The attraction people have to their pets is like no other. This is especially true when you find yourself as the proud owner of a dog who is just pure bundles of joy. Nonetheless, if you are looking to go on holiday, you might think that you can no longer take your dog with you.
This couldn’t be further from the truth. While there are a few tricky hurdles for you to overcome, taking your dog abroad is possible. Read on now to learn what must be done.
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Buy a Special Plane Ticket
It’s likely that if you take your dog abroad, you will be traveling by plane. Sadly, the aviation industry doesn’t just let dogs waltz onto the plane for free. Instead, you either have to pay for the dog to go in the hold or, if your dog is small enough, be taken as hand luggage. You should be looking at the individual rules involved with each airline to make sure that the trip is possible.
If you aren’t taking the plane, but you are crossing over a land border, for example, to Mexico or Canada, then you can arrange for a much calmer and smoother land transport instead. For a great dog transport option, you should take a look at the services available.
Get the Necessary Vaccinations
While we see our dogs as lovely pets that only want the best for us, an unvaccinated dog can be a public health risk. This is why, before you take your dog abroad, you should make sure that it is vaccinated against a whole manner of different diseases. They can vary depending on your destination, but as a general rule, your dog should be getting vaccinations against rabies and ringworm, as well as have the DHPP vaccine. Likely, your dog will also need some blood tests as well.
Get a Passport
No, the dogs do not pose for photos, but yes, dogs do need a passport to travel. Dog passports do function rather differently from human passports, however, meaning that they exist more to outline the different vaccinations that they have and where they came from than to prove their identity like a human passport does. The other good news is that you don’t have to queue up at a passport office to get a dog passport; you can acquire one from your vet instead. You should also make sure that your pet is microchipped.
Make Sure You Are Attending to Its Needs
When you are thinking about traveling with your dog, you might be so caught up in all the bureaucracy that you forget about how your dog is feeling. This means that you need to make sure that your dog is calm and rested before a journey as well as well-fed during the journey itself. Otherwise, your dog could find the journey to be a rather distressing experience.
