Taking a dog to Ireland? WATCH THIS FIRST!

Mac and I are currently snowed up a mountain in Ireland. Not even kidding, we're genuinely snowed in up a mountain in Ireland. So I thought I would answer some of your questions about taking a dog to Ireland and what it's been like for us so far. So let's dive into this then, because it's not as complicated as it sounds, although I admit with all the laws and things changing, it can be a bit overwhelming because there's so much information that is wrong on the interweb at the moment. So the first thing you've got to do is figure out how you're going to get to Ireland. Now there are several ferry routes. I was initially booked from Holyhead, which is in North Wales, across to Dublin, but then there was snow and there was drama and getting there was horrendous. So I actually changed my route from Fishguard to Rosslare, which has worked out so much better for several reasons. But I will share all of those things in my Ireland video. But this is just talking about dog travel. The thing that I love about that Fishguard to Rosslare route is they've just started with Stena Line doing pet-friendly cabins. So I was able to book a pet-friendly cabin for this little monster to come onto the ferry with me, and that was really cool. It was only a 3-hour ferry, so it's not really long, but it was quite bumpy. I'd have been really anxious to leave him in the motorhome. I didn't want him to get all freaked out. And as it turned out, he was able to come into the ferry, into the cabin with me. Now, if you're used to traveling with Brittany Ferries, They have a pet-friendly cabin scheme that goes from Portsmouth to Connaught, and that is slick organization. They have a puppy pee deck where you can take your dogs out for a wee. It's totally different level to what Stena have done. So they've got, I believe it was 6 cabins on board. It's quite a new thing. They're really nice, exactly what you'd expect, exactly the same cabins. They've obviously just got no carpet on the floor in case of accidents. So it's got your standard wipe-clean floor. It has got a couple of plugs on there. They are continental plugs. It's got a mirror. Hello! And then we've got 4 bunks, single bunks with all your bedding and everything. And then in here you have got your bathroom. The cleaning fluid is red, which I know looks a little bit dodgy. Another big mirror. Hi! And then you've got a big shower. That they go to great— That's a shower head that was still on there. They go to great lengths to tell you to please not wash your dog in the shower. And then you've got a big wardrobe but no hangers. There's a huge wardrobe space but no, no ability to hang anything up. There were no hooks either, I noticed. There's like nowhere to put a coat or anything. And then in this one, again, huge wardrobe No hangers at all. Very strange, but it's comfortable enough and it's everything that you need, and he's quite happy. What they don't have is anywhere for you to take your dog outside to have a wee. So again, it's only 3 hours, um, so you just need to keep them in the cabin. They didn't need any muzzles, weren't allowed in the restaurant, obviously. He was fine in the cabin, and I think he was much happier being with me. So that worked really well, and that was a really great bonus. My price that I paid, and literally I booked it 2 days before we went because of the, the weather warnings, so I paid £250, and that was a one-way crossing from Fishguard to Rosslare with a 6.8-meter motorhome and a pet-friendly cabin, which isn't that bad. Don't forget, you can get discounts on these routes if you book through something like the Caravan and Motorhome Club. They can offer discounts. They buy them in bulk, so they can pass on their savings to you. So you might even be able to get it a little bit cheaper than that. The next thing you need to figure out once you have got your ferry booked is your paperwork. Now, there are lots of myths and legends and incorrect information about this on the interweb, so let's break this down slowly. So the actual facts are to go from Britain— so for the sake of argument, let's just call it mainland England, Scotland, and Wales— into either the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland, You need to have a couple of things. First of all, your dog has to have done the rabies vaccination, and that has to be done a clear 21 days before you travel. You also, obviously they have to have had all their puppy jabs and everything else on top. On top of that, you also have to have a microchip that has to be done and registered. Make sure, top tip with this one, make sure that if you're traveling with you and your partner, your husband, your wife, that you have both of your details on the microchip, just in case something happens and they can only get hold of one of you, or one of you has an accident, the other one has to take the dog home. It's really, really important that they have both of you registered if you co-own the dog. Then after that, you have to have a piece of paper. Now, this can be done in one of two ways. If you still have an in-date EU pet passport—not a UK one, not even though it's got the EU symbol on the front—not a UK one, but from any other country—then you can travel to Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland using your EU pet passport. So Mac has still got his. It's still in date from when we were in France, when we got stuck over in France during lockdown. So he has an EU pet passport. I'm going to try and keep that as long as I possibly can, which means that the only thing he had to do in order to go from England— well, Wales technically, because that's where the ferry was from— over into the Republic of Ireland is having a tapeworm done, and that has to be issued by a vet 1 to 5 days before travel. So that was straightforward. If you don't have an EU pet passport, you need to get an animal health certificate And have a tapeworm. So the animal health certificate can be issued by an approved vet. Not every vet can issue one of these, and to get one of these, you have to make an appointment with an approved vet. And normally that can be done up to 10 days. If you're going somewhere like France or Spain, you've got up to 10 days before you travel to do it. However, the tapeworm has to be done 1 to 5 days before you travel, so a clear 24 hours before you travel. Up to 5 days. So I would suggest you get the animal health certificate and the tapeworm done at the same appointment. Now, as I said, not every vet can do this, so when you find a vet who can issue an animal health certificate, make sure you also tell them you're going to Ireland, you need a tapeworm issuing, so that they've got enough time to do that. And once the tapeworm has been given, then it will be stamped and dated on the animal health certificate. Make sure they put the right date and the right time because obviously that is important For when you are crossing. And that's exactly the same, to be fair, on the pet passport. You've got to make