Bringing a dog into the U.K is much easier than it at first appears to be. The main requirement is a European passport for the dog. The dog will be micro chipped with the passport giving evidence that all the normal vaccinations and especially the Rabies vaccination are up to date, then the dog needs to be wormed and flea treated and given a clean bill of health between twenty four and forty eight hours before your departure from Europe.
The Rabies vaccination will need to be done seven months before the dog’s departure from Europe because the dog’s blood must be tested for the correct level of antibodies no less than thirty days after the vaccination. Blood test results can take from two weeks to three months to come back, depending on where they are done and where they are analysed. I have known of tests done in Spain that took two weeks, but my dog's blood went from Spain to Germany for testing and took three months. I have no idea why.
Assuming the blood test was okay, which is usually but not always the case; the dog can be brought into the U.K. six months from the date of the blood test. The longer you leave the blood test after thirty days, the more likely the antibody count will lessen, so try and do it around the thirty day mark. Thereafter, providing the vaccinations are kept up to date, you can take your dog out and bring it back in to U.K. as you wish, but remember when booking ferries etc that you need access to a vet within a twenty four hour time slot each time. This can lead to problems at weekends as you can’t get a vet on a Sunday easily. There is also a problem if you miss a ferry and miss your time slot. Most ports have a list of local vets and can direct you to the nearest one, so if you know in advance that you will need a vet on the way back, call in and ask. Bear in mind that the dog must not go outside Europe at any time or it will have to go through the six month quarantine period from the time of its re-entry to Europe, so if you decide to pop over the border for a day, kennel the dog!
For a complete list of European countries and the rules applying to each, go to the link to the DEFRA website. There are limits to the number of dogs you can travel with; at present, the maximum is five dogs.
Importing a Dog from Outside Europe
If you are bringing a dog from outside Europe into Europe, different rules apply depending on the country of origin, but generally speaking, it is a question of vaccinations for everything and especially Rabies, a certificate of health and an export certificate usually from the Ministry of Agriculture in the country of origin.
For some reason worming and flea treatment were not requested when I brought a dog from Montenegro. No-one bothered with the paperwork for the dog when I entered Europe then, or when I took the dog in and out of Morocco. If you take a dog from the U.K. out of Europe, you face either a six month stay in Europe or putting the dog into quarantine for six months in the U.K. The Ministry of Agriculture in UK gives you full information on the movement of all animals and birds.
Starting Out From U.K.
If you are starting off in UK and travelling to Europe, you need only wait for the blood test results before travelling; these usually take about two to four weeks in UK.
Note that you cannot let the Rabies vaccination lapse by even a day. If you do, you will have start again and also have the fairly expensive blood test done again.
Penny Huntington - I suppose that I must describe myself as a Jill of all trades and mistress of a few! My life has been a perpetual journey of discovery. I ...
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