Travelling with pet: by ferry or boat

 

We continue our Travelling with pet!

This time we travel by ferry or boat.

First, let’s report to the port for check-in one hour before boarding.


In this time focus on your pet to make him walk or to make him do his business or play so that he can travel in peace, but keep in mind that usually the waiting areas for boarding are without shadow.

So:

  • If you are travelling with a feline pet, be sure to shade the crate.
  • Find, if available, a shaded area waiting for boarding to relax your pet and especially not to make it hot.
  • Prepare everything you need to take on board with you, below you will find a list of things to take to avoid being unprepared!

 

We have reached the moment of boarding in the hold, this phase is very delicate and we need to be quick because the operators must complete certain procedures, make sure to load all the cars and respect the departure time.

Do not forget that we are with our pets and that the employees will make you park the car very close to another to make the best use of the space available in the hold, so be sure to unload the pet in the crate before it is difficult to do so.

Also in the holds there is a terrible din between the noises of the engines roar , loud noises of hardware and the closures of the watertight compartments inside the hold. All these noises for our pet can cause fear, agitation and discomfort.

Try to quickly leave the hold and do not forget your personal belongings!

 

Now, let’s talk about the things to take with you to ensure the pet a fairly comfortable journey:

  • Drinking water, in ferries it is always not recommended to drink the water of the cisterns and often you will see near the sinks the specific “non drinking water”.
  • Bowl for food and water.
  • Wet wipes for every need.
  • Bags for manure and a portable litter box including sand.
  • Scottex.
  • Pet toys and pet games.
  • A portable USB fan to charge comfortably in the car. 

At this point we are finally on board!


Remember that our bau bau should always be kept on a leash and if it can not enter the common areas and not even in the cabins this trip will become uncomfortable because you will be either in the sun or in the cold on a bridge so we recommend you equip yourself with a large pareo to create shade in summer and you can go to the areas where there are lifeboats or in winter with sleeping bags to stay close to your pet.

If you decide to house your pet in a cage/ kennel, equip it with a bowl of water and pareo for shade in case it is outside, finally one of his favorite games.

If your pet is territorial, leave a note with warnings to avoid trouble.


If you travel with your pet in the cabin you are more than serene!

If the boarding operations are fast, with the docking operations prepare for a long process.

Avoid the rush to get to your car, you will not stand by and wait with your pet crushed by other people to get you there first!

Obviously you don’t even have to delay too much because your car will block the others!

Get off when you see that the other passengers have run out.

When you are in the hold you can not stay with the engines running in the hold so give a drink to your pet and wave a newspaper or a shirt to ventilate them, in this case the ideal is the portable fan.

 

It’s time for the landing!

Get out of the hold, all windows down!
As soon as possible make a stop to relax, unpack and refresh your pet.

Have a nice trip!

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Traveling with our pet: on train

Traveling with our pet by train is convenient if you drive a 4-legged small, while with pets of medium and large size due to the limitations imposed becomes difficult depending on the companies.

The first thing to do is to make sure you have all the necessary documentation and be informed about the rules of each country and company you travel with:

  • If you want to travel around Europe with your pet, make sure you have all the documents in order. Apply for an EU Passport from your veterinarian and take it with you during your trip.
  • Make sure your pet is equipped with a microchip and has also done all the vaccinations required by the European community – especially rabies.
  • Each nation has its own rules so always check first so as not to run into unpleasant situations. Later we will tell you the general rules valid in almost all countries!
  • Depending on the size of your pet, remember the different accessories you will need to travel! For example, pet carriers, cages, leashes, muzzles, toys and anything else that can help your pet. The Ministry of Health suggests to bring on the road everything that could be useful to relieve the stress of our animal: food, games, first aid kits, cleaning devices.

