Hi there just wondered if anyone could tell me the process for this. There is a chance that my husband might get posted to Germany next year so I want to make sure they have them just incase. Both dogs are microchipped so I don't need to do that part. How long does the process take? and roughly how much does it cost?

Hi,

Mine are Pet Passported and have come to Europe with me.

The process takes about 9 months, so you should start it as soon as possible and not wait. 

You should make an appointment with your vet and tell the vet what it's for.

The vet will check their microchips and then vaccinate both your dogs with the rabies vaccine. 

You return to the vet about a month later (for some vaccines it is sooner, 2 weeks - but your vet will tell you).  And the vet then takes a blood sample from each dog, to check to see whether the vaccine has worked or not.  This is taken from the neck.  A bit of fur is shaved and then a small sample is taken. 

The vet sends the sample off to a lab to be tested and you wait for the results.  It usually takes a couple of weeks before the results come back.  For most dogs the vaccine works.  But if the vaccine didn't work, they just vaccinate again and you come back in another month for another blood test.  This very rarely happens though - the vast majority of dogs it works first time.

The Passport is then approved but you cannot RE-ENTER the UK until 6 months from the date of the successful blood test.  But you can leave the UK at any time after receiving the Passport.  This is the bit which confuses some people.

Basically the UK have tighter rabies laws than the rest of Europe, because we don't have rabies here yet and want to keep it rabies free.  So the UK says you have to wait 6 months after having a successful blood test before you can enter the UK.  But if you want to go to the rest of Europe, you can go straight away because the rest of Europe doesn't have this rule.  This is why UK breeders can export puppies to mainland Europe at 13 wks old, but if someone in the UK wants a puppy from Europe, they have to wait till the pup is about 9 months old - the pup has to wait 6 months after successful blood test before it can come in.

When you travel, the Chunnel is the best way to go.  It takes 30 mins and you stay in the car with the dogs.

The only other part of the scheme is - when you want to return to the UK from mainland Europe, you have to get your dogs treated for ticks and tapeworm between 24-48 hrs before you leave.  So you need to see a vet abroad, who will treat your animal for ticks or tapeworm and then stamp the Pet Passport.  Then you show this when you return to the UK.  YOu can't treat the dogs yourself for this - it needs to be done by a vet so they can officially say that the treatment has been done.

If you want any more info, Message me and I'll tell you all I know!

Forgot to say - the rabies vaccine costs about £40 and the blood test is more - I forget exactly how much.  But it's not unaffordable by any means.

Thats great I think you covered everything I needed to know. I'll make an appointment to see my vet asap.
Many thanks

You cannot take the blood titre sample until at least 30 days following the Rabies vaccine.

So if all goes well a dog may return to Uk 7 months after it had the Rabies vacine assuming that the titre test was sufficiently high, as it is 6 months from when the blood sample was taken that had a sufficiently high positive titre level.

Brainless - that depends on the rabies vaccine used.  There is a new product on the market which reduces the amount of time to 2 weeks, but not all vets use that vaccine.  I know because a friend of mine just Pet Passported her dog and only waited 2 weeks after the vaccine before testing.