Help and advice for people travelling on mainland Europe (primarily Spain and Portugal) in a vehicle with dogs.

Following on from writing about places to visit and park up in Spain and Portugal I have written a bit about travelling with dogs.

Please be aware the advice here is based on my own research and my own experiences. I have travelled to and from Spain and Portugal with dogs since 2010, also going through France, Holland and Belgium. I have also spent 6 months volunteering in a dog rescue centre in Portugal. This is just a guide, please make sure you get the most up to date information on Pet Passports from your vet and the government website.

If you are thinking of driving to mainland Europe and want to take your dog, there are a few things to take into consideration. It is much easier to travel with some animals thanks to the Pet Passport scheme but this all needs to be thought about in advance. All dogs travelling within the EU must have a Pet Passport and cannot travel into another EU country within 21 days of their first rabies vaccination.

It is a legal requirement in Spain and Portugal (please check other countries), for all pets to be identified by microchip and vaccination against rabies is compulsory. In Spain dogs travelling in a vehicle must be restrained. If you are stopped by the police (Guardia Civil) and your dog is not restrained you will most likely be fined.

Please do not just tie your dog from it’s lead to a fixing point in the vehicle as this could potentially strangle them in an emergency stop situation. The safest ways for your dog to travel is either in a pet crate or wearing a harness that you can clip to the seat-belt.

Whether you are going for a short or long holiday or to emigrate make sure you get your dog legal in the UK before you go. You can use your normal vet who will know the dogs history and more importantly you will have no language barrier! If for any reason you have to rush back to the UK your dog will be ready to come to.

Remember from April 2016 all dogs in the UK must have a microchip whether they are travelling or not so in theory as a dog owner you should already have your dog chipped.

The general rules are these:

Travelling within the EU (or into the EU from another ‘listed’ country)

When travelling to or returning to the UK from another EU or non-EU listed country, your pet needs:

• a microchip
• a rabies vaccination (make sure your pet is microchipped first or the vaccination won’t count)
• a pet passport or official third country veterinary certificate
• tapeworm treatment (for dogs only)

You must wait 21 days from the date of the rabies vaccination before travelling.

Travelling into the EU from an unlisted country

An ‘unlisted’ country is any country not included in the list of EU and non-EU countries. When travelling to or returning to the UK from an unlisted country, your pet needs:

• a microchip
• a rabies vaccination (make sure your pet is microchipped first or the vaccination won’t count)
• a blood test - the vet must take the blood sample at least 30 days after the rabies vaccination (the date of vaccination counts as day 0, not day 1)
• an official third country veterinary certificate
• tapeworm treatment(for dogs only)

You must wait 3 calendar months from the date the blood sample was taken before travelling. The vet must give you a copy of the test results. These must show that the vaccination was successful. You don’t have to wait 3 months if your pet was vaccinated, blood tested and given a pet passport in the EU before travelling to an unlisted country.

Although it is good practice to have your dog wormed if they come in to contact with substances that might pass worms on, (dogs who live in towns and cities and walk in the local park on a lead generally will not need worming), the tapeworm treatment is very specific. Remember this is a requirement ONLY when returning to the UK. Other EU countries have this parasite but the UK does not hence the requirement.

Your vet must treat your dog for tapeworm and record it in the pet passport or third country official veterinary certificate every time you want to enter the UK. The treatment must be given between 1 and 5 days (24 to 120 hours) before you’re scheduled to arrive in the UK. Your vet must record the following details in your dog’s pet passport or certificate:

• the name and manufacturer of the product used to treat your dog
• the date and time they treated your dog
• their stamp and signature

The treatment must have praziquantel or equivalent as its active ingredient.
You don’t need to treat your dog for tapeworm if you’re coming directly to the UK from Finland, Republic of Ireland, Malta or Norway.

It is vitally important to remember when traveling abroad to check regarding other health issues appropriate to the country you are visiting before you go. Different pet diseases are prevalent even just across the English Channel in Northern France and UK pets are especially vulnerable because their immune systems are naïve to such risks. Look into preventative health measures to help ensure your pet doesn’t catch a serious and life-threatening disease.

There are other standard vaccinations prepared and given by a vet, these vaccinations are not obligatory. The vet records the dose in the dogs Pet Passport. They protect against Distemper, Hepatitis, Parvovirus, Parainfluenza, Leptospirosis and Kennel Cough.

Ticks and fleas are seasonal and vary depending on the area. Spot-on treatments can be carried out monthly and these are available at vets. There is a Scalibor collar to help control ticks, mosquitoes, and flies.

It is well worth buying a collar that protests against sandflies which carry the potentially fatal disease Leishmaniasis. I have a friend who's dog died from this and I have seen dogs with it at the rescue centre. If not fatal treatment of this disease can be very expensive in the long-term. This is very important especially in the south of Spain and Portugal.

Whilst your dog may already be protected from tapeworm make sure to check that they are protected from lungworm as well. Some parts of the UK have this and so you may already be aware of this parasite.

