Dog Information

How much does it cost to take your pet dog overseas?

I am thinking of moving overseas from the UK to Spain and I really want to take my 2 Staffordshire Bull Terriers with me. Could anyone please tell me what the cost involved would be for this? I've looked into all the requirements to get your pet a passport and so i'm wondering if anyone has actually done these steps and could please tell me the full cost involved in actually transporting a dog (or two!) overseas and all the necessary steps required to be eligible to do it? Thanks :)

Public Comments

1. alot... your better of leaving them at a relative.
2. Sorry I dont know, I've only flew a dog inside the country but I suggest you find out which plane company you are taking and then asking them this question. They'll be able to provide you with all the details you need.
3. You can take pets on your flight with you but you must follow certain rules,ie they must be in a proper pet container and large enough for them to stand up without discomfort, the container must have sufficient water absorbent material on its floor. As for the cost you will have to check with the airline concerned because not all are the same. When I done it with Eva Air the cost is classed as extra luggage, you cant use the weight as normal luggage ie where you are allowed 20 kilos you cant have a case with say 17 kilos and the pet with 3 kilos, it will be regarded as 17 kilos luggage and 3 kilos excess which with eva air is 15 pounds per kilo
4. You need to call the airline, that you wish to fly with. They all have different prices .In my case it was 220 € for each dog , but my destination was the USA and I came from Germany. So your tickets might be cheaper. pls also make sure that staffs are not banned in spain. You also need to put your dogs on heart worm protection and the other dog diseases that are common in warmer countries like spain. You should talk to your vet about that matter. IF Staffis are not banned make sure you have the pedigree with you to proof that they are Staff's.Someone from the cutoms might not know the difference between an English Staffordshire Bull Terrier and an Pit Bull Terrier. I found a link about the bsl in Spain- all bull breeds are considerd dangerous :( http://www.filadog.com/html%20docs/Breed%20Specific%20Legislation/spain_singles_out_breeds_and_dog.htm
5. We moved to Spain from the UK. We drove over with our springer spaniel because we didn't want to leave her or for her to go on an aeroplane. She had to have her passport, microchip and boosters. If you drive through france to spain it will be the cost of petrol, and ferry tickets (I think it's an extra £10 for a dog, not sure but it isn't a lot) and b&bs (most are dog friendly if you ask but will charge 5 euros) If you decide to move back from Spain to the UK, the dog has to have a rabies vaccination, then a few weeks later a blood test and if the results come back positive, it will then be another 6 months before the dog is allowed out of the country. Before being allowed back in the UK, more than 24 hours but less than 48 hours before entering, the dog has to have flea and tick treatment and worming by a registered vet (this cost 75 euros each). The blood tests are expensive. I can't remember the exact price because our vet gave us discounts as we had rescued all our dogs. General notes on living in Spain: We lived there for 3 years and although nice to experience another culture and we made lots of friends, it was heart braking seeing all the animal cruelty. If you are a dog lover (which you seem to be) be prepared to end up with more dogs! We went with one (who sadly passed away at the age of 15) and came back with 4. But these weren't the only ones who passed through our gates. The Spanish seem to love little dogs and aren't too keen on big dogs, usually leaving them at their country houses all year round to guard them. They also hunt with these beautiful dogs called podencos ( we have 2). They keep them in horrible conditions and 'get rid' once they are no good to them. Usually at about 1 year old, they hang them, drown them, burn them and the lucky ones are abondoned with broken legs. I am not trying to put you off, I just thought you ought to be prepared! You can email me if you'd like to know more since we have done all that and I wouldn't like the knowledge to go to waste! Good luck!
6. hi, we drive to spain each year with ar 3 dogs, we get the ferry from dover to calai if you go with p&o ferries its £15 per dog, and we just take our time and drive throu france stopping the night at formular ones, which is like a travel lodge, £1-50 a dog . you can also try seafrance ferries, and if you check them both out on line it tells you the price per person, plus car plus dogs,we came over in march this year with seafrance and booked on line, and for me my husband ,car and 3 dogs it came to £26 total,then there is your petrol or deisel, we stick to the motorways, they call the toll roads, all in all with the ferry, the motorway tolls and our deisel, it was approx £300. which is good. but it also depends which way you want to drive, we go Reims, Lyon,down that side of france.we will be driving back to england next week, till febuary, and then driving back out here, my dogs actually work in benidorm, doing 2 shows a week. hope this has helped you a bit. Jan.
7. I'm afraid it depends on the question if the dog will be transported alone or if the passenger (female ones are especially skilful ) might arrange to accompany the beloved pet by other pets such as Argentine cats or some fish who both (in combination!) will have a sedative,quieting effect especially on dogs who tend to snore. It's a question of acoustics. This has been found by scientists from Dusseldorf School of Veterinary Research. HySt2812 ;)
8. Hi What you need to do is contact a specialist cargo agent. There are a few dotted around the UK. They will be able to give you a price based on the dimentions of the dogs. Some airllines may not take certain types of dogs depending on their own internal policies. If you want to send me an email stating where you are based I will give you contact details of the agent nearest to you. Please be aware this is a very expensive business. It can cost more than your own ticket/tickets. Aunty: GB Airways was taken over by easyjet a while ago and easyjet do not carry any form of cargo.
9. The DEFRA Pet Travel Scheme (PETS) website has all the information you need about the practicalities and eligibility: http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/quarantine/pets/eucountries.htm For the prices you need to contact the vet who will be doing the identification and passport stuff to see what they charge, and you also need to contact ferry or aircraft firms to see what they charge for transport of a pet. Your vet should be able to advise you about health problems to look out for on the Continent, e.g. Leishmaniasis, Canine Heartworm and Rabies. Note that if you decide Spain's not for you and want to move back into the UK, the requirements are stricter: http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/quarantine/pets/procedures/owners.htm For most EU countries, entry requires a wait of at least 21 days from when the rabies vaccination course was completed. If you want to return to the UK, a blood sample must be taken 30 days after the vaccination course was finished. If this blood test shows the vaccination was successful, the dog may re-enter the UK 6 months after the date the blood sample was taken. Note that the vaccination must be kept up to date and if it expires then the whole course must be restarted, blood tests and all! Hope this helps.
10. Depends on how you travel. GB airways charges them as excess luggage and they will travel in the hold. The containers cost quite a bit of money as the dogs need to have quite a bit of room. you will need to phone the airlines individually as each have different requirements. There are also companies that specialise in the transportation of pets, usually by road. You can find them in yellow pages or the Spanish papers. try costa Blanca news or Round Town News both of which are online papers. Your vet will be able to give them all the vacinations and provide you with the relevant paperwork. It's actually quite easy to bring pets over. I brought my dog over to Spain but she is a good traveler.
11. My Mum lives in Spain and visits the UK every summer with her dog. She drives over, up through Spain and France, then catches the ferry over to England. Apart from the pet passport, the dog itself costs practically nothing to come over this way. I don't know about flying, you would have to contact the airlines directly and find out all their requirements and charges.