The ultimate guide to Le Shuttle travels with your Floof
Okay, so you found that amazing gite in the south of France and want to take Floof with you? That’s amazing. And you want to drive there? Even better! Go get that EuroTunnel train booked! But hold on … you don’t actually know what you need to take her with you? Read on to find out about the most (cost) efficient way of bringing Floof with you. This summer. Next spring. Every. Single. Time.*
In short ...
- Check if your dog has a microchip and a valid rabies vaccine. If necessary, get those done at least 21 days before leaving the UK
- Get those documented in an Animal Health Certificate (AHC) in the UK (book an appointment for this as soon as possible), max 10 days before leaving the UK
- Find a vet at your holiday destination that is happy to issue a European pet passport – check on their requirements re: your address etc
- Book an appointment for the Echinococcus multilocularis tapeworm treatment with that EU vet between 120 and 24 hours before re-entering at Folkstone
- At the same time get them to give your dog the rabies jab you need to get a pet passport
- Enjoy your holiday!
There are few things to be mindful of with regard to AHCs. They …
- can only be issued for puppies that are at least 12 weeks old
- are only valid for one single trip
- must be used within 10 days issuing date
- are valid for four months, or when your pet’s rabies vaccine expires – whichever comes first
- can only be used for onward travel through EU – if you’re visiting a country outside of the EU, you will need additional documents
- can only be used for a maximum of 5 pets unless you’re travelling for competitions/training/shows/sporting events
And now in more detail ...
So, let’s look in more detail at saving you some hustle in the future … but note that this blog post is directed at dog owners who don’t have a European pet passport for their dogs yet and who are planning on travelling via the Le Shuttle. Please check what you need for other routes on gov.uk and other sites. And for Le Shuttle’s quick checklist, click here.
If your dog doesn’t have a microchip, that’s easy and quick to change. However, if your dog isn’t already vaccinated against rabies, this needs to be done AT LEAST 21 DAYS PRIOR to your travel. So you need to get to the vet and get that done first. And then you need to find a vet that is able to issue an an Animal Health Certificate (AHC). Not every vet has the training to do so (they need be an Official Veterinarian [OV] with a Companion Animal or Small Animal Official Controls Qualification), so look into this ASAP to find a vet that can fit you in before you go.
Get an Animal Health Certificate (in time!)
In order to enter the EU, you need an AHC. This is provided by your vet in the UK and confirms the dog’s microchip number and that they’ve been vaccinated against rabies. And every time you take Floof with you to Europe, you’ve got to get another AHC. And pay for it. Whether that’s once a year or a dozen times. A European pet passport only needs to be issued once and stays valid for the rest of your dog’s life.
We had to book two months in advance! These slots seem to be booked up quickly and well in advance! Also, and here’s the bad news – AHCs can be rather expensive – we paid something like £200 the last time at our London vet. BUT … this might be the last time you need this! There are also companies that will offer cheaper certificates – provided you get all the paperwork done beforehand and see a vet, usually on your way to the train. Yes, you can save money, but personally, I wouldn’t want to risk anything going wrong (heavy traffic, a vet that falls ill on the day I want to travel …) at the last hurdle. But hey – to each their own!
Returning with your dog
Oh, and you want to come back with Floof as well? The UK requires Floof to get a specific tapeworm treatment prior to re-entering. So you need to book a vet appointment at your holiday destination in any case. This needs to be documented either in an AHC OR a pet passport issued in an EU country for this (pre-Brexit passports don’t count unfortunately). More on the tapeworm treatment a little later on!
The best thing therefore is to get a passport in Europe!
How do you do that? You find yourself a friendly vet in Europe who is willing to issue a pet passport. Do check before you make that appointment what their requirements are though. Some might require you to have proof of residence in their country. However, we noticed that our vet in Germany didn’t ask for proof of a German address for us. In fact, our dog’s German passport has our UK address listed! We also heard that vets in France, Spain and the Netherlands are quite open to UK addresses, but don’t just take our word for it – email or phone the vets and double check!
The [INSERT HOLIDAY DESTINATION HERE] vet will have to give another rabies jab (otherwise the passport won’t help you the next time you want to re-enter the UK), but compared to repeated AHCs, this is a lot cheaper. Back in 2021, we paid around £60 for all three together – the tapeworm treatment, the rabies jab and the passport to our German vet. Prices will probably have gone up since then, but for us, this was definitely worth it as you don’t need another rabies vaccination for a few years and the tapeworm treatment needs to be given every time anyway!
As soon as the 21 days have passed, the passport can be used to re-enter the UK – this is why you need the AHC to re-enter this time. But for the next journey you’re all set now! So you can wave bye bye to repeated AHCs!!
Tapeworm treatment
Coming back to that tapeworm treatment … a vet must treat your dog for tapeworm and record it in the pet passport or health certificate every time you want to bring it back via the EuroTunnel. The treatment must have been given no less than 24 hours and no more than 120 hours (5 days) before you reach Folkstone. And yes, they do check on the timing, so make sure it is at least 24 hours since Floof got their tablet or jab!! Your dog can be refused entry or put into quarantine if you do not follow this rule.
And of course, there are exceptions to this rule – you don’t need a tapeworm treatment if you’re coming directly to Great Britain from Finland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Malta or Norway. But since this is for those of you travelling via the EuroTunnel you’ll have been in France and therefore need the treatment. Even if you haven’t gotten out of your car since Finland!
Again, it’s best to check with the vet you want to use in your holiday destination which treatment they would use as … the treatment must be approved for use in the country it’s being given in and it must contain praziquantel or an equivalent proven to be effective against the Echinococcus multilocularis tapeworm (yes, they’re really strict about this – your normal worming tablet won’t cut it here, so make sure the vet is using the correct stuff!). To make sure you’re all set for your re-entry at Folkstone, check the vet has put the following details in the ‘Echinococcus treatment’ section of your dog’s pet passport or health certificate: the name and manufacturer of the product, the date and time they treated your dog and their stamp and signature.
In order to keep your dog calm throughout the process we recommend feeding our Chill Pill biscuits in regular intervals. And we suggest the hoomans buy fantastic travel sweeties to do the same!