Another thing to watch out for in Spain and Portugal (and France as well as other countries on the mainland) is the pine processionary caterpillar (Thaumetopoea pityocampa). It will, during late winter/early spring, be coming out of pine trees and forming conspicuous snakelike lines. They will not be far from a pine tree, but that does not mean that you will only see them in large pine woods, they are just as likely to be found in villages and road side plantings in fact wherever pine trees are present.

We don’t usually associate caterpillars with the potential to kill, but these creatures have caused the death of many dogs and other animals and have made their presence felt amongst their adult owners too. It is the hairs of the caterpillars that can cause problems. If they are touched or poked they cause a nasty rash and give off dust that can cause respiratory problems. They are particularly toxic for children and animals. If the caterpillar is stressed or threatened it can eject its hairs which act a little like harpoons and can penetrate or irritate any exposed skin. Dogs are particularly susceptible as they will pick up the hairs on their paws and then lick them as they start to itch. This then leads to the hairs being transferred on to the animal’s tongue and can result in itching, swelling, vomiting, tongue amputation and even death.

Under no circumstances should you try to handle the caterpillars or their nests. Just take care and monitor where you walk yourself, your children and your animals.

Any person owning a potentially dangerous dog (perros potencialmente peligrosos) in Spain must have an appropriate licence. This does not apply to visitors but be aware that three of these breeds are common in the UK and you may find people being wary of your dog. We have a Staffordshire Bull Terrier cross who has been turned away from cafes where other dogs were and our Italian friends who had a Rottweiler cross were turned away from some campsites. The Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Rottweiler and Doberman (Andalucia only) are considered potentially dangerous.

Some beaches are dog friendly all year round, others do not allow dogs between April and September. Some beaches do not allow dogs at all. Most beaches will have a sign up saying whether you can take your dog on the beach. You will find that a lot of people disregard the rules and most of the time this is not a problem.

You will find Spain and Portugal do not have many bins specifically for dog mess and you will notice that a lot of people do not pick up dog mess. Beware walking in flip flops or even worse bare feet where there is dog mess!

When travelling allow plenty of time in your schedule to tend to your dog. Stop regularly to let your dog out to stretch his legs, go to the toilet and have a drink. It is important to make sure that he has constant access to water throughout the journey. Remember that you may not be able to buy your dog’s usual brand of food whilst away, if your break is short you can pack sufficient supplies for the time you are away. For longer holidays or if you are emigrating you may need to slowly introduce a new food to your dogs diet.

The temperatures abroad may be much warmer than in the UK, which could mean your dog will be more vulnerable to heatstroke. Avoid exercising your dog during the hottest periods of the day and make sure he has access to cool shade and plenty of water. Be very aware of leaving your dog in a vehicle on his own. Dogs die in hot cars in the UK let alone a few thousand miles closer to the equator. Even in the winter temperatures can be hot enough to cause death to your dog if left alone in a vehicle for any length of time.

One to five days before you return to the UK you must visit a local vet for your dog to be checked, scanned, and given a tapeworm treatment. The vet will also sign and date your dog’s passport. On the day you return home the travel company will scan your dog’s microchip and check the pet passport and other documents. If your pet doesn’t meet the necessary requirements he may face quarantine or be sent back to the country you have travelled from, so check, check, and check again, to ensure everything is in order.

We have found vets in France especially the more northern ones very expensive. On our first journey back to the UK in 2011 we paid €50 for one dog to have flea and tick treatment, worming treatment and a check up in France. In 2014 we paid €40 for two dogs for the same treatment in Portugal and €50 in 2016 in Spain for two dogs and the same treatment.

Onward travel to Morocco is common for van dwellers once they reach the south of Spain and can see the start of Africa over the water. It is easy enough to take your dog to Morocco and back through into Spain, the only other requirement your dog will need is that is must have had a blood test to prove its immunity from Rabies. The blood sample must be taken at least 30 days after the rabies vaccination. You must then wait 3 calendar months from the date the blood sample was taken before travelling back into Spain if this is done in Morocco. The vet must give you a copy of the test results. These must show that the vaccination was successful. You don’t have to wait 3 months if your pet was vaccinated, blood tested and given a pet passport in the EU before travelling. There is more information on the Clínica Veterinaria Europa website listed below.

There are two vets I can highly recommend if you are in the area, I have used both of these on numerous occasions:

Clínica Veterinaria Europa (Tarifa, Spain) - www.veterinario-tarifa.com/en/

Clínica Veterinária Serra da Estrela (Gouveia, Portugal) - www.facebook.com/Clinica-Veterinaria-Serra-da-Estrela-101357196573003

Useful websites

UK Government rules - www.gov.uk/take-pet-abroad

PetLog, UK Database for microchipped pets - www.petlog.org.uk

Leishmaniasis explained - www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/infectious-parasitic/c_dg_leishmaniasis

Lungworm explained - www.vets-now.com/pet-owners/dog-care-advice/general/lungworm-in-dogs

Processionary caterpillars explained - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_processionary

Some of my travels with my dogs in Spain and Portugal are documented on this blog and on my website at www.positive-evolution.org.uk