 

General rules for travelling by train with pet:

  • Usually small pets, enclosed in a crate, can travel free on trains in Europe.
  • Big pets, big responsibilities! Larger pets pay a discounted ticket or “pet supplement” and must always be kept on a leash and have a muzzle.
  • Pets may not occupy a seat or have access to the bar/restaurant carriages – except guide dogs.
  • If your pet bothers or bothers other passengers, you will be asked to change seats and in some cases even to change trains!
  • If you are traveling on a night-time basis, it is advisable to book a private compartment to travel with your pet.
  • Usually there is a maximum number of animals per passenger – 1 or 2 depending on the companies.
  • Movements, people and noises can frighten or stress our pets, so you have to make sure that the place where you will spend the duration of the trip is well ventilated and reward them with pleasant activities such as games or snacks during the trip.

 

If you travel with Trenitalia, small pets travel free of charge inside a pet carrier.

If you want to transport a pet of medium to large size or a pet of small size outside the carrier, the traveller will have to buy a second class ticket or standard level reduced by 50%. This is even if you travel in first class, in Business or inside bunks, sleepers or Excelsior.


If you travel with Italo, the rules change.

All animals up to 5 kilograms travel free of charge in the appropriate carrier. Only in the case of pets over 5 kg you must buy a ticket whose cost depends on the route. The latter can be purchased online, by selecting the “dog” item among the tickets. Alternatively, just call Pronto Italo.

In sleepers and bunks, the passenger can travel, buying the entire compartment, with a maximum of two pets of any size.

It remains, however, the rule that each traveller should bring one and only one pet.

This means that a single passenger will not be able to carry more than one pet on board, even when buying a sleeping car.

The same obligations remain on Italo, but some rules are more specific.

In view of the summer, the company has implemented the service to travel with your pet doubling the seats available for passengers traveling with medium/ large pet. In fact, they will have their place next to the master for all the route traveled.

Have a nice trip with your pet!

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K9 Jets – the new luxury for pets

As we have already mentioned in the previous article Travelling with the pet: by plane, it is not easy to fly with a pet.

The charter company K9 Jets was founded by former pilot Adam Golder to satisfy the growing desire of travelers to move with their pets nearby. It is based in Birmingham, Great Britain and meets the need that also arises from the cases of deaths of animals in flight in the United States in recent decades, or about 200.

The aim of the company is to save travelers the stress of the rules of each airline and the rules that limit the proximity to our puppies during the trip, giving as a single solution the cage in the cargo area. Also not all dog breeds are allowed by airlines, such as pitbulldogs, bulldogs and mastiffs.

K9 Jets does not think twice and rides the opportunity to offer exclusive service.

Being exclusive, it is certainly not a cheap service, in fact the transatlantic flight has a cost of about $ 9,000 with the possibility of buying another ticket to have our pet next.

Those who participated in the inaugural flight said “We were calm because the dogs were with us, we have two golden retrievers and they would have been in the hold”.

Today they offer flights between New York and London or Paris, but the K9 aims to open an economy line with regard to the West Coast.

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Travelling with the pet: by plane

More and more people choose to travel with their pet.

It is not a trivial or obvious choice because you need to be prepared and informed: let’s see what we need to know and have to ensure a comfortable trip to our pet!

First of all let’s see what we need to do even before leaving:

