Hi! 🐾

Ever thought about taking your dog around Europe with you in the car but have no idea where to start? That’s the position me (Andy) and my girlfriend were in a few years ago when we decided we could no longer put our dog (Ted )🐾 into kennels whilst we were on holiday. The internet is a minefield of conflicting advice and you can quickly be put off by the thought of animal health certificates, places to stay and eat, where to find a vet for the return journey etc. This blog has been born out of a passion to make travelling with your dog simple, and we hope the information you find on here helps you towards exploring Europe with your four legged friend.

Thanks for reading 🙂

Andy, Kirsty and Ted 🐾

Latest Blog Posts

How to take your dog to Europe?
Ok, so you’ve decided you’re going to take your four legged friend on holiday to Europe (that’s why you’re here right) but you don’t know where to start? In this post I’ll cover off the key things you need to know before you set off on your travels.

Vaccinations

So the rules rarely change around vaccinations / microchips etc but please always check the latest Government advice before you travel via the Government website –

Taking your pet dog, cat or ferret abroad: Travelling to an EU country – GOV.UK

The vaccination you need in order to take your dog to Europe is rabies, which isn’t generally given as a matter of course in the UK. Most rabies vaccinations are valid for three years and your dogs vaccination card will be updated at the time it’s given. Be aware not all vets gan give rabies jabs, even the big ones. We’re with Vets4Pets and they couldn’t do it so we had to take Ted to another.

Here’s an example Rabies vaccination sticker on your pets vaccionation card.

Animal health certificate (AHC)

At the time of writing (June 25) you still need an animal health certificate to travel with your dog. This is as a result of Brexit and means currently new pet passports will not be issued. As part of recent talks it has been mentioned that the pet passport scheme will be re-introduced in the UK but it could be years before it comes back into force.

An animal health certificate costs around £250 and like Rabies vaccines not all vets will do them, so make sure you check with yours long before you actually need one. The process can be confusing so here are some key facts:
- The document is valid for four months onward travel within Europe (including some non-eu countries such as Switzerland).
- The document is valid for up to 4 months re-entry in to the UK.
- Once you re-enter the UK the document cannot be used again and the next time you travel you will need to re-apply.
- You must get the document within 10 days of travelling, it will not be valid if the issue date on the certificate is before this. We like to get ours around 5 days before which means if we need to travel on a different day we can but it also gives us time to correct any issues.
- Read the certificate carefully. On our most recent certificate the vet forgot to include our house number so we had to get it corrected.
- The document will need to be stamped in the EU for re-entry in the uk. This must be done more than one day but less than 5 days before your proposed re-entry date. I like to have a look at vets in the area where we are staying before we travel and email them to book an appointment (saves any language barrier problems whilst there). Most vets will be familiar with this process.
- Along with being stamped to re-enter the uk your dog will need to be administered with a wormer (that’s what the stamp is for). This is regardless as to whether your dog is already up to date with worming or not.
- When you book your appointment with your vet in the UK you will need to take evidence of their microchip number as well as vaccination history.
- As part of the process the vet will give your dog a once over to check for any potential health concerns with you before commencing travel.
Sandfly protection

I’ll keep this brief as it’s mentioned on the link below but it’s a good idea to make sure your dog is protected from sandfly bites. Vaccinations against these are not typically given in the UK so a disposable collar is normally the best course of action.

Preventing sandfly bites, everything you need to know.

Insurance

Before you travel you should check that your pets insurance will cover a trip to Europe and if it doesn’t consider taking out short term cover. Just like in the UK vets throughout Europe can be expensive

Check the restricted breeds list

Owning a Doberman we know only too well the stereotypes that can be associated with certain breeds and rules in the EU are no different. Just because a dog isn’t on the banned breeds list here doesn’t mean it won’t be somewhere else and vice versa so always check there aren’t any breed specific restrictions in the country you plan to travel to. Most countries, even if you have a “banned breed” will allow short visits for holidays but as I say, check carefully before you travel.

Hopefully you now feel like you have some basic info on how to take your dog to Europe. So what are you waiting for? start exploring!
June 24, 2025
The best driving road in Italy

When we first started driving through Italy it wasn’t what we expected, albeit i’m not sure exactly what we did expect but it was much more built up than the idealistic images you see online would suggest. The roads were congested and compared to France it felt much less relaxed.

When we got to Tuscany I was expecting cypress trees, wineries and rolling hills but again, we didn’t see any of that. The sat nav took us straight to our accommodation with barely a cypress tree or vineyard in sight.

Not one to be deterred and after a day or so of finding our feet in the local area I started looking online for the best driving road in Italy… and exactly where we could find those illusive sweeping Cypress tree lined drives.

