Would you take a hairy puppy on a ferry to the heat?

[Puppalicious]

We’re wondering whether to take our (by then) 7 month old rough collie puppy with us on a french campsite holiday. But she doesn’t like the heat (and we’re in Ireland, it’s really not v hot here!) I heard France is v dog friendly (compared to Ireland anyway) but would it be very restrictive taking her? Would she hate it? Would the ferry be too much? And if it’s not a mad idea, any tips on where to bring a dog and a young family in Brittany or nearby (ideally we’re looking for somewhere warm, not too hot but not too rainy, hoping Brittany in august will be ok!)

I dont take my dogs on the ferry as I am not happy with how they have to travel.

I always use the Eurotunnel which adds miles to our journey but for us works better.

If you are thinking of going in August you need to get your AHC sorted asap. As you need 21 days from rabies jab before you can travel. Cost is about £125-£150 for this without the rabies jab so needs to be costed in.

The puppy can not be left alone so may be restrictive for you and yes it may be too hot which means you may need to alter your plans.

It does depend on what you do on holiday as to whether it will work for you and the puppy. We do/did (!)travel with our dogs but it does change what you can do.

I’ve just looked up how pets have to travel by ferry. The dimensions of the Irish Ferries kennels are appalling and they reserve the right to move your dog into a smaller kennel

’Irish Ferries also reserve the right to optimise the usage of the kennels onboard based on demand and on the size of the pet. Where Irish Ferries judge it appropriate to move a pet to a smaller kennel, no refund will be paid.’

Hiya, I’m not in the UK so euro tunnel no use! I don’t think we need a AHC either? I guess we like to go sight seeing (not too much with 3 small kids), beach and in the campsite we would take it in turns to take the kids to the swimming pool though I guess that could get tedious. And hanging out in cafes and restaurants. Re leaving alone, is that because the campsite is unlikely to allow it? She can be left alone for about 1- 1.5 hours at the minute (weekly I do that to bring kids to training) but might not be so easy on holiday! She’s never been a destructive pup.

Might be kinder to leave her behind if we do go? It’s a long time in a crate.I’ve provisionally booked the biggest but it looks like the dimensions are no bigger than the medium, it’s just taller 🙁

I personally would find a home boarder for the dog. Stena allow dogs in a fabric crate on board, most people seem to let them out of this. This is the case for Cairnryan to Belfast anyway. You have to book though. All seems a bit of a pain with jabs and importing to be honest. Less stressful to leave behind.

I haven’t taken dogs abroad but I have taken them on holiday in the U.K. You can’t take them into (many) places but if it’s warm you can’t leave them alone in the car (too hot) and lots of holiday lets say you can’t leave them in the property alone. I don’t know about campsites. You can always eat outside, so one person finds somewhere shady to sit with the dog while the other goes inside to use the loo or order food. If it’s a rainy day you all get to sit in the car and eat sandwiches. It’s fine with just adults but for you it would mean leaving one adult with the dog while the other takes the DC.

If I had a relative that would look after the dog in their home while I was away I’d go for that over taking your dog with you. You’ll have more freedom and they won’t have to put up with the heat.

She’s starting with a dog walker this Wednesday who sometimes offers home boarding. His dog has cancer and can’t put up with v boisterous puppies but he thought she looked calm enough that it might work. She might actually do ok in a good kennels too as she spent part of her early puppyhood outside and likes being out.
My DH is very keen to take her as she’s part of the family and as it’s only a ferry hop across it looked like a lovely way of bringing her away with us. However I am definitely worried about her big fur coat in the heat (even in Brittany, it will mean we would have to be careful when we went to the beach) and the stress of almost 20 hours of ferry crossing might be terrible!

Can you get her clipped before you go? We have a long haired pup and I've been clipping him because it's been so hot.

Rough collies aren’t meant to be clipped unfortunately!

Hi fellow rough collie owner. We just did half term in our caravan (we tow) and we had a couple of hot days.

One thing to bear in mind is that on any campsite they need to be on a lead at all times. We tied our round the wheel, or on a stake or to something else - wherever she could reach in the shade which was usually under the van.

France - good question because one day we'd love to go back to Europe but I'd probs do it in May. Before Dog, we used to go Brittany a lot and also the Vendee - La Garangoire is fab. Rules are strict so no dogs by the pool, near the pool. I've also not seen dogs inside the restaurant either. We've been in Brittany and La Garangoire when it has been super hot in that sleeping was hard. We've also been when it has been tropical, torrential rain. I think if you could get a cabin with aircon, then that might be ok. Summer will be mega busy too. I do find it a bit of a bind having to take her for pees and poos on the lead and walks - nowhere to let her off.

Sorry, we are doing Uk atm. Sounded like we'd been abroad.

@LostArcher, thanks that’s really useful. Your pup is getting more beautiful by the day! I had assumed she would be allowed in restaurants so that’s a bit limiting if not. We would be intending to get aircon. Yes, it will be super busy that’s true!

If you go, you need a big pitch. French seaside campsites tend to be more cramped and closer together with very little shade. Under statics are yuck and full of crud so unlike our tourer she wouldn't be able to go and get shade.

Look for Castels and Camping sites - usually have big pitches. We've been on a few of them so do ask.