  • Accustom your pet to the carrier so that it is comfortable inside and live it as if it were a kennel. Inside the crate you can put the meals with a bowl placed at the bottom, but before the flight avoid giving him meals.   
  • If your dog travels in the hold, place a small plaid in your bed for a few days and try to soak it with your smell. If you travel to certain destinations it will be necessary because of the low temperature in flight.                                                               
  • To reassure and reduce the anxiety of our pet we can buy pheromone-impregnated collars or soothing sprays. We advise you to use them a few days before the trip, every day, inside and on the lining of the carrier. 
  • Take with you in hand luggage: wet wipes, a few sheets of dried paper and bioplastic bags, will always be useful for the trip.   
  • If your pet is travelling with you in the cabin, bring a non-liquid air freshener with a pleasant fragrance in your hand baggage if the journey is long. Open it if your furry during the trip will expleterà their solid physiological needs, so as to avoid complaints from the neighbors of seat.       
  • However, try to make sure that the bladder and intestines are empty as much as possible: leave home with a good margin of time, remembering that you must show up at check-inat least one hour before the flight and do not neglect to take the dog for a long walk before entering the airport. As for the cats, It is advisable to change the feeding times the days before departure so that you can check the time your cat uses the box.                                                                                                           
  • If your pet travels with you in the cabin, get a 100 ml plastic syringe without a needle, so you can fill the bowl during the trip without opening the carrier, always little by little to avoid nausea.
    To remember: it is not possible to pass the check-in with liquids, the bottle must therefore be empty, you can fill it in the cabin with water purchased on board.                                                           
  • Also get a toy that does not produce noise (not recommended for rubber toys with trumpet) and small. Put it in your carry-on baggage and put it in the carrier only after you have checked in. Remember that every company has rules on size, weight and content.                                                                                                                                          
  • It is also mandatory to line the bottom of the carrier with absorbent mats or other material that prevents the escape of liquids. Some airlines impose other measures, you can read them in the cards dedicated to individual airlines.
    In case of transport in the hold, make sure that it is pressurized and air-conditioned.
  • The staff of some companies is responsible for quenching your furry during a stopover, but it does not always happen and then insert inside the carrier a tray, well secured to the bars of the carrier itself, as per IATA standard. You can put ice cubes in before you check in: the cubes will melt faster at first, thus preventing the dog’s tongue from sticking to them.
  • It is necessary to disassemble any wheels of the carrier before boarding: carriers equipped with wheels are not loaded on board.
  • Find out how to collect at the time of arrival so as to limit the waiting time of our furry.

En route:

  • If in the cabin, it’s time to instill calm and tranquility to your pet because the worst moments are the take-off and landing due to the noise produced by the aircraft engine. Pamper him and show yourself serene so as to convey tranquility to your furry.
  • If your furry person travels in the hold, always inform the staff.
  • Space is limited and your pet could get impatient: it’s time for turbo cuddles!
  • If your furry friend yawns, or opens his mouth several times as if to yawn, he will likely have nausea. In this case, avoid administering water.

Arrival:

  • If you have travelled in the hold, hurry up and pick up your pet! As mentioned before, check-in for pickup.
  • Many cuddles, but calmly! Our pet could have kept the pee up to that moment and for the joy it could make a lot of it right in the carrier! Calm him, give him a nice prize and as soon as possible let out your furry heart.
  • Give water but gradually, otherwise it may be rejected a few moments later.

 

Here is the general handbook for air travel!

In the next article we will talk about train travel, do not miss it!

Have a great BauMiao time!

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Bologna and the PET world.

Appointment 15 to 17 May in Bologna with Zoomark International 2023, the most important and leading event in the PET sector in Europe, is the international showcase of reference for companies throughout the pet supply chain, feeding, care and comfort products for animals, raw materials for packaging, machinery and service logistics.

Important event to draw inspiration and project into the PET market of the future that for 20 editions launches and anticipates new trends, offers valuable meetings with international operators and useful moments for training and updating under the banner of innovation in a market that in Italy alone is about 4.5 billion euros in annual turnover.

The fair has become a stimulating and indispensable meeting place for the pet business community, with 27000 thousand buyers, 900 exhibitors and 500 new products from 48 different countries.
The thematic areas of Zoomark are:

  • PET FOOD;
  • PET CARE;
  • AQUARIUMS, TERRARIUMS AND PONDS;
  • PROFESSIONAL EQUIPMENT;
  • SUPPLIES AND SERVICES TO INDUSTRY.

The ability to interpret the needs of the market and to encourage its development thanks to dynamic solutions is the strong point of the fair, which has strengthened its leading role in the international exhibition scene in Bologna.

