Travelling with dogs on a ferry

We recently travelled to Spain with our 2 hounds , if anyone is thinking of doing the journey , happy to share out experience. I have lots of pics from the 24hr ferry crossing , the dog friendly cabins and the walking area. I know I would have found it useful prior to my trip so please let me know if anyone wants any info.

That's very kind of you Maureen, perhaps you could write a brief overview of the most important stuff? Like pet-passports, immunisations and whether you need to notify the ferry company before you travel?

Maybe we could turn it into an article

Happy to do that Azz , to be fair I emailed them to suggest a few changes and they have acted on them , so if you want to write and article with some pics happy to do so , just let me know where to post

Yes please, great topic. its something I am considering and would like to know all the hurdles and hoops to jump through.

We can either work on it in this thread Maureen or through a thread in the Contact Admin section (just start a new one there).

If you start by posting your initial thoughts, we can work on restructuring it into an article

Perhaps cover..

What you need to know before you make your travel plans
- Pet Passports
- Immunisations
- Pet-specifc booking/alerts

What you need to know when you travel
- What to take with your (documentation)
- What to take with you (for your dog - food, water, crate etc)

What you need to know when you get there
-
-

These are just guesses btw, feel free to change/add as you see fit

What you need to know before you make your travel plans

- Pet Passports- You need a pet passport to travel , the latest date these can be done is 3 weeks before you travel. The regulations are:-

Microchipped
All Vaccs up to date
Rabies Jab

The cost is around £120 per dog in the UK.

You are then issues with a Pet Passport which resembles a human passport except pics are optional !
- Immunisations- all must be up to date and documented
- Pet-specifc booking/alerts- When you book with Brittany Ferries , they mention only one dog to a pet friendly cabin but if you call them you can have 2 dogs in the cabin , they will ask breed and size but we had a grey and a lurcher in a pet friendly cabin.

What you need to know when you travel
- What to take with your (documentation)- you will need you pet passports
- What to take with you (for your dog - food, water, crate etc)- if you have a pet friendly cabin , I would advise taking your dogs blankets , a toy or ttwo, some treats and food for the journey. Brittany Ferries give you a freebie that contains a portable water bowl, a toy , some treats and poo bags. If you dog is nervous , the journey can be stressful so maybe some recure remedy would be helpful. I took some puppy pads as awell in case our dogs got caught short in the cabin although the floors are tiled so easy to clear if that is the case.

What you need to know when you get there- When you arrive you are back in the car and then on your way and need the usual stuff for a long car journey with your dogs. I took small tasty snacks for the long journey and plenty fresh water. Frequent stops and little food often seemed to work well for us.

There is so much more to share but his is a good start

Ok first edit below. Let me know what you think Maureen, and if anything I've added or changed is wrong or doesn't make sense please say Pleaese also feel free to add anything - and if anyone has any questions please ask them so Maureen can perhaps include answers to them

Travelling with dogs: On a Ferry

Travelling with dogs can be stressful not just for our dogs, but us humans too! In this article we're going to be covering travelling with dogs on a ferry from the UK to elsewhere in the European Union. My personal experience is based on travelling to Spain, but should be relevant for anywhere in the EU.

What you need to know before you make your travel plans

These are the very first things you need to think about before travelling with your dog.

- Pet Passport

You need a pet passport to travel with your pet in the EU. The passports usually take around 3 weeks to complete - so be sure to get these done at least a month before you travel. Passport regulations may vary depending on which country you are travelling to, but within the EU they usually require your dog to be:

- Microchipped
- All vaccinations up to date
- Rabies vaccination

The cost of a pet passport is around £120 per dog in the UK and while photos are optional, they definitely add to the cute factor! For more information about pet passports have a look here: https://www.gov.uk/take-pet-abroad/overview

- Ferry Booking

When you book with Brittany Ferries, you'll need to ask specifically for a pet-friendly cabin. They generally mention only one dog per cabin but if you call them you can ask to have 2 dogs in the cabin. They will ask your dog's breed and size (we travelled with a Greyhound and a Lurcher).

What you need to know when you travel

- Make sure you pack your pet passports!
- Dog's collars and lead
- Brittany Ferries give you a free pack that contains a portable water bowl, a toy, some treats and poo bags. However I would advise taking your dogs blankets, some of their own toys, some treats and food for the journey.
- If your dog is nervous, and because the journey can be stressful, I would ask your vet for recommendations or ask about recure remedy as that is often helpful.

I also took some puppy pads in case our dogs got caught short in the cabin (although the floors are tiled so easy to clear if that is the case).

