France with dog

[KentLife01]

Hello, I just wondered if people have any experiences to share on travelling to France with a dog. We are in the very early stages of thinking about doing this for next year. Ideally, we want to find somewhere picturesque a few hours drive from Calais or Bolougne. We don't know a great deal about France and previously have only gone on day trips or have fliwnnto Poitiers a few times in the past. We live about an hour away from Dover and Folkestone so we don't want the trip to be unnecessarily long for the dogs sake but don't want to stay anywhere commercial. Would be interested to hear what areas of France you consider good options and why. Additionally, what documentation is required for your dog to travel? Many thanks in advance.

You'll need an Animal Health Certificate which you can get from Abbeywell Vets in Folkestone plus an up-to-date Rabies vaccination.

Thank you. That's very helpful.

Sorry I couldn't help re destinations i've only been to Paris and the South of France! Bumping for you!

Also forgot to say there has to be 21 day window between the Rabies vaccine being administered and issue of the AHC. And the AHC can only be issued somewhere within 10 days of your departure date.

Never taken a dog abroad but have been to France a lot - they bloody love dogs - they are everywhere.

You will also need to visit a French vet prior to your return and get a tapeworm treatment for your dog .It should be recorded on the Animal Health Certificate . IIRC between 1 to 5 days before arrival back in England.
UK Government website is helpful and kept updated.
Eurotunnel have a dedicated pet check in at both Folkestone and Calais.
Have a lovely time.

Thank you both so much for the information. Really useful. I'll be making sure this is all in place. The only concerning thing is neither of us speak enough French to explain to a French vet what we need. I will have a look at a translator in the meantime and/or scrub up on my French!!

Dont go to Folkestone - they’ll charge you an arm and a leg!
My local vet does the paperwork for about £80. Ring around, as some charge up to £250!

Again with the return wormer - go to a local vet where you’re staying, not in a tourist trap place and you’ll get a much better price.

it’s very straightforward really. I’ve done it about 4/5 times since the switch from passports to the health cert.

Don’t go to Folkestone - they’ll charge you an arm and a leg

WTF is this poster talking about - Abbeywell charge £99 first time, £69 for a repeat, one of cheapest in country and they are doing them so often that the tunnel staff know they will be correct.

I can’t believe anyone thinks that’s expensive, our local ones wanted £300+!

@KentLife01 - if you can find cheaper, fair enough, but Abbeywell are recommended by many. Given that you are local, you can maybe use them for rabies vacc, but if you want that with a local vet, you just send proof via email to Abbeywell. They run a very slick operation, we have used them twice now.

If you are on Facebook, there is an Animal Heath Certificate group which is helpful.

Re tapeworm treatment, You don’t need to speak French, virtually all French vets speak English and know exactly what is needed re the tapeworm treatment. Once you know where you are going, ask on here for recommendations of vets. There is also a map of recommended French vets, I think it’s linked from Caravan club site, will try and send it to you.

Totally agrree re Abbeywell - I work at a vets and we charge £175! It used to be £144.

Don't worry about not being able to speak much French - my vet here in France always tells me that most vets in France will understand a bit of English as it just goes with the territory (according to her there is far more research in veterinary science coming from the UK and US so reading in English is a must). To be honest, all you need to ensure is that they stamped the right page and written the right date

Have a look at Chez Pouvet in Alloue which is just South of Poitiers near Confolon. Its my sisters. She has 3 gites, a swimming pool and a field which the dog can run round till it's heart content. The village has no big facilites, but plenty nearby if you have a car. Some lovely walks in the area too. It is beautiful and she bends over backwards to help her guests. It may be a bit further than you want to drive, but ''few hours' covers a long distance.

We have just got back last night from honfleur..a site called Briquerie which was really lovely and dog friendly.
One thing to consider is you have to find dog friendly places. We like beaches but not many were dog friendly at this time of year. I was expecting to have to find somewhere to wait with dog ,while dh and dd had beach time but actually found it was very relaxed and was able to sit at the back of the beach with dog on a lead.
Another consideration for us was how to get there. I didn't like the idea if leaving our dog in our campervan during the crossing but did in the end for 1.5 hours and she was ok but not too keen. Tunnel would be a better option as dog can be with you the whole time.