Dog passporti

I have a puppy in England who at the moment has to stay there until he has his rabies injection at 15 weeks old, he will be microchipped and everything else that is needed to transport him over to Spain.  Can anyone give me any information about dog passports, do the vets issue these when  all his injections and so on are completed, or do we have to actually apply for one, any help would be appreciated.

Your vet in UK will give you the passport with all your dogs relevant info re vaccines.

Any problem get vet to contact Defra.

Don't forget to buy a scalibar collar. It  assists in protecting from leishmaniasis. In fact buy a spare as they are mega bucks here and only last 6 months.

Many thanks floella, I will do that

elaineandchad... A couple of minor points, The UK vet will not routinely issue a pet passport unless you specifically ask him / her for one. Some, if not all UK vets inject against Rabies in two stages, 28 days apart. The validity date stamped in the passport is the date of the second injection.

21 days must elapse between the second injection and the planned date of travel. The microchip has to be inserted before the rabies shot. The validity of a UK injected vaccination is 3 years, When this period elapses subsequent injections if carried out in Spain have a validity of only 1 year, but whereas some UK vets will charge around 40-50 GBP for a rabies shot, in Spain the charge is around 10 Euros...

The rules for entry into Spain are the same as for the UK; you can check the latest situation  via the DEFRA website here. The rules for a compulsory blood test after the rabies injections do not apply if travel is within the EU countries.

http://www.gov.uk/pet-travel-information-for-pet-owners

Cross Europe regulations affecting the issue of pet passports are being introduced on the 29th Dec. 2014 details can be found here..

http://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/340812/pet-travel-scheme-dec-2014-guidance.pdf

Hope this helps...

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thank you so much Foxbat, it's much appreciated

One other point... have you given any thought to how you will transport the puppy to Spain?

Transport by air is extremely expensive, accompanied or not. UK airlines will not allow pets to travel in the cabin and will only carry the pet as airfreight. Not only that but the main carriers like BA and Monarch insist on the use of an airline appointed freight forwarding agent. To move dogs around mainland Europe typically costs aaround 150 Euros but from and to the UK you are looking at at least 850 euros one way...  and that was for a 5Kgm Chihuahua cross. Ludicrous costs considering that most airline charge around 20GBP per kilo for excess baggage...!

Within mainland Europe most airlines will allow small dogs / cats to travel with the owner in the cabin in a suitable IATA approved crate. NOT so, the UK. Some UK airlines will permit travel in the cabin but only on flights wholly within the UK

Generally you can use any UK departure airport that the airline normally uses when sending dogs into Europe, but when the direction of travel is reversed ie., from Europe into the UK you can only use Heathrow, Gatwick Manchester, and Glasgow.  See 'Airport entry points' under the 'Importing Animals into the UK' heading.on the DEFRA website.

Road transport with the owner is by far the most economical way of doing things but its a long trip 2-3 days but there are many dog friendly hotels en route. If you elect to use one of the many commercial European Pet Transport companies  expect to pay around 200 Euros per dog one way, but before selecting one of these companies do your homework; make sure they have the necessary DEFRA and European licences, check the previous customer testimonials... there are a lot of cowboys out there.

Thats it, chapter and verse! Good Luck

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For last 8 years, in my area, rabies jab has been € 25. Plus,  regardless of how Defra state it will work in UK,  in Spain they insist on annual jabs. Better safe than sorry. 

Last year our little UK based chihuahua cross Sophie became due for her rabies update shot... our UK vet charged my wife 45GBP which at the time equated to around 50 Euros... this renewal has a three year validity.

At the same time my six Spanish based dogs also had their annual rabies renewal except that where we live out in the campo, for one day each year, a vet from a nearby town visits the village and sets up a stall in the street... total charge this year for my lot 50 euros and that included a 'free' worming treatment for each of them.

Our normal vet has his clinic about 35Kms away; any visit normally results in a bill much smaller than those in the UK and the meds for routine stuff like antibiotics we get on a free vets prescription from our local pharmacy at a cost of around 2.50 Euros.

We were looking to rehome a dog in the UK who was initially tested borderline Leish positive. The normal treatment for an established case of Leishmaniasis, a daily dose of a med. called Zyloric which costs 3.10 Euros for a pack of 100x100mg. tablets from the local pharmacia with no prescription required. In the UK the cost is around 22.50GBP plus the cost of a vets prescription. Sophie's vet charges 17GBP for the prescription. He said he could provide Zyloric directly from the surgery to order but the cost would be 32GBP per pack of 100x100mg. As it turned out two follow-up  blood tests proved in fact that the dog in question was definitely Leish negative so further 'treatment' was unnecessary. The initial bloodtest was considered to have erred on the side of caution and the Zyloric was prescribed as a precaution... Coffee, the dog concerned in the investigation is still with me in Spain...

Over the years we have seen many examples of what we have termed 'rip-off Britain'

UK veterinary costs are well up on my list!

This message was last edited by foxbat on 17/10/2014.