cant believe how expensive it is to get over to Belfast with the dog just took a look and if I am right the cheapest route is £150 return each if my OH goes too which is £300 then petrol and overnight acc plus entry to the show nothing short of around £450  do people really pay that sort of money for a dog show??

Roni

Is that £150 return on the ferry?? or by air? I can understand by air but ferry that is very expensive

I usually go from stranaer to belfast, its was £130 for the car and 2 passengers, by ferry. The ferry company is Stena line, there is usally a offer code in the belfast schdule making the trip a bit cheaper

Flying is so much cheaper, i have jsut bought a return ticket to belfast from bristol for £35. But im not taking any dogs

Just out of interest how would you fly your dogs over there? I was thinking i can't see Easyjet or the likes putting dogs in the hold??

sorry cant help you on that one

no you cant fly them

the cheapest I can find  tonight on stena line is £208 is that about right?

I know someone with a light plane they do return flight to and from glasgow to belfast if that helps..

Where are you going from? This site might help.

If going from Stranraer you can book a day return with Stena Line which costs £100 for car and up to 4 people. This seems to be the cheapest way it is cheaper than quote in Belfast schedule.

yep got it for 130 was looking in the wrong place.....

light plane ooooooohhhhhhh noooooo noooooo not for me I went in one of those years ago I was terrified!!!LOL :)

If you contact the secretary she will give you a form for getting it for £115 think that includes 2 people.

Expensive hobby to do the showing to its maximum. There are people who take their dogs into Europe and beyond to show, I presume their the Lottery winners. Seems nothing unusual for top breeders to go abroad to obtain the best stud for some breeds.

> Seems nothing unusual for top breeders to go abroad to obtain the best stud for some breeds.

Now I fall into the Church Mouse category but have imported in partnership and borne the cost of going abroad for a stud, amazing what you can do without and save for if you want to bad enough.

Couldn't justify the huge expenses for showing overseas, but did show at the World Show in Holland in 2002 making a doggy holiday of it.

how do the dogs fare being left in cars for two hours ...can you go to see them or ar they left to thier own devices????

Gaby
Know what you mean some people in my breed do every single show even mid week north to south ..how do they get the time off ...do they work? ...I often wonder ...lottery winners ...could be onto something there LOL

I was terrified abaout leaving mine for the crossing, however while waiting to board the ferry everyone has their dogs out walking around, chatting etc.

You cant go back to them, to be honest i thought they would be quite unsettled, but when we went back, they were curled up asleep quite content.

As for Lottery winners, most dog people dont take annual holidays, dog showing all over is their holiday !

>There are people who take their dogs into Europe and beyond to show, I presume their the Lottery winners.

Just like the people who take annual holidays abroad must all be Lottery winners too? ;-)

ETA: I see that dollster has made the same point. :-D

it was said in jest !!!!! :)

I do plenty of shows myself !

I'd never thought about european shows until yesterday and spoke to someone in my breed who does it often and also judges on the continent.
She was saying that the average show costs 50 euros for the first dog and 45 for the second. She further added that the cost of fuel and going through the tunnel is another £100. Oh and she lives a short distance from the tunnel itself. She stays with friends over there so no board cost, then add on vets fees and some food etc and its a very expensive trip. I may consider going over to a show with her next year, share the costs..
So there we are(some of us) complaining about the cost of our champ shows. The euro was almost the same value as the pound not so long ago.

how do the dogs fare being left in cars for two hours ...can you go to see them or ar they left to thier own devices????

You can't go and see them. If the dog is well used to travelling, it's no problem. When we went to the world show and travelled via Holland Ripley had to be left for an 8 hour crossing (plus add an extra couple of hours for boarding etc) and she was fine. Blanket, water, safe chew toys. There were a lot of dogs onboard then, it was funny when we arrived -several cars and one coach all screeching to a halt at the first patch of grass outside the ferry terminal and around 30 dogs with owners all running out to the grass. :D In comparison Belfast is nothing and I didn't even have any problems when we took a 9 week old pup over once. (He was with his mum though, not on his own.)

Sometimes they do allow you to see them as I have when I've travelled to Ireland.  Don't know whether it depends upon who is working at the time though as the person when I went over was very dog friendly.