Has anyone brought their dog for extended trips to France?

I keep up with Untours. One of their staff people went to France (Vence, as I recall) for an extended stay and took her dog. She blogged about it. You can probably find it on their website.

The rules: https://ec.europa.eu/food/animals/pet-movement/eu-legislation/non-eu-imports_en

Used the search box here. About a year ago someone took their dog for an extended stay of about a year or so. Lots of docs and vet checks but it wasn't as bad as I thought it could be. Just be prepared.

hey hey devin
barleygrandadventures.com is a blog by karen, a poster here on the forum. she they took they dog barley to italy for about year and half.
on her blog she writes about taking their dog and what it entails. don't know about you just for 2 months. i'd research what paper work you need and what the french govenment's rules and laws are, plus the airlines and hotels/apt you'll be staying at.
make sure you read and understand it all. i know there's paper to fill out. good luck
aloha

We travel from the US to various European countries with a guide dog. I start with the USDA website to see what is needed to import a dog from the US to the country I am entering. You can get that info for France here: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/pet-travel/by-country/eu/pettravel-france. You basically need your dog to be microchipped with an ISO compatible microchip, then have your dog vaccinated for rabies, take your dog to a USDA authorized vet and obtain an international health certificate, then have it endorsed by the USDA office for your region. The certificate is good for four months. The certificate must be obtained within 10 days of arrival.

You also need to check with the airlines on their requirements for transporting a pet.

Devin, I hope you, your wife, and your chien have a great time!

So does Elvis the Corgi say to every other pooch he meets, “You Ain’t Nothin’ But a Houn’ Dog?”

Karen and her husband brought Barley over on the Queen Mary 2. They did not want to risk putting him in cargo in a plane.

I brought my dog to Amsterdam 2018. Where we now live. He was small enough to go under the seat in the cabin. Still it was a stressful trip. We flew out of Detroit. It was a non stop. 7+ hours.

Getting all the paperwork for my dog was not particularly hard. Just read the rules carefully. The most difficult part was complying with 10 day window before the flight. The paperwork had to be sent from my USDA approved vet to a USDA APHIS office to be signed off by their vet. No faxing! My closest office was 2 states away, so the forms had to be overnighted and then overnighted back to me. I received them with just 2 days to spare.

That was 2 years ago. Unless your dog is used to being flown, I would think long and hard about taking him.

Another element to consider is that to return to the USA, your pet will need a current Rabies shot administered no fewer than 30 days before departure and a health certificate issued by a French vet within 10 days of departure.

Have you gone on extended trips with your dog before? I ask because my observations are that this can somewhat limit your experiences. Are you planning to stay in one location and “live like a local” or do you have a sightseeing itinerary planned?

I understand the dilemma of being gone so long from your dog, but will the limitations of what you can do (or that one person must stay with dog) outweigh your pleasure in having Elvis along? Only you can decide, but please really think this through.

If you choose to fly, please be considerate of the passengers around you and leave your dog in his carrier per airline regulations.

thank you all for these very helpful responses. These questions are exactly way we're thinking this over and making sure if we do bring elvis, that we are prepared as possible. "Badger" thank you for the link. And "Princess pupule, i will for sure check out that link. it sounds very helpful.
I didn't know and forgot (which is why im posting here) about the USA requirements for re-entry (if we decide not to stay! :) )
I guess my next steps are to make sure the dog's microchip is USDA approved.

These are all very helpful replies. Thank you and elvis thanks you! i wish i could post a picture here of me.

if we decide not to stay

so is the 2 month trip a scouting trip for a relocation?

If you have not traveled with your dog before, and I mean multiple days away from home not just a drive to the park, please do that before attempting this journey. I discovered that my last dog hated travel when we went on an overnight driving trip. He sat up and howled all night in the hotel and then refused to have anything to do with us for about a week after returning home.

Future travels were always without the dog. He was sad to see us go and overjoyed when we returned, but seemed to be much happier to not spend the night in a hotel. Our neighbors were happy to feed and walk him while we were gone and the dog was happy with that arrangement as well.

One can't just decide to stay. After 90 days as a visitor, you have to leave. If you want to stay longer or plan to relocate, you need to obtain a resident visa from the French Consulat in Los Angeles. You can't get it after you're already in the country. You need to go with it in hand or return to the States and apply.

Different airlines have different requirements and limitations for taking pets. The list at the link below from last summer is a start but no doubt needs updating, and you'll need to verify all the details before choosing an airline for the 3 of you.

8 Airlines That Allow Pets In-Cabin & What You Need to Know Before You Fly

Just to add. The “if we decide not to leave” was a joke. We’re quite aware of immigration issues and visas. I do appreciate the input and feedback. This is such a great forum and website! My wife and I have taken Elvis (our dog) on many trips. he loves travel. we even take him on boat rides. None of our trips have been as far as what we’re currently thinking about. Which is why we’re putting some serious research Into this. We’ve chosen France as our destination since my wife is pretty fluent in French. Just not sure which part of the country, although we’re thinking in the southern part

Sorry to hear you were joking and aren’t thinking of staying longer. Elvis will be treated like the king he is; be ready for people chatting with you. The French love dogs.

We had friends with a house in the Loire Valley who flew their large dog over every year in cargo, but only on a direct flight. At least one family member would be on the same flight. Hopefully, your guy is smaller and if his weight is low enough he might fit in the cabin.

The south can be very hot in summer, but spring and fall are nice, April, May, September, October. It’s called silver season because the retirees are letting off steam on vacation without responsibilities to grandkids or adult children. Wahoo!

Reminds me of a fun travel diary of a guy who two-wheeled around France with his dalmatian. Spotted in France.

Good to hear Elvis is a travel dog. I have always wanted to take my dogs(s) with me when I went on a trip. They didn't agree with that. Guess they have to be used to it from a young age.

devin,

jvb's summary is the most detailed and accurate, based on what we went through when we brought our cat to live with us in France in 2014. One word of warning: after going through the meticulous preparation and documentation, and as you near the passport check station critter in tow and documents at the ready, don't be surprised if the gendarme just looks at your passport and waves you on, caring not a whit that you have a pet with you.

I'm not saying that will happen, but it can happen. It happened to us.

As with many things when dealing with French bureaucracy, don't just prepare with documentation. Over prepare. But then don't be surprised if many of the things on the list of "required items" aren't even looked at. It's commonplace.

Wow. Thanks Sammy. Good heads up. Where did you live in France?

The incident I described happened at CDG in July 2014. We already had been in France for several months but traveled back to the U.S. to sell our house and pick up the cat from our son, who had taken care of it, and spoiled it, while we were away.

We live in France still, and probably will for the foreseeable future. The cat is still with us, but the old lady is getting, well, old.

Edit. Duh. I saw "where" but my brain registered "when."

As I noted above, our pet entered through CDG and then we traveled by train to Lyon. Several years later, we now live north of Lyon.

Ron and Sammy, the only countries that scrutinized our paperwork were the Republic of Ireland and Portugal. We were directed to the vet at the airport.

The woman who runs the website below has a blog on it and she took her dog to Paris twice. I actually met them once. (She’s a cute little dog ) . But she had some good information - she even got a passport for her dog https://www.millielarue.net/