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Dog - Travelling by Ferry
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14-01-2008 3:31pm#1
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Facilities for dogs on Brittanny Ferries Pont Aven are superb but I suspect if you are travelling via Cherbourg it is with Irish Ferries on the Oscar Wilde? Had a quick look at the kennels when we used to boat last year. Look very good - are located in a secure & separate area on car deck level & huge improvement on the appalling kennels they used to offer on the UK routes. AFAIK the ferry staff will already know you are travelling with a dog from their booking system, so will advise you when you arrive at port what you need to do, where to go, etc. Think you may also be required to check in a bit earlier than other passengers.
Enjoy your hols
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Pets can travel to the UK without any passport. On the other hand, a passport is compulsory to go to France. The blood test is part of the process to obtain this passport. There is no time restriction for the pet to go over to France but 6 months must have lapsed after the blood test (or the vaccination - I forget) before the pet is allowed back in Ireland (or the UK) from France.
As far as ferry travel is concerned ... going over to the UK, the pet can stay in the car. Going to France, the dog has to go into a travel box. We normally travel to France via the UK for the dog's sake : 2 small crossings instead of a 20+ hour one. We used LD Lines from Le Havre to Rosslare last Christmas and had to put the dog in one of these travel boxes
It wasn't really big enough for him (labrador/collie cross) and he was so unhappy that we ended up putting him back into the car after 5 hours ... Very upsetting experience.
I haven't seen the set up with Irish Ferries. Celtic Link take dogs over but do not have the vet services to bring the pets back from France.
ValerieR0 -
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Pets can travel to the UK without any passport. On the other hand, a passport is compulsory to go to France. The blood test is part of the process to obtain this passport. There is no time restriction for the pet to go over to France but 6 months must have lapsed after the blood test (or the vaccination - I forget) before the pet is allowed back in Ireland (or the UK) from France.
As far as ferry travel is concerned ... going over to the UK, the pet can stay in the car. Going to France, the dog has to go into a travel box. We normally travel to France via the UK for the dog's sake : 2 small crossings instead of a 20+ hour one. We used LD Lines from Le Havre to Rosslare last Christmas and had to put the dog in one of these travel boxes It wasn't really big enough for him (labrador/collie cross) and he was so unhappy that we ended up putting him back into the car after 5 hours ... Very upsetting experience.
I haven't seen the set up with Irish Ferries. Celtic Link take dogs over but do not have the vet services to bring the pets back from France.
ValerieR
I was wondering if anybody had some advice, we have a 5 mnth lab/ beagle mix pup and where thinking of travelling to the UK next month with with Irish ferries and were told we can either leave him in the car or in a kennel/cage, he is use to travelling in the car on long journeys but was unsure of the kennel and he has never been in the car on his own for long periods. dont want to cause too much stress for him0 -
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An update on bringing the dog to France on the Oscar Wilde.
On the website, we're told to book in 2 hours in advance. Between the weather & leaving work late we don’t meet the deadline - but get the impression that it didn’t matter at all. I think they would just prefer you to be there early so they can get your car on the same car deck as the kennels. We saw someone coming on at the last minute with their dog from a lower deck. At check-in, the lady in the kiosk just checks the passport and the booking. You go on board and one of the stewards on the car deck (deck 4) will bring you to the kennels. They were better than I expected (better than the Normandy anyway). The kennels are in a separate room, and they smell like they've been hosed down with bleach (there is a power hose in the corner). So they're clean, but still damp - so bring some newspapers to put under your dogs bed to keep it dry. You put the dog in, you get a card to show reception when you want to visit them. The steward also checks the passport.
We visited the dog three times during the crossing, you have to go to reception and they'll call a steward/AB to bring you down. They have a 'run' and a large litter box with poop-bags at the end. So the dog can stretch their legs. Our dog has never used a litter tray, and she won't pee inside so she never went to the toilet on either legs. She was also so happy to see us that she didn't seem to want to do anything else other than squirm!
Arriving in France, you just drive off the boat, no questions.
Before we left France we booked the dog into a Vet in Courseulles-sur-mer. Nicer than any doctor's surgery I've ever been in in Ireland! It was about €45 for the tick & work treatment, and the vet checked the chip & her general health. She seemed very familiar with the process.