 

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Travel to United States with your Bau Bau

Do you want to travel to the USA with your dog?  There are some key points you need to know!

First, to travel from Italy to the United States with your dog, the Italian government requires a health certificate, comparable to a real passport associated with the dog. It is issued by the local health authority.

The health passport certificate must contain certain information:

  • Personal details of the owner.
  • Animal history: breed, date of birth if possible, gender, colour and characteristics.
  • Current condition of the animal: it must state that the animal has undergone a veterinary examination on the same day of issue and is in good health.
  • The status of vaccinations, especially rabies, which must be administered at least 20 days before departure to the United States and no later than 11 months after the issuance of the passport and departure. You also have the opportunity to get a certificate of good health, signed and dated by your trusted veterinarian, no more than 48 hours before your appointment at the ASL, since not all ASLs offer the possibility of on-site veterinary examination.

The health certificate issued by the ASL is valid for 6 days and will require a fee to obtain it. It has international value and must be shown, at check-in, to the customs officer of the departure airport.

Traveling in the USA with the dog is not complicated.

The US government body that deals with it is the CDC Center for Disease Control, carries out checks at the entrance to the USA and does not necessarily require a health certificate, but in some airlines it is required. Upon boarding, dogs will be inspected and if they show symptoms of some infectious disease, they may be denied entry to the USA. In case of suspected pathology at the boarding controls, the dog will undergo a veterinary examination and the cost will be borne by the owner. In addition, the dog must be accompanied by another certificate stating that the dog has been subjected to a rabies vaccination not earlier than 30 days from departure to the USA. The same applies to accompanying dogs for disabled people and guide dogs for the blind.

The puppies of dog, that is, under the age of three months and that because of their tender age can not be subjected to vaccination against rabies and therefore without the certificate. They can also leave provided that the owner signs an agreement with the CDC with which he undertakes to keep the puppy in isolation until the time that will allow its vaccination, followed by another 30 days of quarantine to allow the vaccine to take effect.

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The passport for dogs and cats

 

 

The Regulation CE No 998/2003 (and subsequent amendment of 30 March 2004) of the European Union stipulates that dogs, cats and ferrets travelling in the countries of the European Union must have a passport. In fact, the European Union must have a passport. The identification document, issued by the ASL, has been mandatory since 1 October 2004. The ASL has issued an ID.

To verify that the passport belongs to that particular dog or cat, the ASL, before issuing it, must verify that there is the “indicative microchip” that is “injected” under the skin of the animal by authorized veterinarians, in a part of the body that will then be specified on the passport (example: right shoulder, left neck etc.) together with the microchip number.

The passport is necessary to protect against health risks and must contain the personal data of the animal owner, must certify any vaccinations made to the animal and mandatory vaccination against rabies carried out at least twenty-one days before departure. In the case of Great Britain, Ireland and Sweden, an immunological test will also be required to verify rabies antibodies to be carried out within the time required by each country.

Twenty-four hours before departure, the veterinarian shall certify, by stamping the passport, that the animal is in good health for the journey.

The European Animal Passport replaces all their health cards: all vaccinations and recalls will be reported in the dedicated sections of the Passport.

It is only possible to have an active vaccine, even if you already have a passport.

  • If you have applied for your Passport before having your pet vaccinated, you must bring your Passport with you to the veterinarian when you have it vaccinated, so that the first box of the section dedicated to the prevention of rabies can be filled in: the date of inoculation of the vaccine will be noted and the sticker with the batch number of the vaccine will be applied in the appropriate space. The veterinarian will sign and affix his stamp.
  • In the event that you have your dog or cat vaccinated before applying for a Passport, bring the health card containing the data of the last vaccine (if carried out less than a year). In some regions, such as Lombardy, a real certificate is issued stating that the animal has been vaccinated against rabies. At the ASL will be reported the data of the last vaccine on the Passport. Keep the health book for a year, as a precaution.
    If 21 days have passed since the vaccine, you can immediately travel abroad.
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