How to Travel With Your Dog Internationally

By far my most asked question around our extended trip to Europe. Hi, from Milan at the moment! It has been around our dog. Specifically, how we traveled to Europe with him. I’ve gotten this question so many times. It warms my heart to see how many of you consider your furry best friends to truly be part of the family! I wanted to share our exact process and steps we took to bring Puppers with us to Europe.

How to Travel With Your Dog Internationally

When we were planning to stay in Europe for an extended period of time (several months vs. the usual week or two we go away for), we knew we couldn’t leave him behind. The thought of leaving him with a sitter or our family was honestly unfathomable. So, I immediately began researching how we could safely and legally bring him along. Before I started my research, my initial thinking was this has to be practically impossible. But when we were in Italy for our wedding back in June, my interest was piqued when I saw a dog get off our flight in Rome from the states. I knew it was possible, I just wasn’t sure how difficult it would be.

Thankfully, depending on where you are traveling to (requirements vary by country), traveling with a pet is fairly straightforward. Before I go into depth on how we brought Puppers and what we had to do in order to bring him, I do want to caveat that travel can be extremely stressful on dogs – as it is for humans! I really wouldn’t recommend it if you are flying a long distance for a short period of time. Also, if you are going to be switching up locations constantly.

The only reason we brought our dog is because we were planning on being away for almost 3 months.

We were only visiting 3 separate countries and would be staying in 1 place for a long time. In general we tried to avoid hopping around too many cities and countries in our itinerary. Every travel day has been long, even the days between cities in the same country. I’ve felt it in my body (hello, 30’s?!) and noticed it in Puppers as well. His energy levels are definitely lower and he needs more rest, quiet, and sleep after a long travel day. Dogs are just like us, and they get jet lagged too! I know it’s so, so tempting to bring your pets with you everywhere. However, keep this in mind when you’re deciding whether or not to travel with them.

How We Brought Our Dog to Europe

Before booking any tickets, the first thing we did was look up the entry requirements for the countries we were planning on visiting. I had heard horror stories about dogs having to be quarantined when they arrived. I knew I wanted to avoid that at all costs. Thankfully, most European countries have fairly straightforward requirements. The exception of UK, Ireland, Finland, Malta, and Norway – these are little trickier with deworming.

The countries we planned to visit all had the same requirements for the dog to be able to travel:

• A health certificate for each country the dog will be visiting
• Microchip
• Up to date rabies vaccination

Some countries may also require additional vaccinations, test results for lab tests, or import permits. Again, this varies by country. Be sure to check the site above for each country’s requirements. Also, speak to your vet about traveling internationally with your pet. If your pet is microchipped and up to date on their vaccinations, then you can go ahead and schedule the health check with your vet. This is necessary in order to get the health certificate.

Next, when booking your flights, you will need to call the airline. Let them know you plan to bring a pet with you. The options for pets to travel are either in cabin or in cargo. If you have a service animal, these rules won’t apply to you. Most airlines will have a size or weight limit for pets that are allowed in the cabin. If your pet is above the limit, they will have to go in the cargo area of the plane, unless they are a trained service animal (emotional support animals don’t count, sorry!).

Pets in cabin are also only allowed in certain cabin classes, depending on the airline.

For example – we flew Air France, and they do not allow pets in all cabins. Most airlines won’t allow pets in business class, so you will have to book an economy or premium economy ticket. You will have to call the airline to reserve a spot for your pet (there are limits to how many pets can be on board a flight) and pay the fee, which will vary by airline. I believe we paid around $125 for one way from LA to Paris.

Once you have your pet’s “seat” reserved on your flight, this is the part that gets a little tricky. Your vet should be able to walk you through this, but you will need the health certificate dated no more than 10 days before your flight departs. The best way to coordinate this is to schedule the pet’s health check 10 days before your flight, and then work with your vet to make sure you have all of the documents needed to submit the health certificate.

