Bringing My Dogs to Portugal

by Natalie Dickson

Many people wishing to re-locate to Portugal may have very real doubts and fears about bringing their much loved family dogs with them, they will probably be subjected to much conflicting advice from those staying behind in the UK.

I brought my three elderly dogs with me and this is a personal viewpoint about the various problems and benefits that I encountered. 

One of the main reasons that I didn’t want to delay moving here was that one of my greatest pleasures is walking my dogs in beautiful countryside. Although Britain has much beautiful countryside, for very few of us is it actually on our doorstep.

Willow and Rory

Fed up with hauling large, arthritic dogs in and out of the back of an estate car and driving costly miles to find a suitable walk every day, my main objective became to find a house in Portugal where I could  walk out of my door and into woods or up a forest track   Coupled by the fact that we were all feeling the twinges of arthritis I also wanted  to try and make the final years of my dogs’ lives, and mine, more comfortable.

Because I felt so strongly that all of us would benefit from living here in Portugal

I was able to resist the advice from well-meaning friends that I should not even consider taking the dogs with me, this advice ranged from the general “find them a new home…” to “but they are old, wouldn’t it be easier to have them put to sleep..”  I won’t put my reactions to this in print!

I had hoped to have made the long car journey during the autumn or spring when I wouldn’t have had the additional worry about dogs in hot cars, but I had no control over when my house sold and in the event it happened that I made the three day trip during the hottest weeks of the year when the temperature was in the 40’s.

However I accomplished it, on my own, and without the dogs, or I, suffering the slightest degree of stress.

 But I took what I consider are very necessary precautions and I would advise anyone bringing their dogs by car to adhere to these.

1. Buy reputable travel harnesses. If any of you have ever had a collision in your car when you thought your dog was safely in the back behind a dog guard and your dog has survived un-hurt then you have been very fortunate.

 I already had harnesses for my dogs that worked by slipping the seat belt through a loop on the harness. These had been an absolute nightmare on anything but the shortest journey. The dogs would turn round to lie down and twist the whole thing, despite a swivel which was designed to prevent this happening. They would get themselves into a position that made it impossible for me to reach the seat belt or untangle the harness….this is dangerous in the case of any accident, when you might want to release the seat belt fast, and frustrating at all other times.

I eventually sourced harnesses that had a clip which was attached to the part of the harness that fitted over the shoulder blades (i.e the back) and fitted straight into the clip of the seat belt …instead of using the actual belt. The manufacturers did not guarantee this type of harness in a high impact collision but the actual harness was padded at the front and seemed to me better than the alternatives.

On any journey you don’t know where or why you may need to pull up the car and open the door, it is not safe to risk an animal jumping out of the car when you don’t have control over it. Managing three large dogs by myself I also needed to make sure I had control over each one as I released them, and that I could leave the windows open without the risk of any of them jumping out, harnesses provided that security.

2. Make Your Dogs Comfortable. To give the dogs more space on the back seat and to ensure that they didn’t fall down in the  gap behind the front seats, I filled the gap with luggage and covered that and the seat with several thick cotton blankets and duvets.. the ones  that they usually have in their beds. This gave them the extra comfort so that they slept well and peacefully.

Also with the dogs sitting on the back seat I was able to stack all my belongings in the back under the cover, no temptations to thieves when I left the car over-night.

3. Hair Care. If you have long haired or thick coated dogs and are travelling when the weather is hot then take your dogs to a dog groomer and get them close clipped. They will adjust far better to the hot conditions without having to carry around a heavy fur coat – would you like it?  This is very important, forget that your dog may not look so pretty, it might be the difference between life and death for them

4. Shade. Buy silver shades to fit every window in the car and, even if the weather is not hot but only sunny and warm, fit them all before leaving the car for more than a couple of minutes. They keep the car at an acceptable and safe temperature. 5 minutes in sunshine in a car, even with a window open can be lethal for a dog. Don’t rely on air conditioning to cool down the car again on re-entering it, it is not enough.

If your windows are a shape that the normal screens won’t cover then go to a camping shop and buy a silver blanket and before your journey cut it to fit the windows, not forgetting a means of fixing it! Fix it with the silver side facing out.

5. Drinks. Make sure you carry a container of water in a place that it won’t get overheated, you will also need bowls and enough food for the journey plus sufficient for at least the first 14 days of your stay in Portugal in case you have to change your dog’s diet when you arrive.

6. Travelling by ferry – take the shortest crossing. You will have to leave your dogs secure in your car. The Dover to Calais crossing is only a couple of hours plus the time loading and unloading. The crossing to Santander or Bilbao takes over 30 hours, it might mean you have less driving but it is impossible to expect your dog to remain calm and happy and comfortable confined to the car for that length of time.

