Taking dog to France

Family, Education, Health and Pets
1
Hello

We are currently awaiting for our dog to join us from South Africa and she arrives here in Switzerland on April 11th. She has had all the correct inoculations to be allowed in to Switzerland and we want to take her across to France for the Easter weekend in April. Can anyone advise if we might have any problems doing so? I have tried to contact the authorities but am not having much luck!

Thank you.

2
There is virtually no danger of you having any problems at the border. Just in case keep its passport with you.They are more interested if you bringing goods across the border.

3
i no if you take a dog from england to france you have to have injections a few days before and a few days before returning home and but i'm not to sure about swizterland, but france are very 'VERY' harsh when it comes with the animals if it's not perfect your doggie won't go through the boader with you

4
That is because England enforces its quarantine policy very rigorously indeed hence the anti rabies vaccine and the anti tick and worming injections. There is no such quarantine in France and there is absolutely no problem going across the border with a dog.

5
As we live right on the border, my dogs travel between Switzerland & France all the time, provided they meet the requirements to enter Switzerland intially you won't have any problems taking them into France. Keep your doggie passports in the car to prove they meet Swiss requirements just in case you get stopped on the way back.

6
this must be new, I have taken 3 dogs to France and nobody batted an eyelid.

apart from the hobo in Beizers who told me that one dog should have a muzzle on.

Just be sure you are up-to-date on the rabies shots.

7
Hi,

We are also from SA, came over in 2009 with our little one - Coco.

When your pooch gets here you must take her/him to your vet and get them registered with Anis( ). They will ask you if you want a Doggy passport, it cost about 20chf if I remember correctly.

We have been to Germany and France with no border checks and only one check when we got back from Budapest. The red passport is all they need.

I am sure you are excited to have your doggy here, I know our adjustment to living here would have been A LOT more difficult if we didn't have Coco.

Good luck!

PS: oh yes, I forgot to mention that the Vet here will put all you doggy's vaccination details in the Red passport. That is what they will want to see if you get stopped at the border.

8
Just a minor quibble - it's not the 'red passport' that is important - it's the proof of valid rabies and/or other vacs, duly stamped by the vet, contained within the pet passport that is important.

The question will be whether you have time to get your doglet naturalized as a Swiss (canine) citizen before your trip to France. Here are the rules for bringing a pet into France from an EU state, or for travel within the EU member states (Switzerland included):

http://ec.europa.eu/food/animal/live...m_intra_en.htm

(Even if you have the little red pet passport, you may need to bring along your SA docs as well, as those would have your most recent rabies vac. info.)

If your doglet is still a South African citizen (i.e., you haven't had time to get the pet passport), then essentially it's the same process as bringing your dog into Switzerland. The regs are here:

http://ec.europa.eu/food/animal/live...m_third_en.htm

---

Be aware that France has enacted BSL, breeds in category 2 face restrictions, breeds in category 1 may not be imported.

http://agriculture.gouv.fr/animaux-dangereux

http://agriculture.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/0..._dangereux.pdf

(I have no idea how this is enforced on the ground, though...)

---

That said, I have generally encountered pretty lax - or no - controls crossing the border. Nonetheless, I always have my dogs passports at the ready, all vacs up to date and conditions met. Just in case. I would advise anyone crossing the border with pets to make sure all docs are in order, all requirements met.

Hope your doglet has a safe journey, and may you all enjoy your Swiss adventure!

9
Thank you to everyone for their replies - can't wait to have her here with us - feels very wrong without her!