Now that we are now retired (although I wish I was in receipt of a pension - although there are advantages to being fairly young lol) we are dependent free and have been considering getting a dog/s. We lost our lovely golden retriever about 9 yrs ago after 11 yrs with him and decided to not think of another dog again until retirement. I know that one has to get a jab, within a certain time frame, before returning to the UK, but I'd like peoples experience generally of travelling in Europe with a dog or dogs. We tend not to go to big cities and, in the last 4 years of travelling with the T5 with or without an Eriba, only a 2 day visit to Venice would have caused a problem with a dog (although many others with dogs there obviously didn't see it as a problem!!!).

We can get a large crate in the T5 just behind us, so travelling with a dog itself isn't a problem. I'd like to know though, if people haven't been welcome with a dog(s) and where, for what reasons etc.

Thanks and a lovely weekend to all

Hi Blueyonder

We also have a T5 and a Troll and 4 dogs, 3 Vizsla's and a Bassett Hound.

Can't speak about Europe but from our experience but would just like to say that any place that said our dogs are a problem are not worthy of our custom.

I know thats not what you really were asking but just thought I would let you know how we feel.

Hope you get yourself a new furry friend.

Good luck

We only tour in the UK and use Caravan club sites, we have no issues with taking Billy our Staffordshire Bull Terrier, however in France most campsites believe that this breed of dog to be the incarnation of the Devil and won't allow them on their site.

I have three well behaved (most of the time) small pooches and always travel with their crates so they are safe and cannot cause any problems so they lie in them if I am busy (holding a glass etc) so I know they are safe and even leave them in the crates with the boot open so they can watch the world go by. However some of the sites I see have a limit of two dogs.! When I booked cottages I would ask if crated dogs are permitted and all were OK, so only once was I refuse. Hope some make a common sense judgement but my guess is those will say it's policy!

We Motorhomed and Eriba'ed for 15 years with our Labrador, Purdey. She absolutely loved it and died peacefully one night in our previous 420GT which we towed with a VW T5.
We have since decided not to have another dog mainly because of the restraints dog ownership has on Caravanning and travelling. We loved our dogs and they were always well trained and well behaved. They were not treated like children or toys but were definitley subservient members of our family pack and were happier as a result!

This is only a personal opinion but it seems to me that more and more dogs are being taken camping but by fewer responsible owners. Too many sites echo to the sounds of yapping, unsocialised lap dogs or the deeper barking of unsocialised trophy dogs. There is usually some poor person being dragged along by a gasping hound, desperate for a toilet or a run and it is not uncommon for unfettered pooches to come bounding happily into your pitch or awning.
When out with your own dog it is a constant concern what an approaching 'pet' will do or be allowed to do!
It has become increasingly hard to find beaches that allow dogs except out of season and there are now a growing number of 'no dogs' campsites.

I think it is a really difficult decision whether to become a dog owner nowadays.

Totally agree with you Frantone, as when I walk mine I am always on guard for what is also around us, usually a person on the phone with no control or care where their dog is, and to often bad owners just don't clear up after their dogs, so I never protest to much as restrictions as I can well understand the concerns. To many people who should not own a dog let alone kids!

It's quite a challenge sometimes having our 2 big girls with us, we tend to spend most of the time outside or in the awning with them until bedtime. We all enjoy it though and we have some good laughs. The problem is in bad weather, our long haired gsd stinks when she gets wet and can take ages to dry off. As a rule by the time we have all spent most of the day outdoors, mainly walking, the girls are ready to eat their tea then curl up in their beds. We have never had any problems on sites other than the odd occasion when the girls have sneaked out to follow Mark if I turned my back.

Thanks for all your replies guys. You have given me some food for thought. We have a few lengthy long haul trips outstanding on the bucket list (Far East & Australasia) so maybe we'll wait until we've got those ticked off before we take the plunge. I might offer to short term foster rescue dogs (one at a time lol) in the meantime when we're at home, just to see how it works when away for weekends here (at well chosen sites).

