Getting Started!

Having  suggested Pet Travel as a forum I feel I should get it started!

I am new to 'Motor -Homers,' - and also new to Motorhoming. We bought our first Motorhome in July this year and used it twice, (just over weekends), in August. On September 2nd we set off Greece, (Crete), for 7 weeks. My husband and I were accompanied by out two dogs......who weigh just over 100kgs between them!

Our 'adventure' was amazing and our dogs were brilliant. The purpose of this post is to encourage any of you that are tempted to take your pets abroad....... but have reservations about doing so....... to 'go for it'. - It was SO easy!

We had their passports done in plenty of time before our departure. We also had both dogs injected for Leishmaniasis (not compulsory), as there is a lot of it in the Southern Med countries. We took our worming tablets with us for our return journey and found a Vet in the Alsace who administered them for us.

We did 'The Tunnel' for both crossings of the Channel, and then had two more ferry trips to make in each direction. - Bari to Patras, and then Piraeus to Crete..... and vice versa! We booked the 'Camping Deck' from Italy to Greece and it was excellent.

I do not pretend to be an expert on anything to do with Motorhoming.......as we are obviously 'very newbies'...... but I would be happy to let anyone know about our experiences of doing such a journey with two large dogs if they are considering undertaking such a holiday.

All I can say is that it is easy as long as you do your research. We shall be doing it all over again in April!

I hope this Pets forum gets some support. It will be useful for all of us who travel with our animals. Thanks for getting it up and running Ken.

Woody.

Thanks Woody this is a great posting and well done on your abroad travel we have done some great uk travel but haven't done Europe yet. We are planning to do France with this group next year. Our little Westie Bonnie Mac will get her jabs for Rabies and anything else advised in Jan and her passport. This pet group will be good for sharing experiences and ideas too. Our dog is 4 kg lol so that should help our payload. Post some pics of your dogs in the gallery ... FRANK AND MARGARET on here have a gorgeous little westie too called Molly ...

Hia

I took Izzy to France the other year.

My first time abroad and with a pet as well

Everything went to plan and I was suppressed at how many Brithish had there pooches with them

The law as changed since I went in 2011?

Izzy didn't come to Germany this year she went on her holidays to her brothers and aunties

Hi Angel Mac and Polly,


Thanks for your replies. I'll post a photo of our two Rhodesian Ridgebacks when I get a moment Angel Mac. I am also amazed how many Brits there were abroad with their pets Polly. - Mostly dogs. 
At one Aire en route we met a Dutch couple who  had their pedigree cats on long 'lines'...... and the animals were out basking in the sunshine. We even met a Dutch family who had a Parakeet with them! It just sat on their hands whilst they enjoyed a glass of wine on the grass outside of their Motorhome! - Taking our two Ridgebacks seemed 'tame' after all of that!


Woody.

I worked for a Consultant that had two Rhodesian Ridgebacks.  They are very large.  Where do yours sleep when in the van Woody?

Hi Tugga,
Had to think carefully about which Motorhome we wanted when we bought it, re space. We chose an Auto Trail Mohawk as we wanted two sofa/bench seats and lots of floor space. The dogs have had special safety harnesses made and travel on fleeces, placed on the sofas. They can climb down on to the floor and lie between them if they want to, but can't get as far as the cab area. At night they sleep on the sofas without being strapped in. (Great burglar alarms!). - We stayed on Motorway Service Areas in France and Italy on our way to and from Greece but never had a problem.
The Ridgebacks were walked each night before bed, so I'm sure anyone contemplating a break-in would have seen them and thought twice! 
 We didn't want a van with a Continental layout, as they mostly seem to have a fixed table and a 'picnic table' seating area, (not sure of the correct term!), which takes up so much floor space!
The Mohawk is 7.5m long and has a big 'garage' for carrying all our 'stuff', especially as we took 7 weeks of dog food away to Greece with us!
Woody.

A bit late in the season I suppose, but this might be of some help to folks thinking of taking their dogs over to France.

Three years ago we planned on taking a few weeks hols. and go to the Normandy beaches and various places inland from the WW2 landing sites.

Everything was going to plan when a couple of months before we wanted to go, I just happened to glance at a Camping mag. when I saw a list of dogs banned from entering France....Our mastiff X was top of the banned list and classed as an attack dog! The list was quite long, so be warned and find out whether your dog is savage - just like our daft dog is.....and can't go. We tried all ways to get her over there with no luck. A total ban.

The Law might be different now, I've not looked, but back then it was a no-no for sure!

We did get to France, my son had our 'attack dog' for the duration of our hols - and yes, he survived!

Hia

I'm off to Southern Ireland next week and Izzy is coming along.
I looked up and read on forums about does my dog need a passport.
It is a grey area with people saying you can go to Northern Ireland and you don't need a passport and you can drive over the border not needing a passport.
Others say no passports are checked when entering The South

Well to be on the safe side Izzy as had her rabies and her passport stamped. I didn't want to be the first person to be turned back or Izzy going into quarantine for say six months

She is up to date with her jabs etc so seeing there was no charge for her on the ferry it evens it out
So izzy as her passport and you never know she may need to use it again in the next couple of years.