We are thinking of having a week away in Ireland as there is a breed club show and we thought we might make a holiday of it. I am a bit worried about taking the dogs on a ferry as i have heard some awful stories about the fumes in the car parks. I know there isn't much chance of anything like that happening but i would like to hear from anyone who has taken their dogs on the ferry before. We have a secure dog cage in the car and they are both used to travelling so i'm sure they would be ok. We would be travelling from Caernryan to Larne.  

Hiya..........i sold a beagle pup to people who live not far from Larne and they did the ferry trip with him at 11 weeks old.he was perfectly fine and was fast asleep when they returned to their car.There shouldn.t be any fumes as the cars are switched off long before the doors are closed and not switched on until the doors are open.We travelled frequentley on overnight ferries when we lived in Guernsey and had to travel to England for dog shows,the dogs are on board for 7 ish hours and we never ever had a problem or any of our friends.So go ahead and book it and have a wonderful time
regards
Pauline

Hi

I took my dog (boxer 8 mths) on a ferry a few weeks ago.  The crossing was 20 minutes and he was fine, i was more nervous than he was.  He looked up then went to back to sleep.

have a good time

Hi
I travel with my dogs on the ferry at least two or three times a month (live on isle of wight), its not a problem, if you wish to leave them in the cars its fine all the engines are turned off so no fumes, Personally I take mine upstairs or now in the lift (3 legged has a problem with stairs) to the dog lounge or dog room depending which ferry I am on.  But either way its no problem. :)

On ferries Ireland bound they don't allow you to take dogs above
the car decks, they have to stay in the cars or in the dog kennels on
the car decks.

No they dont let you, but hubby (  born Irish and visiting home) and i had 3 teeny dogs with us and i refused to leave them in their kennels ( we were foot passengers) one they didnt see as she was in a bag type carrier, the other two i had in a front carrier on me, i just walked through and said a few words, he argued back but i ignored him, and i spent the next 3 1/2 hours hiding them in my coat!

For many years I've taken our dogs on the ferry from Scotland to Ireland. Before the fast ferry the journey used to take two and a half hours but I never had any problems with them. Some ferries allow you to take the dogs out on deck and if this was the case and the weather was good this is what we would do.
However if this was not possible i.e. night crossing we would always ensure that the dogs had a good walk before getting on the ferry and make sure they had a drink of water and would leave the bowl in the car with them.
I would also ensure they had some nylabones to chew but to be honest they always slept.
The ferry is cool but I always kept the window open slightly and checked on them regularly. When we docked we would always pull over and again give the dogs a good walk to stretch their legs. I,m sure you won't have a problem.

Hi, I do this trip two or three times a year and never have had a problem. You used to be able to take dogs on deck but not anymore. Nor can you go down to the car deck to check but there are always a dozen dogs in cars and the men working on the deck keep an eye on them (a tenner doesn't come amiss ;) ). The car deck is certainly a bit smelly but not to the point of anything you'd call fumes. It's a short trip, so don't worry and enjoy your holiday.

When I took Dilita they let me go down deck, sorry but there's no way that they were going to stop me.  She was really happy lay there on the bed in the camper van :d  She felt much better than my mum and I did !

we went to belfast last year and on the way back it was the slower ferry we got and were allowed to take two small dogs upstairs with us no problem.

A few years ago now we went to the Isle of Wight on the ferry and my dog was allowed on board! I remember him looking over the edge and trying to chase the waves and being terrified he would jump overboard so putting his halti on. :D It never occurred to me he wouldn't be allowed on. No way would I leave them in the car. If my dogs are allowed in somewhere, I don't go.

My husband and I moved to live in Ireland with our two cocker spaniels.  We were due to sail on the afternoon sailing in January !!  We were in two cars, with all of our belongings, the dogs crammed into  my car. The ferry was cancelled due to the bad weather so we had to spend hours in the wet and windy weather at the docks at Holyhead until eventually sailing on the 4am slow ferry to Dublin.  Dispite being told we couldn't  - we took the dogs up on deck, but had to spent the 4 hour journey sitting in a cold corridor, each hugging a dog for warmth.  We eventually arrive, extremely tired, dishevilled (??) and covered in dog hairs, in Dublin at 9am the following morning, only to realise we had no idea of where the house was we were renting.  We had been to it only once before with a friend who lived in Dublin but as we had flown in, hadn't approached it from the ferry.  It took us another two hours to find it !!

It was worth the journey, as the dogs had a fantastic time living in Ireland, walking in Phoenix park every day and a trips to the beach at Malahide on a weekend.  We lived there for two years, and enjoyed every minute.

We did travel back and forth between Dublin and Holyhead on a number of occasions but on the fast ferry (if there is such a thing as Stenaline are always delayed) and left the dogs in the car which they didn't seem to mind.

Jan