We had the most wonderful Golden Retriever from birth to her demise aged almost 12. We then lived in the UK but always went in the caravan to Europe for our summer break. She always came with us of course and so managed to visit many spots around Europe, including some crowded cities (eg Venice).

Others above have correctly mentioned some of the difficulties and restrictions inherent in taking a dog abroad. My main gripe was with the Pets' Passport system about which I eventually wrote to MPs, Govt Ministers, Euro Commissioners, the French Vet. Association, Uncle Tom Cobley 'n all - to no great effect. French Channel Port vets seemed to me to come to the view that the UK Passport system was just a very easy way to make money at the traveller's expense. After the inception of the system, fees went up rapidly, unreceipted cash payments were demanded, medical examinations were at best cursory and all thought of animal welfare and public health went out the window. I do not mean to castigate all Channel Port vets as I am sure there are conscientious professionals out there who do the job properly. However there are those who just want the money and who, in my experience were even willing to enter false data on the passport if that suited the client.

Things may have changed for the better on that front - I do not know - but for anyone travelling with a dog or two, getting them back to the UK is another expense to be taken into account.

I simply could not imagine life without at least one dog.
When our old girl, Tara passed away last February at 16 years Kim and I agreed that we'd not have a new dog until I retired in December 2015.
That decision lasted a whole week before we took the plunge and went for Dolly our 1st working cocker spaniel who was at the time just over 1 year old and a return to the breeder. We quickly got her through the Pets Passport, now much easier than it used to be with blood tests and all and she came with us on her 1st trip to France last June.
On our return from France we decided to go for a pal for Dolly and along came Silkie another WCS again at just over a year old and being given up as the couple owning her were divorcing.
Silkie now has her passport and both will come with us next June to France and I don't mind at all the cost of £60 for both their ferry crossings.
See below picture of both taken when we were up with the caravan at Loch Morlich earlier this month. Dolly's the white with black and Silkie the black with a white chest.

From the expression on Silkies face she looks to be a right bundle of mischief.

We bought a cat back from Germany in the old quarantine days! Very expensive! We also took the same cat (Santa) back to Germany after several tours in the UK, unfortunately Santa died at 13 years old and we buried him under a tree in Hameln, on Ravelin Hill, Reimerdescamp

[quote="Agger"|p14246]................we buried him under a tree in Hameln...../quote]

Was he a good rat catcher then?

He used to chase them on the camp on the hill (Ravelin) but he was no match for the Pied Piper great location though, Hameln

Our Teckels love going away in the caravan. They travel in a crate. One sleeps under the table and one under the bed! We go to sites which state that dogs are welcome. Most C&CC sites have a dog run or at least an available field. We have taken them to France several times. Dogs have to be microchipped and vaccinated against rabies (which involves a vaccination and a later blood test to check it has taken). They need a booster every three years - it used to be every year. They then get a Pet Passport and all their vaccinations can be recorded therein. No checks on the way into France. Coming home they need to be seen by a French vet between 5 days and 24 hours crossing the channel. The vet checks the microchip, checks them generally and gives them a worming tablet for fox tapeworm which we don't have in the UK. We usually return via Guines where the caravan site kindly phones the vet in Ardres to make an appointment. We have been very happy with the price and treatment received there though we have never had to visit another French vet. At the ferry port you are handed a microchip reader - I presume to prove that you are taking the right dog back. (I wonder if this scheme would end were we to leave the EU.) We have always been made very welcome, in restaurants with an open fronts, on tourist trains, in markets, etc. Last year when visiting a garden where dogs were not allowed two ladies on reception offered to look after them while we walked round. Otherwise we take turns when visiting. In this country our main problem is people stopping us to ask what kind of dogs they are (not that we mind). In Aveyron earlier this year the French knew what they were as they use them for boar hunting! I'd rather take them than leave them behind, anyway it costs less than putting them in kennels. Sorry, I didn't mean to write an essay!