What you need to know when you get there

When you arrive you'll make your way back to the the car and then you're on your way. From here you'll need the usual stuff for a long car journey with your dogs; I took small tasty snacks for the journey and plenty of fresh water. We stopped frequently for pee breaks and little food often seemed to work well for us.

Ours travel well in the car and we didnt really know they were there , I have a Honda CRV 4x4 so they had plenty of room to relax in the back. I only fed tasty snacks frequently and lots of water available and that seemed to work well for them.

They took a few days to get over the journey as we did and of course they were in a new environment. I found as long as they were with me they were fine.

Bella did get ill a couple days after arrival and the vet put it down to the stress of the journey so dont underestimate the effect of such a change and how your dog may react to it.

Ok... next edit, same drill Maureen

Travelling with dogs: On a Ferry

Travelling with dogs can be stressful, not just for our dogs, but us humans too! In this article we're going to be covering travelling with dogs on a ferry from the UK to elsewhere in the European Union. My personal experience is based on travelling to Spain, but should be relevant for anywhere in the EU.

What you need to know before you make your travel plans

These are the very first things you need to think about before travelling with your dog.

- Pet Passport

You need a pet passport to travel with your pet in the EU. The passports usually take around 3 weeks to complete - so be sure to get these done at least a month before you travel. Passport regulations may vary depending on which country you are travelling to, but within the EU they usually require your dog to be:

- Microchipped
- All vaccinations up to date
- Rabies vaccination

The cost of a pet passport is around £120 per dog in the UK and while photos are optional, they definitely add to the cute factor! For more information about pet passports have a look a the following link, particularly if you are travelling with more than five dogs: https://www.gov.uk/take-pet-abroad/overview

- Ferry Booking

When you book with Brittany Ferries, you'll need to ask specifically for a pet-friendly cabin. They generally mention only one dog per cabin but if you call them you can ask to have two dogs in the cabin. They will ask your dog's breed and size (we travelled with a Greyhound and a Lurcher). There are a limited amount of pet friendly cabins and these are booked up quickly. You can go on a waiting list and can be contacted as soon as they are available, I would recommend this to ensure getting a booking. The ferries also have a kennel area with small and large cages as another option, this would depend on how tolerant your dog would in the cage, there is an exercise area and access to the kennels is available 24 hours a day.

What you need to know when you travel

- Make sure you pack your pet passports!
- Dog's collars and lead
- Muzzles are compulsory when your dog is in a public area, e.g. when you fetch your dog from the ferry garage and take them to the cabin and when you go to the exercise area which is one deck up from the cabins.
- There are staris to negotiate to the exercise area and they are open type stairs, this spooked Tom my Lurcher and I ended up carrying a 25k dog up the stairs!
- Brittany Ferries give you a free pack that contains a portable water bowl, a toy, some treats and poo bags. However I would advise taking your dogs blankets, some of their own toys, some treats and food for the journey.
- If your dog is nervous, and because the journey can be stressful, I would ask your vet for recommendations or ask about Rescue Remedy as that is often helpful.

I also took some puppy pads in case our dogs got caught short in the cabin (although the floors are tiled so easy to clear if that is the case).

My dogs also got more stressed if I left the Cabin even when with my husband, this made it difficult to go out, it's a long crossing and can be rough in the Bay of Biscay, fortunately hounds love to sleep so when they settled we all slept from 8:30pm until 9am thenext morning so that made it easier on a rough crossing.

What you need to know when you get there

When you arrive you'll make your way back to the the car and then you're on your way.

The dogs are taken back to the car about hour before you dock so by the time you get off the ferry, they most likely will need a toilet break, it is worth checking the map to know where the first services are for this purpose.

From here you'll need the usual stuff for a long car journey with your dogs; I took small tasty snacks for the journey and plenty of fresh water. We stopped frequently for pee breaks and little food often seemed to work well for us.

Ours travel well in the car and we didnt really know they were there, I have a Honda CRV 4x4 so they had plenty of room to relax in the back. I only fed tasty snacks frequently and lots of water available and that seemed to work well for them.

They took a few days to get over the journey, as did we, but that's expected when you're in a new environment. I found as long as they were with me they were fine.

Bella did get ill a couple days after our arrival and the vet put it down to the stress of the journey so dont underestimate the effect of such a change and how your dog may react to it. However if you are well prepared and take all the above into consideration, your journey should go as smoothly as ours.

Good luck! And please come back to share your own experience in the comments below.

Thanks Maureen, yeah descriptions would be great (just go by photo number).

Did you edit any of the text btw? I notice there are two quotes in your post..