You will have to pre pay an overnight or express shipping label so the vet can then submit the paperwork on your behalf, and you will be able to have the finalized health certificates overnighted to you. Of course, all of this is contingent on your pet being in good health and deemed “healthy” to fly by your vet.

Once you have all of the paperwork and admin done, you’re ready to fly with your pet! Again, please be sure to conduct your own research and speak to your vet, as requirements may change, and do vary by country.

How to Manage an International Flight with a Pet

The paperwork to get Puppers approved to come to Europe was the easy part. It took a bit of organization and diligence, but overall the process was straightforward (our vets in West Hollywood were also incredibly helpful!). However, the long flight was our biggest concern.

This is how we managed the trip from LA to Europe.

• We didn’t feed Puppers the morning of our flight, and took him a long walk in the morning to make sure he went to the bathroom. Then, once we were at the airport we found the pet relief area (most/all airports should have this) and spent a good amount of time there before the flight.
• Once we were on the flight, we gave (with the permission of our vet) a very mild sedative to relax him and help keep him calm during the flight.
• Unfortunately, unless you have a service animal your pet has to be fully in their carrier under the seat for the entirety of the flight. This was really hard and sad, we checked in on him often and he was sleeping and just hanging out for the entire flight. But trust me, this was the worst part of the trip. I HIGHLY recommend investing in a high quality, comfortable pet carrier. I did a ton of research before our flight, this is the BEST carrier we found by far. We love this carrier because it’s super stealth and sleek. You can’t even tell there’s a dog inside. The padding is super comfortable for a dog to lay on, and the mesh allows them to see through while still being in a cocoon-like environment. If you’re going to splurge on anything, splurge on this carrier!!
• As soon as we landed and made it through customs, the very first thing we did was let him out of his carrier to stretch his legs, and give him lots of water, food, and treats.

How Much Does It Cost to Travel With Your Pet Internationally?

Another factor that might weigh into your decision to travel with your pet internationally is the cost and all of the expenses tied to traveling with a pet. Here are just a few of the expenses we encountered when bringing our dog to Europe. This does not include his daily expenses or what it has cost to have him traveling with us.

Pet Fee for Flight to and from Europe (round trip) – $250

Vet Health Check for Health Certificates – $100

International Health Certificate – $195

3 Countries Health Certificate – $120 ($40/country)

Overnight Shipping Label – $40

Total: $665

There are also additional fees for every additional flight we take (although this fee is much less once you’re in Europe – we’ve paid between $40-$80 per flight here), as well as any hotel fees that come with bringing a dog. We’ve gotten pretty lucky booking dog friendly Airbnbs and finding hotels that have low/no pet fees, but these can add up quickly! Make sure to do research on where you can stay with a pet abroad.

Our Experience Traveling With a Dog Through Europe

One final note – I thought living in LA, we were already living in the most dog friendly place. But Europe (so far only France and Italy) has been so much more dog friendly, I honestly couldn’t believe it! Puppers has been allowed almost everywhere – no questions asked. Restaurants (indoor and outdoor), stores, the metro, beach clubs in Puglia – so far he has been welcome most places and treated so, so well. The French and Italians love dogs, they bring them everywhere.

The one time we were given a look was when we took him to a grocery store in Puglia. Even then they asked us to carry him vs. letting him walk around on his own. There are also some parks in Paris and beaches in Puglia that were no dogs allowed. Overall, Europe has been significantly more dog friendly than the US so far. It is another reason why we’re so happy we brought him along!

It truly has been the trip of a lifetime. As such, it’s even more memorable and meaningful we were able to bring our dog along. I’m really grateful we were able to do it safely. Any minor inconveniences that we’ve encountered from having a pet while traveling have been entirely eclipsed by the joy it’s brought us simultaneously and the memories we’ve made that we’ll cherish forever.

Let me know if I missed anything, and don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any more questions on what it’s been like to travel with our dog. xx