Brittany Ferries & Dogs? (1 Viewer)

[EuroTrotters]

Morning,

Whilst replying to some topics on this and other forums, seems a lot of travellers like to take their pets, mainly dogs.

We were a pet Family, dogs and cats. And when we had dogs, we could not take them abroad at the time as the Pet scheme did not exist. The cats were fed & cared for by neighbours and family. It killed me to put the dog(s) in kennels whilst we went to France in the summer for a month.

But, if we did take dogs, I am not sure how I feel about the Pet Scheme and how we would travel. As a great fan of Brittany ferries Spanish routes. I can't say I would take a dog, either by Cabin or Kennel.

As we now spend a lot of time travelling on the continent, I decided, no more pets. I now think it unfair to burden other people with them, put them in kennels/catteries and it is, from how I see it, an arse in the world to take them to the continent for a short break.

I am now informed that we may have to adopt Malcolm the Pug from our Daughter who is off back to the Middle east. Why they bought the fecking thing in the first place is beyond me. But, I don't want to see him be sent away to unknown masters and I said from day one, I could not let a healthy but otherwise fruit loop dog be put to sleep.

What I have witnessed on Brittany Ferries, in particular Cap Finistere, Is that many dawg owners flout the rules set out by the Shipping company and not enforced by the crew.

These include:

1, Dog owners who take their (usually well behaved) Dog into forbidden areas of the ship
2, Owners who let their animals urinate outside the excercise areas
3, Owners who's pets urinate in the dog area that do not clean up afterwards.
4 Dog owners who take their dogs on/off leads through the kids play areas

Some of Cap Finisteres outer decks now have a permanent stench like sulphur.

Mrs TM witnessed a woman allowing her dog to pee up the door entrance to an inside deck. An area where dogs should not be walked. My Wife asked was she going to carry on letting the dog do this and was she going to get it cleaned.
The woman rolled her eyes and eventually dragged the pooch away.

I have seen worse but won't go on too much, you get the picture?.

What do other dog owners do? Think ? Feel? Travel?

TM

 

[wanderer]

I have used both the kennels and the pet friendly cabins on Brittany and found the cabins to be far better for us .
When we used the kennels all dogs should be muzzled and on a lead in the exercise area . There was another traveller who had an alsation who neither had it muzzled or on a lead and when my wife had our lab out it took a crafty bite at him which the owner ignored . The next time i went up and sat in the corner of the exercise area when the alsation and owner arrived he immediately took no notice of his dog which then came towards us , i challenged the owner by asking him to keep his dog away and to put it on a lead , his reply was that his dog was friendly after a row he went to go and as he reached the entrance where his dog attacked another dog that was coming in . There are rules in place but some seem to think they dont apply to them.

Another bee in my bonnet is owners who dont keep their dogs on a lead in campsites against the rules thinking their pooch is well behaved but it gives other owners the green light to do the same and i have seen dogs crapping on other pitches not cleared up and some awful dog fights

 

[sdc77]

I have used both the kennels and the pet friendly cabins on Brittany and found the cabins to be far better for us .
When we used the kennels all dogs should be muzzled and on a lead in the exercise area . There was another traveller who had an alsation who neither had it muzzled or on a lead and when my wife had our lab out it took a crafty bite at him which the owner ignored . The next time i went up and sat in the corner of the exercise area when the alsation and owner arrived he immediately took no notice of his dog which then came towards us , i challenged the owner by asking him to keep his dog away and to put it on a lead , his reply was that his dog was friendly after a row he went to go and as he reached the entrance where his dog attacked another dog that was coming in . There are rules in place but some seem to think they dont apply to them.

Another bee in my bonnet is owners who dont keep their dogs on a lead in campsites against the rules thinking their pooch is well behaved but it gives other owners the green light to do the same and i have seen dogs crapping on other pitches not cleared up and some awful dog fights

Avoid all that and get the tunnel

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[wanderer]

Avoid all that and get the tunnel

I do when i can depends how much time i have to get to Almeria and what time of the year . France can be cold and miserable in winter .

 

[bellabee]

Some dogs seem to take to it better than others. We put ours in the on-board kennels, when we did the crossing this spring. He wasn't exactly 'happy', but neither was he distressed - although some dogs were.
We didn't suffer or witness any anti-social behaviour by other dogs or owners, and we spent a fair bit of time on deck with our dog, so that our dog didn't have to stay in the kennel for too long.
We felt that it was only for 24 hours, and something that our dog could well endure, although I'm sure it wouldn't have been his first choice!
This year, we've booked early and got a pet-friendly cabin, which I think will be much better, and I don't anticipate that he'll be at all bothered.
Depends on how sensitive your dog is.

 

[DBK]

We took our aged Jack Russell on the Santander ferry last year and put him in the on-board kennels. As above, it wasn't an experience he enjoyed but he was fine afterwards. We muzzled him at first but noticed almost no one else did and we didn't see any problems so we didn't bother on the return leg. We were on the Pont Aven which has a dedicated "dog deck" where the kennels are. The system seemed to work and even if you could get a pet friendly cabin, they book up far in advance, I am not sure I would want to use one as I fear they probably stink of other peoples' dogs - but I may be wrong as we haven't tried them but the idea of a rough crossing with alien dog smells is not attractive!

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[Geejay]

Agree with most of the answers above. @ DBK, have used the pet friendly cabins and no sign of smell, as there are no carpets, and you have your own exercise area. Have used the kennels as well without problem. I'm afraid there is always someone who thinks the rules don't apply to them or their dog, but no serious problems so far. A complaint to the ship's crew if there is a serious problem might be a good idea. Muzzling seems to be universally ignored, though we always carry one.

Our main gripe is dog owners who bag the dog's poo and then leave the bag on the ground, on a wall, on a tree etc. How dumb is that?? Stick-and-flick is a better solution in the countryside where there is rough ground as the poo will soon disappear, while the plastic bag will remain for years.

 

[swidy]

no bad dogs just bad owners

 

[Darren]

How many dogs are allowed in the pet friendly cabins?

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[Geejay]

How many dogs are allowed in the pet friendly cabins?

On Cap Finistere 2 small/medium dogs/pets; Etretat is 1 pet. Best phone or Live Chat if that's going to be a problem.

 

[Darren]

Thanks for that I have two spaniels so should not be a problem.

 

[peter21]

We took our two border terriers....the Kray twins...over on the Brittany Ferries Portsmouth to Caen link then ambled down France and across Spain to the Med. Very civilised 6 hr or so crossing and the Krays just slept in the motorhome. Its a bit dearer than the tunnel or Dover Calais ferry but you avoid the Calais problems and land a bit closer to Spain. We are in the frequent traveller club so all crossings after the first get about a third off the cost.

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