Dog on board

Welcome to the forum. Since you live in Germany are you planning to go somewhere specific with your dog?

From your questions it sounds a bit like you are collecting information for an article or blog post?

Not traveled with a pet, my military brother has, and it is a hassle, even though the military took care of it all. There is the possibility of quarantine in some countries, I know his cat had to stay at a location for a couple weeks, I believe the UK. There are a couple people on here who have moved to Europe with a pet, and might have some input, but for a vacation? Don't recall much discussion.

I know several people who have. As long as the dogs have the health record then it's fine UNLESS you try to go to the UK. The big challenge is getting it done in the timeline. Bringing the dog home appears to be much easer.

Lots of airports now have "pet relief areas" I know Atlanta does if you connect there.

Also, book early and let the airline know. there's a limit of pets on any flight so you don't want to discover that you are too late and the spots are all full

https://food.ec.europa.eu/animals/movement-pets/eu-legislation/non-commercial-movement-non-eu-countries_en

It would help if you said which countries are involved, as well as time of year. Different countries and airlines have different requirements. We flew our cats on Air Canada and their website supplied all the information we needed. Be aware that at certain times of year animals may not be accepted due to high heat considerations at destination. Any vet should be able to supply the necessary vaccinations and health certificates. Code share flights- you need to follow the requirements of the airline you will actually fly on.

You could start by checking the websites of the airlines you are likely to be flying on.

I think you may want to look at the different airlines and the different countries you are traveling to. Unless you are moving overseas, I strongly suggest leaving your dog at home. Dogs can be stressed during flights and in new areas. Plus who is going to watch them while you see the sites.

I know most people disagree but I think both dogs and humans would have a better trip.

I am a veterinarian, and it depends on where you are and where you are going. Every country has different requirements, and some of them are very strict. It can take weeks to months to get all the paperwork in order.

It sounds like the OP is NOT traveling but wants to get information about pet traveling for other purposes. Is that correct? If not, then as the others have noted, you should provide us with your travel information so we can give more definite answers.

Thank you for your comments.

I live in New York and plan on traveling next April to Europe. I am considering Germany as a round-trip flight from N.Y. because it is central to the other countries I would like to visit. I wanted to avoid large airport cities such as Paris or Milan. I just found out from a Luftansa agent that Munich is not a good city for pets and advised me to go to Frankfort. I know there is a large pool of people that have taken their pets on vacation to Europe I just want to tap into their experience.
Dog on Board

I would like to add another vote to leaving the pet at home as the choice that shows the most genuine concern about your pet.

What size is your pet?

Listing "Germany" in your profile as your location when you in fact live in NY is confusing

If you haven't seen this --- https://www.howtogermany.com/pages/pets.html -- it may be helpful to alert you to what hoops and hurdles there are to bring a pet to Germany

I am so grateful for the response to my post "dog onboard". I wanted to clarify that I am looking for people that have had experiences that might help me avoid mistakes. What worked and what didn't?

I was lucky to talk to a great customer service agent today at https://www.aphis.usda.gov. This is the agency that processes the health report that all people traveling with pets out of the USA need to have.

I asked the Aphis customer service agent where people fail in the process most often. She was kind to answer my question and told me it is often with the Veterinarian's office. The process starts with finding a vet. The vet verifies that your pet has the proper chip implant ( must have 15 digits to the code). Then the timing of the rabies shot is important. A rabies vaccine must be given at least 21 days before leaving on the plane and the rabies vaccine must be less than 365 days old. Then there is the filing of paperwork with the aphis.usda.gov. This is where the vet's office is involved. The filing is done electronically within 10 days of departure. This is where the agent warned me if you do not monitor the paperwork she has seen the process not work. You must keep the vet involved with the dept of USDA APHIs.

Everyday is a new day. Lots to learn- Dog on Board

I am sorry for the confusion. I did update my profile to say that I live in New York and I am looking to fly to Germany with my dog. I am not writing an article but I am looking to hear from people that have taken their pets to Europe and what experiences they have had. What was good and what just didn't work for them? My dog is well-traveled here in the states. I feel he will be a super good dog on the road and he is up for the trip.

I know a lot of people feel the best place for a pet is at home while they travel. I owned a grooming shop and boarding kennel for 20 years. I agree most pets are happiest when left at home while their human families are away. But that is not true for all dogs. Some dogs must be kenneled in secure places with tall fences. Some dogs are aggressive and need to be kenneled apart from other dogs. Some dogs do really well when they stay in homes with other families that take care of pets. And some dogs do well at home where a pet sitter can come and check in on them and spend the night. But some dogs have extreme separation anxiety. That is the case with my dog, and I would rather take my dog with me and have a life rather than both of us stay at home. Thank you for the feedback I do appreciate the concern.