sure that they stamp it and date it and put the time in on the right time. So that is actually quite straightforward. Do not pay more than £110, £120 maximum for an animal health certificate. I heard of some people being charged like £200, £250 per pet. It's ridiculous. Go elsewhere. There are lots of vets around who will do animal health certificates, and you can find a much, much better deal. than that. So once you've got your ferry booked and you've got your paperwork done and the tapeworm has been done, you're pretty much set. You can head off to Ireland. That's it. It was that simple. On the way over there, they didn't even check that I had his paperwork with him. It would have been so easy to forget it, I'll be honest. So make sure you've got it with you. Um, but there was just nothing on the way out at all at Fishguard. And then when I arrived in Rosslare, I was driving off with him going, this is odd, nobody has checked his paperwork. Like, nobody checked my paperwork and nobody checked his paperwork. But then you kind of come off the ferry and you go, around a little corner and they've got like a pet area, and there was 2 lovely women who were luckily waiting outside. I was like, where do I go? They're like, just pull there. I was like, okay, do I get out? They're like, no, we'll come and see you. And they came and saw him and they gave him a little love through the window, and they checked his microchip and they checked his paperwork. They checked the tapeworm time and the date and made sure that everything was in order, and that was it. It was, it was really, really Straightforward. The one thing I did have an issue with was obviously I changed the ferry, so I was due to travel on the Friday and I'd had his tapeworm on the Tuesday, so that was 3 and a bit days. And then I decided to push it back to the Saturday because the storm was horrendous, and I was like, oh no, I was gonna go on the Sunday. I was like, I can't go on the Sunday because he'd have to have another tapeworm. So I had to do it on the Saturday. But that was something you have to bear in mind. You've got this window that you have to travel within, or you have to go and have another tapeworm. And I think the tapeworm cost me about £60 from just a normal vet, and that was just the tapeworm. That wasn't even any paperwork because he didn't need it. So yeah, it's an expensive business traveling with your dog. Another question that people ask me is, is how dog-friendly is Ireland? Now obviously I'm only in the Republic of Ireland at the moment. I've not been to Northern Ireland with my dog yet, but actually I've been really pleasantly surprised because everybody said how un-dog-friendly Ireland was. We haven't been to loads of towns. The weather has not been brilliant. I don't know if you can hear the rain on the roof at the moment, but it's not been brilliant. So we have spent a lot of time on beaches where he has been very welcomed. Again, we're here in March, so I'm not sure in high summer whether they put restrictions up for dogs. But beaches— loads of people have been out on the beaches with their dogs, not an issue at all. He's been welcomed in quite touristy places like Powerscourt Waterfall. I asked the guy on the gate, I was like, are dogs allowed? He was like, absolutely. Is he well trained? Of course he is, and they've got deer in the woodland. So he's like, "Well, if he's under control and he's not going to chase the deer, then fine. You can let him off a lead." I was like, "Oh, okay, brilliant." And if they're not under control, just keep them on lead. Do not let your dogs off a lead near the livestock. Just don't do that, obviously. But if your dog is is fairly good with recall, then they aren't they aren't worried about them at all. The pubs that I have been Past or in, and I've looked at a few to stay at. Most of those have been dog-friendly. We've not been to any restaurants, so I can't speak to how dog-friendly they are, but I've been told it's very similar to the UK. Some allow them, some don't, and some of them say absolutely, but you've got to sit out in the garden or outside or whatever. So that's very similar to what we're used to in the UK. I've not been to a lot of towns or cities because I don't tend to go to them, especially not when I've got him, because I don't want to leave him in the van. So we have spent most of our time outside. And what I will say is Ireland is fantastic for dogs because there's so much outside. We're up in the Wicklow Mountains at the moment, and he has spent all morning running around the mountains just having the time of his life. So from my point of view, Ireland's really dog friendly. One thing I will say is that there are no bins, like no bins anywhere in like public places. So sometimes it can be quite hard to dispose of their Business, if you've picked it up, which is where the Dicky bag I've got is coming in so handy, so so handy. It's brilliant. And if you don't know what that is, I will leave a link for it in the notes. It's really good. So the big question is what happens when we travel into Northern Ireland? Now, according to the DERA website, which is the Department of Agriculture, and there were some other letters in there, you can don't need a tapeworm to travel from Ireland or Republic of Ireland into Northern Ireland and vice versa. So he won't need another tapeworm. To go into Northern Ireland. He shouldn't need one to come back into Ireland. So what I was debating doing, if I have time, is going all the way around the coastline basically. So that would obviously cross from the Republic of Ireland into Northern Ireland, then back again into the Republic of Ireland, and he shouldn't need another tapeworm. You also do not need another tapeworm to go back into Britain because you already had one to go into Ireland. So he shouldn't need any other tapeworm or any other paperwork doing at all now we're here, as long as of course don't do a detour like into France or something, but if you're going directly from Ireland or Northern Ireland back into Britain, you don't need a tapeworm or indeed to have any other paperwork done for you. You just need to have their paperwork on hand when you cross the border. So I'll be honest, it's not been anywhere near as difficult as I thought it was going to be so far, and that might be because of the types of places that I've been visiting and the places that I enjoy visiting. I will be including more tips about the dog and what we find as we're going along through our Ireland videos, so if you're not already subscribed to the channel, By all means, hit subscribe and you can follow our adventures in Ireland. But I hope that gives you an overview of what we've had to do to get here and what it's been like for the past week that we have been here. If you did find the video helpful, a thumbs up is always very much appreciated. And don't forget, you can download your free dog travel checklist. The link is in the notes for you. Give your dog some love for me, and I'll see you on the next video. Bye!