I chose to catch the 1.15 a.m crossing for several reasons .For  one thing It was cooler and another the dogs would normally be sleeping, mine slept through the whole night totally oblivious.

Another reason was that because I had animals with me I was unable to book through the internet or over the phone, so I wanted to take the crossing that would be the least crowded to minimise any chance of  not being able to board.

The port may have a dog walking area, Dover did, but I horrified the authorities by attempting to walk my dogs to it, they quickly escorted me, but it was just a very small fenced in concreted  box which my dogs disliked. So my advice here is to make sure you stop before you reach the ferry terminal and give your dogs as long a walk as possible, preferably on grass.

I also reached the terminal a couple of hours before sailing. I was first in the queue and first off the boat. In retrospect unless you are very familiar with the processes then better to be behind someone who might know the way better than you. I got totally lost and drove through Calais before finding the right road…I was very grateful that it was 2.30 in the morning and Calais was deserted!

7. Road Route. I chose to keep off the motorways for the simple reason that if a dog needed to relieve itself I didn’t want to drive for another 20 or 30 minutes to the next service area.

Driving through France is the longest leg of the journey. Going through endless villages will make the trip seem longer, so just enjoy the scenery, remind yourself that travelling on the motor ways you would miss all the enchanting villages. Travelling through the real France there are absolutely no shortages of places to stop and walk your dogs, the countryside is usually unfenced and with plenty of lay-bys. Make use of them, you will need to take your dogs for several walks during the day, they will enjoy it and you will need to do more than just stretch your legs.  Service areas are not very dog friendly places but the countryside is.

Unless there are two of you driving, and you decide to keep going, you will need to find somewhere to stay half way through France. There are plenty of cheap hotels on the edges of any large town, but there are also many people using them. If you are travelling through the season, start your search for somewhere to stay no later than 4.0. Most places accept dogs quite happily. I paid something like 30c each for mine to stay in my room with me.

You will also need to locate one with somewhere to walk your dog several times, so don’t choose one right on the main road with no grounds.

8. Travelling through Spain is not so easy. You have to travel on the main roads, they seem to be full of lorries following too close, and there are very few places to stop safely to walk the dogs. For these reasons I drove through the night across Spain. The dogs slept happily and I only stopped at 6.0 the next morning to walk them and to have an hour’s sleep.!

Crossing the border into Portugal, no matter where you enter, is like finding an oasis in the desert, after crossing Spain! You will be able to stop virtually anywhere. The day I travelled right across Portugal happened to be a day with searing hot winds and temperatures in the high 40’s. I made a point of finding a river and letting the dogs swim to cool down. I think that we would all have suffered heat stroke without doing this.

9. Doggy Treats & Snacks. When packing your car before your journey remember to pack, in easily located places, sufficient nibbles for the whole trip. This is especially important if the weather is too hot to leave the car for more than a comfort stop. Don’t pack chocolate or anything which will suffer in the heat if the weather is hot. Pack things like fruit and nuts, tropical mixtures of dried fruits, boiled sweets, crisps and small bottles of water. All these things (except water) are hard to buy, although crisps are easy enough in any service area shop they are very expensive.

Adhere to these few simple things will make your journey far easier and safer. Remember to take it easy, enjoy the trip, taking an extra day for the journey is just one day out of your life, always take plenty of breaks, getting a good walk whenever you can. Your dogs will be happy because they are with you.

 If they are not used to travelling in the car with you then several weeks before leaving the UK  start to take them out and about with you, this will give you a chance to check the harnesses and how they travel, if any of them are travel sick you will need to speak to your vet before you leave.

As a post script I am happy to tell you that the dogs adjusted to the terrific heat without any stress, they lay in the sun and soaked their bones quite happily, moving into the shade when they felt the need. I found walking them before the sun got too hot was much more pleasant for us all, and another walk when the sun had gone down was all that they needed.  The 12 and 13 year olds who had started to limp badly in the UK, took on a new lease of life and wanted to walk four times as far as they had done in the UK – (do any increase in distance over a few weeks and measure their reaction to it)  They were obviously in less discomfort than they had been.

I brought my 9 year old bitch with a large weeping mammary tumour. Several UK vets had given a very gloomy prognosis, I had spent hundreds of pounds on treatment for her, which  had been further complicated by some misdiagnosing of internal illnesses, it had been very stressful for us both and  I really thought she had just weeks to live and wanted to make those as happy for her as possible.

However on arriving in Portugal I took her to a vet who examined her and said he thought that she would survive an operation for the removal of the tumour, he operated that same day, I took her back daily and then every two days for the dressings to be changed and the total bill came to only 120 euros.

When she was finally free of the dressings and the Elizabethan collar, she ran down the track and did several somersaults from sheer glee…..she hasn’t looked back.

So I can happily say that moving here has been a wonderful experience for all of us.

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