Hi, we are new to the site and just thought we would share our experience of taking our son's dog abroad for the first time, we took her for her rabies jab last October as we wanted to travel in January, a month later she had the blood test,then got the pet passport in January at her check up. All was well so we headed to Spain via Eurotunnel which was great, they don't look at the pet passport or the dog. Returning to UK in March we took her for the worming tablet [44 euros] the vet wouldn't use the tablet we had brought,she supposedly checked the passport and put information on her computer as she said they were very keen for everything to be correct at the pet passport place at Eurotunnel. When we arrived at Eurotunnel the official there told us we couldn't travel as the date for the chip insertion was the same date that the passport was created [ Vets for Pets fault] so even though I had a certificate on email to prove the correct chip date she sent us into Calais for a new one, strangely they only took cash at this vets. We just thought it would be useful information for anybody planning to take their pet to check and double check.
Taking your dog abroad
- Thread starter jane1961
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Hi and welcome to FUN. 
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Which vet did you use we hen abroad
Sorry I should have said WELCOME from Cornwall
We've taken our dogs several times to France & used 2 different vets , 1 in Forges les Eaux 40 euro's ,
the other one in La Mailleraye sur Seine quite a few times he charged 15 euro's ( now 15.50euros ) both places had no problem using our pills obtained from our local vets in there original packets.
Sorry I should have said WELCOME from Cornwall
We've taken our dogs several times to France & used 2 different vets , 1 in Forges les Eaux 40 euro's ,
the other one in La Mailleraye sur Seine quite a few times he charged 15 euro's ( now 15.50euros ) both places had no problem using our pills obtained from our local vets in there original packets.
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ambulancekidd
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I assume you requested that the dog was titre tested? Otherwise, from my memory there was no need for a blood test after the rabies jab.
Did the french vet give a reason for not using your tablet? We have taken our dog away for years and have never had a vet refuse to use the tablet that we provide.
It sounds like you may have had some unlucky experiences with your dog holiday. Hope things are easier in future for you.
Did the french vet give a reason for not using your tablet? We have taken our dog away for years and have never had a vet refuse to use the tablet that we provide.
It sounds like you may have had some unlucky experiences with your dog holiday. Hope things are easier in future for you.
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Hi and thank you for your welcome
we had to have a blood test done because of Brexit, it is a requirement, the vet we used in France was in a place called Condette near Hardelot plage, she said the tablet wasnt right although we bought one for the right weight dog, we were unlucky and the dog [Dolly] has now gone back to our son
who had to return from travels in Australia, may convince Hubby to get our own dog
we had to have a blood test done because of Brexit, it is a requirement, the vet we used in France was in a place called Condette near Hardelot plage, she said the tablet wasnt right although we bought one for the right weight dog, we were unlucky and the dog [Dolly] has now gone back to our son who had to return from travels in Australia, may convince Hubby to get our own dog
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Hi we have taken dogs many times, I think you were unlucky, we have never paid that much.
I have no idea how it will work next year, and as we are not going this year we let Dolly's (dog) passport expire
I have no idea how it will work next year, and as we are not going this year we let Dolly's (dog) passport expire
Nomadian
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The worming tablet must have praziquantel in it for it to be accepted, not all do.
Several years ago we had similar experience at the tunnel, vet did not sign one page, girl at the dog place sent us to a vet in Calais, the receptionist signed the book and charged €10, no vet in attendance, I wonder if dog check in and receptionist at vets have a fiddle going for any small mistakes on the passport 
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In a Pickle
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Hope you are able to give a home to a rescue dog, there are so many needing good people like you.
DBK
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Welcome!
The problem you experienced is not the fault of the French vet (in case you thought it was ) as the problem stems from much earlier and possibly with the UK vet who gave the dog the rabies jab. A dog must be micro-chipped before or at the latest at the same time as the rabies vaccine is given otherwise there is no record tying evidence of the vaccination to a specific dog. If the chip wasn't inserted until the day the passport was later issued then this is the problem. It is of course quite possible the dog was already microchipped when vaccinated and an error was made when the passport was made out. If this is the case I suggest the dog returns to the vet and demands a new passport, a human may be needed to act as an interpreter. 
