9021 Dogs via Switzerland

Does anyone have any experience of travelling with dogs through Swizterland as it is not in the EU. We would prefer to drive that way rather than all through France but of course not being in the EU they may have their own interpretations of the rules and we do not want to get stuck at the border. :policeman: They are not St Bernards!! (the dogs not the Swiss)

Category
Travel & Holiday Advice

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 03/10/2008 - 19:14

We have taken our dog with us to Italy and back via Switzerland every summer since 2000 and we have never been stopped by Swiss customs/border control. She now has the EU passport which shows that all vaccinations and treatments etc are up to date and, even though Switzerland is not an EU country, I hope that the passport would have some validity if we were ever stopped. Incidentally, she is a Swiss breed and we try to take her via the Bernese Alps - where her breed comes from! Good luck.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 03/11/2008 - 02:33

Thanks Getsett

Do you take the Lucerne route? Is it busy in mid July returning late August??

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 03/11/2008 - 05:38

Same as the other replies, I was in St Moritz last month and passed through two different customs posts with Sam (Labrador) on full view with no problems. He has PET passport but I was not asked for it. In my experience there seems to be no restrictions on crossing borders in Europe, it's only going back into the UK where it is controlled.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 03/11/2008 - 12:07

To the best of my knowledge when Europeans are travelling with a dog [I]within[/I] Europe, Pet Passports are required only when crossing the following borders:
1. Great Britain and Northern Ireland
2. Sweden
3. Malta

I cross the Italo/Swiss border with my dog at Castasegna (for San Moritz) and Tirano (for Livigno) quite often, and as others report here, I have never been required to produce any documentation for him.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 03/11/2008 - 12:24

Thanks all

I am training the beasts in Italian as I write. Trouble is they don't always respond to English commands :veryconfused:

I will now have to make the fence near the lane dog-proof - more work. Still it will help to keep the ponies and donkies out

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 03/11/2008 - 19:26

Hi coppicer
Yes - usually via Lucerne. I don't know about mid July as we usually drive out in late August and then we come back to UK towards the end of September. It can get busy but it depends on the time of day/night you are travelling. I hope your dogs are picking up Italian well!
Best wishes.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 03/16/2008 - 10:41

Hi

Despite the fact my dog was sat in the front passenger seat, we were not asked for passports at Chiasso or Basle/Mulhouse on our journey.

The only place I have handed over the pet passport was at campsites.

Russell