

[MagratGarlik]

It can be done up to 5 days before you re-enter the UK, (which means on short trips it is possible to do the tapeworm treatment for coming back before you actually leave the UK). We have done this as have family in Belgium.

[MagratGarlik]

So, should have clarified, you could have tapeworm treatment in NL then get ferry to France, do long as it is no more than 5 days before you re-enter the UK.

[BehindLockNumberNine]

Thanks Margrat We are going for five days so I think not long enough for the treatment to be done in the UK I think...

But if I can get it done in the NL that is fine as I speak Dutch and will be able to make myself understood to my mum's vet. (not hers, personally, her old dog's vet)
I was worried we would have to go to France, get it done there and then stay there for 24 hours (therefore necessitating a place to stay)...

Thank you x

[BehindLockNumberNine]

Would get it done the day before we travel, no worries there

[topbannana]

We took GingerDog to Southern France last year for the first time. I was so worried it would all go wrong but it was incredibly easy, even though I speak very little French (the vet seemed to understand when I brandished the passport at him and pointed at the dog :o)
The one thing I was advised and was glad I heeded was (for the first time at least) to travel on the Eurotunnel. You do not need to leave the dog alone and the car decks of ferries can be horrifically noisy. You will not be allowed down to see the dog unless in exceptional circumstances and we felt that a bad outward crossing could ruin the holiday for all of us.
As it was DS and GingerDog slept through both crossings anyway :o

[LadyTurmoil]

I think it's no less than 24 hrs and no more than 120 so should be fine to do in Netherlands and then travel via Calais - as long has vet has put all info in the book and stamped it www.gov.uk/take-pet-abroad/overview

[BehindLockNumberNine]

That is lovely, thank you both. Was worried it could only be done by a vet in the country of departure (France)
Am ridiculously worried about the whole thing, anxious something goes wrong and they need to ban us from bringing him back home

Thank you about hte eurostar tip, that may be better :-)

[LadyTurmoil]

It might be worth double checking with a travel agent just to make 100&% sure that it's OK to get treatment done in Holland and then travel from France. Also, Eurotunnel (shuttle) not Eurostar - Eurostar doesn't allow any dogs except guide dogs!

[BehindLockNumberNine]

Thank you, Eurotunnel, will remember

Will find someone to phone to double check, would hate to arrive in Calais and find we have to hand the Whippety One over to the authorities because we used the 'wrong vet'.

Finding the whole thought of it ridiculously stressfull, but would love for him to come with us and once we have done it once it will be easier, surely

[Lonecatwithkitten]

It is not the location of the vet that is important, but whether they are government approved in the UK you must be a Panel 2 OV to do any of the PETS work.
The most common cause of failure to be allowed re-entry after failure to get the timings right is for being unable to read the chip. The ports have scanners that read ISO chips (the vast majority in the UK) if your pet has an AVID brand chip it maybe worth actually owning your own chip reader.
After years as a quarantine vet the other advice I would give is Keep a separate copy of your paperwork somewhere else in the car, keep a separate copy logged with someone avaliable in the UK and do not keep other bits of paper in the passport. Be aware that some of the carriers are now requiring all dogs to be muzzled whilst having their microchip read.

[BehindLockNumberNine]

Thank you lonecat. So does the Dutch vet have to be registered with some regulatory body aswell?

Will dig out chip paperwork. He was chipped at the rescue centre we got him from. Will see if it mentions which brand of chip was used.

Thanks all

[BehindLockNumberNine]

Sorry, just read properly, they must be government approved. Will go vet-hunting. Thanks.

[Lonecatwithkitten]

ISO chips are 15 numbers long. AVID chips have fewer digits and sometimes contain letters.

[assumpta]

Behindlockednumbers - I know how you feel. Try not to worry aout going on the ferry.

We were taking our rescue dog for the first time to Ireland over Christmas. I didn't have a passport for him, through advice that it was not needed. I was still afraid that for some reason we would be stopped, or that he would not be allowed to travel and put in their kennels for a week. I wrestled with the decision of leaving him in his crate in the car, or putting hm into the on board kennels. Would he be stressed, sick, would he poo and wee everywhere?

We had the crossing from hell. Dd1 was sick the whole way across on the ferry. The ferry was rising so high out of the water with the swell, that it kept bashing down really hard. It was ferocious! Waves were crashing and you literally could hardly stand up! I had decided to leave my little furry in his crate in the car rather than stressing him out if other dogs were barking in the on board kennels. All sailings were then cancelled!

With rubber gloves at the ready for operation clean up; I opened the boot and his lovely brown eyes looked up at me, wagged his tail, and was as happy as Larry. No accidents, nothing! I had given him a doggie travel tablet, but when he wasn't sick on that journey, I don't think he ever will be.

No one asked for any passport, jab documents etc. There were loads of dogs n the ferry. In crates in their cars like ours.

We were delighted we brought him with us and everyone loved him. I am sure it will be the same for you.

[Lonecatwithkitten]

Assumpta you are right you don't need a passport for Ireland, but you must have one for mainland Europe.

[topbannana]

It was a fantastic experience and I would happily do it again now the initial stress of the first journey is out of the way :o
We had GingerDogs chip scanned at our vets a couple of days before we left, just to reassure ourselves. There is also a section in his insurance that covers failiure of microchip, loss of passport etc which was a comfort.

GingerDog thoroughly enjoyed holidaying on the continent, it was cheaper than 10 days kennels and generally so little hassle I wish we had done it earlier.
He was not muzzled at Calais Eurotunnel terminal, in fact they allowed us to scan his chip ourselves (others were taking the scanner outside to their dogs) I thought this was a bit dodgy but......

[BehindLockNumberNine]

Have just dug out his chip number (on the little sticker stuck into his vaccination record)
It is 15 numbers long. But I needed have counted because on the top of the barcode bit it states a batch number and then the letters Pet ID FDXD ISO 12mm.
So I think I am safe to assume it is an ISO one. It was done by a council pound after Whippety was found as a stray by the dog warden and before he came into the rescue where we got him from.
Will have him re-scanned in July when his annual vaccinations are due, just to be on the safe side.

Now to convince dh that we would be better on the Eurotunnel (shuttle) for Whippety's sake.
The last time we took the ferry to Calais (last summer) there were signs on the car deck stating that all dogs must be removed from the cars and placed in the crates provided by the ferry company in the middle of the car deck.
This strikes me as a noisy place.
Whippety is quite anxious in new sitations and I fear this may stress him somewhat...

[MagratGarlik]

Oh, get one of those DAP collars for the journey too. They can help him calm down if he gets a bit stressed with it.