Research took me to the below route, 23KM along the SP146 from San Quirico d’Orcia to Montepulciano, stopping at Pienza along the way. 23km of pure bliss. This is where our holiday went from good… to WOW.

” …>

The route takes you through the heart of the Chianti region, known for breathtaking scenery and world class wine production.

The drive will take around 30 minutes and there’s plenty of pull in places along the way to stop for photos, so give yourself plenty of time.

You’ll pass some of the finest looking wineries in the region, most open to the public serving wine by the glass (specific recommendations to follow on another post).

As it turns out the entire Chianti region is absolutely beautiful, we’d just spent the first few days of our holiday looking in the wrong place!

Some photos to wet your appetite..

Just look at those trees… like a scene from the movies.

Feeling on top of the world…..

So what are you waiting for? Start exploring the best driving road in Italy.

June 21, 2025
How to take dog food into Europe post Brexit.
One of our main concerns before our first trip was how to take dog food in to Europe with us. The official rules post Brexit are that you can’t take any meat / dairy based products into Europe including dry biscuits… a bit of a problem… especially if your dog is fed raw like ours right?

What are the options?

Lets look at the options, including the “unofficial” advice that we follow (by no means suggesting you follow what we do but hey, just listing the options right)!
1. You could look at swapping your dog on to a fish / plant based diet before you travel. We use Naturaw food and they do have fish only options. There are of course plenty of other options available in wet / biscuit form but you have to make sure they don’t contain any milk or meat.
2. You could buy food there, afterall we’re not the only country with pet stores and most common brands can be found across France and the rest of the EU. For raw food some pet stores will have a freezer section and certain other frozen food stores such as Picard will stock raw dog food.
3. You can ask your vet to provide you with a letter to say that your dog needs to have a specific food so that you can take it with you. I’ve personally never known anyone do this so I’m unsure how successful it would be or if there are limits to how much you can take.
4. You can do what we do and roll the dice and gamble. We take Ted’s food with us in a 12V fridge freezer (more info on that to follow) and have never been asked if we are carrying meat. We are accepting of the fact that if caught then we’re going to lose it but given how sensitive Ted’s stomach can be our number one preference will always be to give him his normal food.
This is the type of fridge we take with us in the car (obviously not an issue if you have a motorhome or caravan).

*A link to purchase can be found by clicking here

In summary

Moral of the story is don’t panic! Taking dog food with you to europe doesn’t have to be a deciding factor as to whether you take the plunge or not. There are plenty of pet stores in France so whatever happens you have options. Go with option 4 at your own peril but for us it’s the most risky but also best option.

Full advice can be found here –

Taking animal products, food or plants with you in the EU – Your Europe

*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
June 15, 2025
Preventing sandfly bites, everything you need to know.
Alright, full disclosure when we took Ted to the vets to pick up his AHC (animal health certificate) and the vet said “have you thought about preventing sandfly bites” Me and Kirstylooked at each other more than a little bit confused!

I thought i’d researched everything to death before we went on our first trip but it turns out not! Dismissing the vets question on the basis of “oh he’s just trying to sell us something” I went home and did some looking online.

Sandflies don’t exist in the UK (yet) due to our colder climate but do now exist in most other European countries, the ones warmer than ours anyway. Due to this, most dogs in the UK won’t be protected from their bites and will need extra protection.

The problem with sandflies is they cause a disease called Leishmaniasis which cannot be cured causing symptoms such as:
- Weight loss and appetite weakness.
- Lethargy and fever.
- Anemia and blood loss.
- Skin lesions, such as nodules, ulcers, scaling, and hair loss.
- Eye problems and nose bleeds.
- Vomiting and diarrhea.
- Enlarged lymph nodes and spleen.
The disease cannot be passed from dogs to humans or to other dogs.

So what can be done about them?

Sandflies are most prevalent May to September and you can take some practical steps to preventing sandfly bites:
- Avoid wooded / garden areas early morning and night.
- Ensure dogs sleep indoors over night
- Use a mosquito / fly net on windows and doors where possible.
In addition to the above there are collars available on the market aimed at reducing the risk of bites.

We used one from a company called Scalibor but it’s worth researching which collar is best for your dog.

We purchased ours from here – Scalibor Parasite Repelling Dog Collar for Ticks & Sandflies but lots of websites sell them.

Here’s Ted modelling his collar (the white thing round his neck) and as you can see it’s fairly discreet and doesnt bother him at all!

Now… the good news is in the time we’ve spent in Europe we’ve never seen a sandfly or had any issues with them. Plenty of people will also tell you they’ve never even bothered with the collars. However if you are like us and you love your dog the belt and braces approach is to buy one, especially as a lot of them also prevent ticks.
June 11, 2025