Trip to France 2022
Blog 1 – the journey, the admin!
There’s so much to say about our dog friendly holiday to France that I’ve split this across two blog posts, this first one which should help those thinking of going to mainland Europe with their dogs for a holiday and another which suggests some of the lovely places that Rico and Maisy got to enjoy on our trip. I hope you find it interesting!
Rachel Rodgers from Nose to Trail with little Kokoni, Rico in Annecy Town, France
In May 2018 we travelled to France with our two dogs Rico and Maisy. Rico who some of you know is a rescued street dog from Portugal. He had an up-to-date pet passport, and with a few vet trips for a rabies vaccine, Maisy (his slightly older “sister”) had hers too. Travelling over on the Eurotunnel was quick and easy and as we had the holiday of a lifetime, we planned another trip for 2020.
Rico outside a Champagne house in France in 2018
Safe to say we all know what happened in March 2020 and very sadly the second trip to France got postponed 4 times! Rico and Maisy were fortunately oblivious to all the stress and upset this was causing but fast forward to May 2022, restrictions had lifted, and it was time to finally get to head back to beautiful Lake Annecy in the Haute-Savoie region near Lake Geneva and Switzerland.
However, things have changed since our first trip, as pet travel regulations were just one of many things that were impacted by Brexit.
When planning to travel to anywhere in Europe with your dog, it is vitally important that you have all your ducks in a row as errors in paperwork, missed worming tablets or simply mistimed worming treatment can spell disaster and for some, the end of their holiday before it even begins.
Fortunately, this story isn’t one of disaster but from an admin viewpoint there was a LOT for a holiday. If that isn’t for you then perhaps head to the Lake District to explore with your dogs instead.
Firstly, we needed to sort Rico’s paperwork. Now this was actually the easiest as because Rico was born in Portugal, he has an EU issued passport which means it is still valid. This is so long as the rabies vaccinations written in the passport are still in date. A quick check showed that he had until February 2023 on his rabies vaccine, so he was already for his holidays!
Just a little note: If you have a dog who has an EU passport, but their rabies vaccination has expired, then sadly you can’t just get your local vet in the UK to give your dog their jab and fill the passport in again. If your vet writes in the passport now that we are not part of the EU, this will invalidate the passport. If, however you can get the rabies jab done while you are already abroad in Europe, you can extend the life of your pet’s EU passport and be able to keep using that for as long as the vaccinations remain valid. This may mean having a rabies vaccine done in the UK at least 21 days before you intend to go on holiday, so you can travel out of the country on an AHC (Animal Health Certificate), having this information transferred into your pet passport by a vet in Europe and then travelling back into the UK using that. Complicated or what?!
Now Rico’s sister Maisy, was born in England (Preston to be exact) and she had a UK issued pet passport. This meant she could not travel to France on this anymore as these are invalid since Brexit, so she needed the new AHC paperwork from the vet. Not all vets offer this service so if you’re planning on travelling with your pet you need to check this out in advance.
Fortunately, Maisy’s vet does offer this service, so she was booked in for her paperwork to be completed the week of the trip. This again takes some working out as the paperwork must be completed within 10 days of your intended date to leave the UK. Once this has been done the paperwork is valid for up to 4 months for onward travel and one return trip to home. This means that if you’re planning two trips this summer, coming home in between even if the first AHC is still in that 4-month period, because you have come home you will sadly need a second one.
AHC costs vary greatly so are something to factor into the cost of your trip. There’s a whole group on Facebook (AHC – Animal Health Certificate U.K. | Facebook) where people discuss the range of costs and suggest the cheapest places to get the paperwork done. You can expect to pay anything from £80-£300 for the paperwork with most vets offering a cheaper price for any additional dogs.
A quick summary of what you need:
· Your pet must be microchipped
· Rabies vaccine must be given a minimum 21 days before departure from the UK
· AHC paperwork completed by your vet within 10 days of travel OR your dog has a valid EU pet passport
Once armed with all up to date paperwork the rest of the trip was very similar to in 2017. We travelled on the Eurotunnel as this meant that the dogs were never left alone. On some ferries you must leave the dogs in the car unattended. Going by tunnel means that you can stay with your dog and enjoy the crossing with them.
When you arrive at the Eurotunnel you follow the very clearly marked signs for the Pet Check In. Here their documentation is checked. As part of this process, you are given the microchip scanner to show that the dogs with you are the ones listed on the paperwork.
As a behaviourist, I see a lot of anxious and stressed dogs in my day job, so I was delighted to see that the staff pass the scanner over to the dog’s carers to do the scanning to make the process less stressful for the dogs. If your dog can be worried by things going near their head (you’ll need to scan the shoulder blades), why not practice with some treats and your TV remote at home before you go?
You can watch Maisy and Rico’s short TikTok video of Pet Check In here.
Once that’s done, you’re free to explore duty free and board the train to France! And of course, give your dogs that every important last toilet break!
Maisy making the most of the exercise area and having a good Sniff!
A very quick trip over gets you to Calais in well under an hour and then the holiday can begin!
I will be sharing my favourite dog friendly locations and activities in part 2 of the blog but for now a quick note on return travel to England.
At the end of your trip, you need to plan a visit to the vets. When returning to the UK from certain countries in Europe, including France your dog needs tapeworm treatment. This must be given by a vet and the details entered in the EU passport or AHC between 1-5 days before arrival back into the UK. Please check your travel times correctly. This is arrival back into the UK not the time you leave your departure country. This may mean you need to book a vet appointment near a port. Again, prices for this treatment vary. I paid 98 euros for two dogs to receive their treatment and health checks at Clinique Vétérinaire du Bout du Lac. The staff spoke English, were gentle and caring with the dogs and took time to really check the dogs over for signs of fleas or ticks. This may have cost more than other people report online but worth every penny or should we say Euro!
If you’re planning a trip abroad with your dogs this summer, I would love to know your experiences. Was your trip plain sailing? Let me know in the comments.
Note: Information on the travel process was accurate at time of publication. Nose to Trail will not be held responsible for any issues that are incurred with travelling abroad, always check the gov.uk website for the most up to date advice and guidance.