Sailing Internationally With Small Dog

[seagypsy11]

Hi Steve and Lea, from Oasis11, in East Coast of Australia. We are getting ready to sail fulltime, midyear 2008. Can anyone tell me anything they know about sailing with dogs internationally. We have been sailing up and down the east coast of Aust with our Maltese, and would like to go further afield, eg. East South pacific. She handles the boat very well, and has her sea legs. Would love to hear from other emptynester sailors taking the plunge!!

[Idiens]

Well best wishes for the the New Year.

You might find there is a history of doggie threads here on sailnet.

Rabies worries tend to limit dog movements in places like the UK, try their coast guard and customs web sites for detailed info.

Best of luck......

[sailingdog]

A good site to check with is Noonsite.com. They may have some information on the laws regarding dogs in the various countries you're interested in traveling to.

[SailorPam]

I bought this book (Doggy on Deck, Penchant Press) at the Strictly Sail Pacific show last spring.
http://www.doggyondeck.com/

It has a good reference section on the restrictions of many countries as well as good advice on meeting them. It also has good first aid and other helpful information about sailing with dogs.

[billyruffn]

My daughter is a vet and I recently asked her about sailing in the Caribbean with a dog. She referred me to two sites:

http://www.pettravel.com/

Look on the left sidebar for "Directory" then click on Pet Immigration and Quarantine Rules. This takes you to a page where you can select a country of interest and get a summary of their rules.

Alternatively, try http://www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/ncie/iregs/animals/#S

This site is used by vets and deals with "exporting animals" (not just pets) from the US to other countries. As it's US specific it may not be all that helpful, but I did find that on the pages for some countries there are references to dogs and cats and links to the foreign governments rules.

You should probably consult a vet at least six months before you go as some countries require two tests for rabies vaccine antibodies at intervals of several months. Also, many countries now require that a 'chip' be implanted in the pets neck so that the animal can be easily identified as the one referenced in any documents you may carry concerning the pet's health and vaccinations.

Hope that helps.