On your return journey - you have to check the dog in at the Irish Ferries desk in the terminal first. We had driven up to the kiosk, and the lady told us to park the car over at the side and just come back out to her when we had it sorted. An Irish Ferries employee fills out a form and checks her chip with a reader, and checks that it matches her passport. You get a poster to stick on the inside of your windscreen (the glue is a bitch to get off) and you cannot remove that until you've gone through customs in Ireland. I think she the form she fills out goes into the ship's bag & goes to customs in Rosslare. Going back on the Ferry is the same routine as the Irish leg.
Arriving in Ireland is fairly non-eventful. We were in the queue for customs and a gentleman from the Dept of Agriculture just came up to us and asked if the 'chip was read ok in Cherbourg' - we said yes and we went on. That was it really.
Here is a pic of the kennels - with Holly looking very dejected! Tip! The bottom kennels nearer the door are bigger & deeper. The one she was in on the way over had a moveable side, so when we came to see her, the dog in the kennel next door had moved the wall in on her space (like that episode of Black Books).
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Appreciate the info. Heading on Oscar Wilde in 2 weeks with my shih tzu. Good 2 know what 2 expectAn update on bringing the dog to France on the Oscar Wilde.
On the website, we're told to book in 2 hours in advance. Between the weather & leaving work late we don’t meet the deadline - but get the impression that it didn’t matter at all. I think they would just prefer you to be there early so they can get your car on the same car deck as the kennels. We saw someone coming on at the last minute with their dog from a lower deck. At check-in, the lady in the kiosk just checks the passport and the booking. You go on board and one of the stewards on the car deck (deck 4) will bring you to the kennels. They were better than I expected (better than the Normandy anyway). The kennels are in a separate room, and they smell like they've been hosed down with bleach (there is a power hose in the corner). So they're clean, but still damp - so bring some newspapers to put under your dogs bed to keep it dry. You put the dog in, you get a card to show reception when you want to visit them. The steward also checks the passport.
We visited the dog three times during the crossing, you have to go to reception and they'll call a steward/AB to bring you down. They have a 'run' and a large litter box with poop-bags at the end. So the dog can stretch their legs. Our dog has never used a litter tray, and she won't pee inside so she never went to the toilet on either legs. She was also so happy to see us that she didn't seem to want to do anything else other than squirm!
Arriving in France, you just drive off the boat, no questions.
Before we left France we booked the dog into a Vet in Courseulles-sur-mer. Nicer than any doctor's surgery I've ever been in in Ireland! It was about €45 for the tick & work treatment, and the vet checked the chip & her general health. She seemed very familiar with the process.
On your return journey - you have to check the dog in at the Irish Ferries desk in the terminal first. We had driven up to the kiosk, and the lady told us to park the car over at the side and just come back out to her when we had it sorted. An Irish Ferries employee fills out a form and checks her chip with a reader, and checks that it matches her passport. You get a poster to stick on the inside of your windscreen (the glue is a bitch to get off) and you cannot remove that until you've gone through customs in Ireland. I think she the form she fills out goes into the ship's bag & goes to customs in Rosslare. Going back on the Ferry is the same routine as the Irish leg.
Arriving in Ireland is fairly non-eventful. We were in the queue for customs and a gentleman from the Dept of Agriculture just came up to us and asked if the 'chip was read ok in Cherbourg' - we said yes and we went on. That was it really.
Here is a pic of the kennels - with Holly looking very dejected! Tip! The bottom kennels nearer the door are bigger & deeper. The one she was in on the way over had a moveable side, so when we came to see her, the dog in the kennel next door had moved the wall in on her space (like that episode of Black Books).0 -
Can i just ask a question? My parents have a place in France. My mum has two dogs she would love to bring over for the summer next year. I asked my vet about this and he said it wouldn't be worth it. He said the trip over is fine once they have all their shots and passport but that coming back into Ireland is the problem.
The dogs would have to be quarantined for several weeks and costs a fortune. How is this the case when so many people take their dogs on holidays? What should i be doing to enable them to go with mum? Thanks in advance:) 0 -
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