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The most we have paid is €25 for two dogs with the vet supplying the tablets. I suggest you shop around a bit. The tablets are usually cheaper in France so no point taking your own.
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Hello, thanks for the gen, and
Hi when we arrived at the pet reception for the first time (2 years ago) after making sure the vets we visited in France filled in our dogs passport correctly to the best of our knowledge as we had been told they don't let mistakes go. Passport filled out correctly by French vet but our vet back home had missed a 1 or a 0 off the microchip number against the number filled into her passport. So would not let her travel on this. The receptionist arranged for us to go to a vets in Calais, where we was allowed to purchase a French passport for her and the vet there copied over all the details. Strangely enough only took cash 50 euros.
All said and done was happy to get it sorted for only 50 euros and still get the original train we was booked on to.
Vet back in UK also took money off our next vets bill for there mistake.
Only problem now is the dog is the only one lucky enough to have a European passport !!!
This happens to be my first post on here also so welcome and Hello
All said and done was happy to get it sorted for only 50 euros and still get the original train we was booked on to.
Vet back in UK also took money off our next vets bill for there mistake.
Only problem now is the dog is the only one lucky enough to have a European passport !!!
This happens to be my first post on here also so welcome and Hello
We took our Pooch to France for first time last year. Arrived at vets in Sarlet to get wormer & health check when became apparent our UK vet had put one incorrect digit from microchip number. The lovely vet made us out a French passport and wrote us a letter for pet passport control advising she believed it to be a genuine mistake. They charged us about €60. Over the weekend before traveling I managed to find an online DEFRA form (which our vet did not find) that mentioned administrative errors on pet passport such as microchip number errors. I emailed the form to our vet whom completed it and emailed back, She also did a letter saying she had made a mistake with the number, on the letter she noted the incorrect and then correct number. I got last campsite to print documents off for me for early crossings next day. The French officers were not interested in what our vet had provided, in fact he chucked her letter to one side saying it wasn’t acceptable as there were two numbers on the letter!!! After umming and arrring, stopping to kiss his colleague who had just arrived for work, he gave us the ‘all clear’ to cross. I nearly cried with relief and he took my hand with a smile to say all was OK, at this point my husband said he was also very relieved so the officer held his hand too .... we all laughed. Our vet was equally relieved as she was waiting for me to text her before 6am to let her know if we were through!!! It was a horrible experience though as we had travelled to Europe every summer for many years with no experience of the pet passports as this is our first rescue dog, she suffers from separation anxiety and we had visions of them not letting her back into the UK. Your mind works overtime when decisions are out of your control, my heart was breaking at the thought of causing her any further distress in her young life. Our fault too, I had double checked everything just not her microchip number!! DOH!! We now have new UK passport with all correct info on. Moral of story, double check everything!!
As we’re hoping to resume European travel next year we thought we may as well get the rabies antibody test done whilst her annual boosters were being done a few weeks ago, (beat the rush next year). I foolishly didn’t ask the price just had it in my mind it was about £60 (don’t know why!) sadly I was wrong - bill arrived £130 for the test, £15.50 to take the blood & £15.50 to send to the lab......!!!
£130 just for the test is definitely overcharging by your vet. There are only two labs in the U.K. who are authorised to do the titre test. The one in Scotland last year charged £55 + VAT. The other one didn’t have its charges in line.
