Italy with dog

Post by **Jeanie** » 03 Dec 2008, 18:56

HI there I was wondering if anyone has taken their dog to Italy. I have heard that you must have a physical barrier between you and the dog. would a travel cage be enough or would i need to get some sort of barrier built behind the seats.

Post by **Valsowners** » 03 Dec 2008, 19:40

I can't say I've ever heard that before.

We were looking into taking Sophie to France next year, I know the pet passport takes quite a while to sort out, I think the rabies vaccine has to be done 6 months in advance. Not really sure if it is worth it, as much as we love Sophie it would restrict us.

Besides which Sophie attend's a yearly health spa AKA Mum and Dads, she's treated like a princess whenever we go away!!

best of luck finding out.

Post by **Jeanie** » 03 Dec 2008, 20:48

sounds good. We are just waiting on the results of her rabies vaccination to see if we can get the pet passport issued. Kizzy our wee dog has had to be rehomed three times. Feel we can't leave her, not yet anyway. We are hoping to take her over to Europe in June. This will be our first trip and her first trip abroad in the van. I don't know if we are mad to try. A friend who has a house in Italy said she heard about the dog thing. I have never heard of it either.

Post by **Flibbertigibbet** » 03 Dec 2008, 21:21

http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/quarant ... /index.htm

Post by **andisnewsyncro** » 04 Dec 2008, 09:52

HI.
We travelled Europe with our dog for 6 months last winter with no problems. As long as the paperwork is in order it's very easy to do. Micro chip, rabies shot, blood test then passport is issued. You're doing the right thing getting it early, the regulation is that a dog may not RE ENTER the UK less than 6 months after it's bloodtest proves that the rabies vaccine has "taken". After that you can come and go as you please.

Each country has its own rules on the validity of the vaccine, here they say it's valid for 3 years whereas France say 1 year, so to be sure, our vet recommended having an annual booster.

Whilst we didn't make it to Italy as we originally intended, we did check regulations for everywhere that was on our list. As far as I am aware, the cage/physical barrier for dogs in cars is only if you you have 2 or more dogs in the one vehicle. So one dog is fine without a dog guard and doesn't have to be in a crate.

I think there's more about it on here, but don't forget that a lot of the info ont'internet is aimed at our American cousins who seem to think it's acceptable to crate a dog for a flight half way round the world for a fortnights holiday (!) and is not relevant to us as we already live within the EU (at least as far as some legalities go)

http://www.italymag.co.uk/forums/travel ... -dogs.html

Take the dog and enjoy it, it's better than leaving them at home, you might find yourself a bit restricted in some places; public transport etc but you'll make lots of friends too as travelling dogs seem to attract a lot of attention.

Hope this helps.

Andi

Website · Post by **syncrosimon** » 04 Dec 2008, 18:08

One thing is for sure, and that is that your dog is much more welcome in France and Italy than in the UK. People take dogs everywhere, we went in numerous cathedrals and other public spaces and buildings without any prob. The Italian ferries that run Corsica Ferries allow dogs on deck, and you dont have to lock them in the car like us repressed brits, you have to pay around a fiver, but it's well worth it. Special dog exercise yard on top deck, just brilliant.

Post by **Jeanie** » 04 Dec 2008, 19:34

Thanks for the info guys. It will take a bit of planning this trip. All part of the fun