24 Oct 2008 1:38 PM:

Well the journey was very long but fine. We actually had our dog sedated by injection to take the edge off the inital journey which helped as Le Shuttle can be a bit daunting. He was fully conscious though which was nice as he was just sitting in the back admiring the scenery. Anyhow he was a perfect passenger. We stopped off in a hotel on the way to my mothers in Alicante and there wasnt any air con in the room, or if there was it wasnt working, so our dog, bearing in mind he is a bulldog, had terrible trouble with the heat, so we decided to pack back up and vacate the hotel and blast the rest of the journey as he was happier in the car. It was 24 hours door to door and not really reccommended unless you are prepared for it, which we werent.  We had a lovely summer in spain and our dog thoroughly enjoyed the time with us. He did miss the luxury of grass though.  On the way back we were more prepared and decided to drive the whole way doing 2 hours stints at driving each.  We didnt sedate him this time and after the inital 2 hours where he was panting heavily he fell asleep, mind you we left marbella at 7pm so the sun was down by then.  It was a very long journey but luckily the roads were empty and we made amazing time arriving at Le Shuttle 5 hours early! However what with the fire they wouldnt let us on an earlier one so had to wait for 2 hours. Le Shuttle totally freaked the dog out on the way back (remember on the way he was sedated a little) which was a nightmare as there isnt much you can do.  The door to door journey took 26 hours which is such a long time! We were in spain for nearly 2 1/2 months and being honest, i wouldnt do it again.  He loved being with us, however we live in the countryside in the UK and when we got home i realised how much happier he is in the UK. Tips are, i would start the journey in the evening as the roads are empty and you can really push on with the journey. Take a cool box with ice and lots of water. Take lots of treats. Pack a packed lunch box, the service station food is not great and like us i am sure you dont want to leave the dogs in the car alone. Take a towel incase when you stop its raining you can dry the dogs off before getting in the car. Other than that enjoy it. If you fret then they will. It will be fine i am sure of it and remember we were travelling in August which is not really the best time to travel with a bulldog! good luck.

Thread: Any reccomendations or Tips for Driving Dog to Marbella

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24 Jul 2008 7:21 PM:

Thanks Jules1 for the reassurance. I have a british bulldog and they have a real tendancy to overheat which can be life threatening. However after all the pills and ice coolers and goodness knows what else i have bought for the journey, i think it would have been cheaper to charter a private jet! ha ha  We are now stopping off at my mothers in Alicante Area, so like yourself, we are going to try to do it with just 1 overnight stop. I think i am just working myself up about the whole thing but once we are on the road i am sure it will be fine. I just wished we were going tomorrow so i could stop worrying about it.  We were going to book a hotel in advance but i think now we will just blast it and get as far as we can to enable us to get there quicker. I am sure we should find somewhere on the French/Spanish border that accepts dogs.

Thread: Any reccomendations or Tips for Driving Dog to Marbella

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11 Jul 2008 12:13 PM:

Thank you all so much for your kind re assuring words. Buzylizzie we may well take you up on your offer, that is most generous of you.  When we are moved and settled we will be in contact.  Mind you, once we are in Spain, I cant see me wanting to return to England!!!! Unfortunatley business committments will mean the odd trip back but they will be brief.  My mother lives in Costa Blanca so she can help out a bit, but for the odd night it would be lovely if we could count on you locally rather than putting him in a kennel. I have your details now so will be in contact to meet up soon.  Once again thanks so much everyone. 

Thread: Any reccomendations or Tips for Driving Dog to Marbella

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08 Jul 2008 4:44 PM:

Good Point, we are looking to travel over in August, hardly the coolest of months to travel with a British Bulldogs, hense why we are looking at doing the driving over night.

Thread: Any reccomendations or Tips for Driving Dog to Marbella

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08 Jul 2008 4:41 PM:

Thank you bizzielizzie and richy rich for your responses.  The reason for driving at night time is because the sun wont be beaming into the car making it uncomfortable for our dog and when we stop for loo breaks it wont be swealtering heat for him to get out into. Believe me its not by choice i just think it will make his journey more comfortable. Also if its dark he may settle easier and sleep.  I certainly wont have to worry about falling asleep at the wheel, when my bulldog sleeps he snores and thats like a permanant fog horn going off in your ears!!! Thanks for the hotel recommendations i will look those up. Bizzielizzie you have totally put my mind at rest and of course i acknowledge about the heat. Our home will be air conditioned and we have a small garden so he will be just fine when he is out there, its the getting him there that stresses me out at the moment. Thanks once again for the sound words.

Thread: Any reccomendations or Tips for Driving Dog to Marbella

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