I went with my dog to Paris and on to Switzerland (hiked in the alps). Loved it!! Walking into CDG not one person even noticed the dog or checked the binder full of paperwork. The people in Paris asked "why would you not bring your dog with you on vacation? NOT "why did you bring your dog". The extra fee for the dog in hotels (when there was one) was E5. She went into all restaurants without problem and got a bowl of water placed under the table before I got the menu. Most restaurants offered her food for free too. Air France asked if she wanted lamb or fish for her meal. Trains in France charged E5 for the dog to ride, however not one train or bus person made me pay. If you can put your dog on your lap in Paris there is no fee on the bus. In Switzerland the train was half price of a human ticket for the dog, they did check. The dog was always given treats by the train staff. All airports are reguired to have a dog potty area, but don't expect the staff to know where it is located, go online and print the information so you can have a security person escort you there and back. I flew back from Switzerland to the USA with a connection in France at CDG, no issue what so ever. There was never any bother looking at paperwork until we arrived back in Seattle (then your treated like you have a bomb). I would provid more info about what documents but it has been about 14 years and I don't remember and it may have changed since then. The airline websites is where the information was provided. As for Germany I have seen cats walking on a leash in the airport, they allow pets in stores and museums. Don't let anybody talk you out of taking your dog to Europe, it was wonderful.

We’ve traveled from the West Coast to Europe many times with my husband’s guide dog for the blind. Is your dog a small dog that can travel in a carrier in the cabin? If not, that could be difficult for your pet.

Since we are in the west, we fly to either Chicago or Newark and spend the night. Then the following day we fly nonstop to a destination. For the EU, you want the health certificate version for the country you enter. The health certificate is accepted in the other EU countries and also some nonEU countries such as Switzerland. It is good for four months from entry.

We limit food and water several hours before the flight. Since a guide dog flies in the cabin and is at my husband’s feet, we bring a blanket for the dog to lie on. The dog is able to hold it for the flight, but we try to limit the flight to no more than 10 hours. That is how we pick where we leave the US and enter Europe.

While dogs are widely accepted, we have had a few incidents where a taxi driver refused to take us because of the guide dog. Unlike pets, guide dogs by law can accompany the blind person wherever the blind person goes on transportation, restaurants, hotels, museums, etc. We’ve also have been refused service in a restaurant, and a hotel did not want to accept us. The law is very clear in the countries we visited that guide dogs are allowed, and there are fines for refusal. I’ve had to show the pertinent law to those that were unaccommodating. Pets are different and they are not necessarily allowed in museums, but we do see pets in many restaurants and hotels.

We have taken the dog’s food with us in unopened bags. There is a limit on how much you can bring into a country. We’ve also researched the type of food that is available where we are visiting and have bought some there to lighten our load.

My husband’s first guide dog made it to 18 countries. His current guide has made it to eight countries. Dogs are a great icebreaker.

We used Air Animal to help with the paperwork when we relocated to Italy a few years ago. They make sure the documents are done right and on time, which is hard to manage yourself unless you can drive them from the vet to a USDA office. The harder part for you might be the required process to bring your pet home again. Will you need a new health certificate issued abroad as those are usually only good for a few days after a veterinary check-up.

For the msot part only certified assisatance dogs are allowed on longhaul fights, Certified means accredited by an unoffoical service dogs organisation not trained by yourself and purchasing a jacket from Amazon.

In Europe only accredited service dogs can travel everwhere with their owner, emotionl support dogs or hoe trained service dogs are not allowed. Properly authorised dogs will have official documentation displayig their status.

I see more and more pet dogs wearing a jacket from Amzon claiming that they're assistance dogs yet they're anything but and more often the =y let the true, fully trained and accredited dogs down.

JC, my husband had to show verification that his guide dog is a genuine service dog for airlines, some museums and some means of transportation in the various countries we visited. We are glad that is done to weed out those taking advantage of the loose standards that are in the US.

Karen from Monterrey https://community.ricksteves.com/users/36682 posted many threads on the Forums about the voyages that her family had with Barley, their Chocolate Lab, moving to and living on Lake Maggiore in northern Italy.

You'll have to do some digging back 4 or 5 years ago but there is a wealth of info there.

By the way they ended up going cross country in the US and then The Queen Mary 2 from New York and European trains.

Many people would rather not have their dog in the hold of the plane when they can't have it in the cabin with them....

One thing to check out is the airline's size restrictions for dogs in the passenger cabin. A friend was moving from the U.S. to the U.K. with her U.S. certified service dog for seizures. Despite the genuine service dog certification, British Air would not allow the dog in the passenger cabin because of its size, roughly 45 lbs.

That's unusual. British Airways doesn't publish a weight limit for service dogs, the only requirement is that it can travel for free if it can fit in the footwell in front of you, if not then you will have to purchase a separate seat for it. A friend of mine recently flew with Easyjet with his husky/alsation cross who is much more that 45lbs/20kg, they placed them in the front row for the extra room. I will clarify with British Airways what their policy is and inform the charity that I work with as quite a few of their dogs are over 20kg.

JC, you are correct that BA did give my friend the option of buying a seat for the service dog (I had forgotten that). I do wonder whether part of the issue stemmed from it being a long-haul trans-Atlantic flight (Seattle-London).