We took our Pooch to France for first time last year. Arrived at vets in Sarlet to get wormer & health check when became apparent our UK vet had put one incorrect digit from microchip number. The lovely vet made us out a French passport and wrote us a letter for pet passport control advising she believed it to be a genuine mistake. They charged us about €60. Over the weekend before traveling I managed to find an online DEFRA form (which our vet did not find) that mentioned administrative errors on pet passport such as microchip number errors. I emailed the form to our vet whom completed it and emailed back, She also did a letter saying she had made a mistake with the number, on the letter she noted the incorrect and then correct number. I got last campsite to print documents off for me for early crossings next day. The French officers were not interested in what our vet had provided, in fact he chucked her letter to one side saying it wasn’t acceptable as there were two numbers on the letter!!! After umming and arrring, stopping to kiss his colleague who had just arrived for work, he gave us the ‘all clear’ to cross. I nearly cried with relief and he took my hand with a smile to say all was OK, at this point my husband said he was also very relieved so the officer held his hand too .... we all laughed. Our vet was equally relieved as she was waiting for me to text her before 6am to let her know if we were through!!! It was a horrible experience though as we had travelled to Europe every summer for many years with no experience of the pet passports as this is our first rescue dog, she suffers from separation anxiety and we had visions of them not letting her back into the UK. Your mind works overtime when decisions are out of your control, my heart was breaking at the thought of causing her any further distress in her young life. Our fault too, I had double checked everything just not her microchip number!! DOH!! We now have new UK passport with all correct info on. Moral of story, double check everything!!
As we’re hoping to resume European travel next year we thought we may as well get the rabies antibody test done whilst her annual boosters were being done a few weeks ago, (beat the rush next year). I foolishly didn’t ask the price just had it in my mind it was about £60 (don’t know why!) sadly I was wrong - bill arrived £130 for the test, £15.50 to take the blood & £15.50 to send to the lab......!!!
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If it makes you feel any better I paid £164 for the titre procedure.
We took our Pooch to France for first time last year. Arrived at vets in Sarlet to get wormer & health check when became apparent our UK vet had put one incorrect digit from microchip number. The lovely vet made us out a French passport and wrote us a letter for pet passport control advising she believed it to be a genuine mistake. They charged us about €60. Over the weekend before traveling I managed to find an online DEFRA form (which our vet did not find) that mentioned administrative errors on pet passport such as microchip number errors. I emailed the form to our vet whom completed it and emailed back, She also did a letter saying she had made a mistake with the number, on the letter she noted the incorrect and then correct number. I got last campsite to print documents off for me for early crossings next day. The French officers were not interested in what our vet had provided, in fact he chucked her letter to one side saying it wasn’t acceptable as there were two numbers on the letter!!! After umming and arrring, stopping to kiss his colleague who had just arrived for work, he gave us the ‘all clear’ to cross. I nearly cried with relief and he took my hand with a smile to say all was OK, at this point my husband said he was also very relieved so the officer held his hand too .... we all laughed. Our vet was equally relieved as she was waiting for me to text her before 6am to let her know if we were through!!! It was a horrible experience though as we had travelled to Europe every summer for many years with no experience of the pet passports as this is our first rescue dog, she suffers from separation anxiety and we had visions of them not letting her back into the UK. Your mind works overtime when decisions are out of your control, my heart was breaking at the thought of causing her any further distress in her young life. Our fault too, I had double checked everything just not her microchip number!! DOH!! We now have new UK passport with all correct info on. Moral of story, double check everything!!
As we’re hoping to resume European travel next year we thought we may as well get the rabies antibody test done whilst her annual boosters were being done a few weeks ago, (beat the rush next year). I foolishly didn’t ask the price just had it in my mind it was about £60 (don’t know why!) sadly I was wrong - bill arrived £130 for the test, £15.50 to take the blood & £15.50 to send to the lab......!!!
I’m sure it can be gained cheaper but the vet has to take the blood, and submit it, it’s not something anybody can do.
But in the original post I was surprised that their vet had led them to believe it had to be done due to brexit, where the truth is that no one knows yet.
Suppose your right, 7+ years of education has to be recouped somewhere!!! We did however get a free appointment earlier this year when she went in for an injury - after looking at her notes the vet (different one to passport one) noted she’d got a passport and asked if we’d enjoyed taking her abroad - hubby didn’t need a further invitation to give his opinion on the passport debacle........ he went to pay after the appointment to be told “no charge”
.
If nothing is agreed, the UK would be treated as a 3rd country and the titre test would be required and as the process can be up to 4 months, getting it done early is a good idea. This is the same procedure we went through at the beginning of the Pet Passport scheme, so nothing new to us.
That’s the point. I doubt the procedure was cheap (as written above, mine was £164) so the vet needs to explain that having it done may or may not, need to be done. If the op was just taking her sons dog the once then it walks have been a very expensive option.
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