Bringing your pets food into Europe from UK.

[Mick and Ruth]

Something to be aware of as I didn't think of it and hopefully wrong ....but if travelling with your dog into Europe from the UK when we are allowed, you cant bring meat extract in which will rule out most foods, unless its for health reasons as stated below.

Pet food required for health-related reasons

No more than 2 kg

are intended for the pet accompanying the passenger are shelf-stable (do not require refrigeration) are packaged proprietary brand products for direct sale to the final consumer that the packaging is unbroken unless in current use

 

[busby]

Heard on you tube that pet food was excempt,,BUSBY.

 

[Reusables]

My dog food looks like bacon , smells like bacon and tastes like bacon...just packaged in aldi moist and meaty dog food bag....?? What ? Yes of course I always store my dog food behind the dashboard so she can't help herself.

 

[Top Hat]

This has been talked about in another thread.
I feed my dog on Wolf of Wilderness dog food tined and exported here from Germany, I emailed them asking if they would still be importing dog food here and if they are would I be able to travel to the eu with sealed unopened tins of their food when touring.
I received a email confirming they would still be exporting dog food to the uk but, did not answer my question if their food would be allowed back into the EU.
So I assume the answer is NO

 

[Mick and Ruth]

Heard on you tube that pet food was excempt,,BUSBY.

I hope it’s true

This has been talked about in another thread.
I feed my dog on Wolf of Wilderness dog food tined and exported here from Germany, I emailed them asking if they would still be importing dog food here and if they are would I be able to travel to the eu with sealed unopened tins of their food when touring.
I received a email confirming they would still be exporting dog food to the uk but, did not answer my question if their food would be allowed back into the EU.
So I assume the answer is NO

Ahh didn’t see that thread will search for it

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[138go]

Our dog has dried food, made up of white fish, potato and other nutrients. No meat. Goodness knows whether this will be okay.

I must admit, we were discussion today whether we'd even get to Spain again this year.

 

[Northernraider]

And dogs didn't even benefit from blue passports.


Theirs were already blue

 

[Top Hat]

It was in the thread

Travelling Light Don"t load up the Fridge on the way to Dover.​

 

[frogijock]

I would think that all pet food is for health reasons, no eat, no live.

 

[Top Hat]

Yes that would be true where there's a danger of cross contamination, but its hard to understand when a EU country can import tins of dog food into the UK but the next day you cannot take the same tins sealed and unopened back into the EU,

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Dizzydd2]

It says that dog food should only be in sealed 2kg bags. dont know about tins and only allowed if prepared due to medical reasons. My dog has a list of allergies, which i can prove and has food specially prepared which i can prove and is sealed in 2Kg bags. They must not be opened.

 

[Poppy and Hamish]

Hang on a minute. I am confused. What are you supposed to do with raw fed dogs? How can you not take food for your dogs??

 

[chaser]

Hang on a minute. I am confused. What are you supposed to do with raw fed dogs? How can you not take food for your dogs??

Surely raw meat is the same the world over, why take it with you?

 

[Poppy and Hamish]

Surely raw meat is the same the world over, why take it with you?

Most people by raw meat from pet food suppliers, not from Waitrose, or the foreign equivalent. The prepared pet stuff is usually 80/10/10, supermarket meat won't be. It might be hard to find raw food suppliers in a foreign country. I guess people don't want to be trawling around for hours trying to find a pet shop that supplies raw food and is accessible for large vehicles.

 

[Simon Meadwell]

Just been to France two bags of dried dog food in the cupboard. No problem no checks. They dont have time or just aren’t interested in doing the check. Fridge and freezer had food in aswell

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[bigwood]

The animal sanctuary we took muttly from said he was eating Butchers Joint & Coat with unrinary care meal.
On one trip we ran out of his meal because of the pandemic faff etc and gave him dried dog food for a couple of days. Believe me a dog with a upset tummy in a motorhome is not nice for all concerned.
If we did take him abroad I suppose we would have to speak to the vet about his issues with his diet.

 

[Fragle]

Just been to France two bags of dried dog food in the cupboard. No problem no checks. They dont have time or just aren’t interested in doing the check. Fridge and freezer had food in aswell

Same here. Ruby is not to fussy Aldi Lidl moist and meaty cheap food
Problem is nether have anything like that here and we have struggled a bit to find something suitable for her. We only bought 1 bag for 3 months thinking there won’t be an issue
Needless to say we are back over for 90 days in April and will bring enough for 90 days for her along with whatever we need as well

 

[Reallyretired]

I would take enough for the trip, unlikely anyone will have time to waste checking, and it's not as if you're selling it over there. Muttly will convert it into poo, probably indistinguishable from that which their dogs produce and they can't be bothered to pick up.

 

[Southdowners]

We just take what we need for the whole trip in terms of dog food - when being away for months at a time there is a lot!! We've never had issues and can't imagine customs officers being bothered to look.

I'm happy to buy our food when away but not to buy the god-awful dog food I see for sale in the shops in other countries.

 

[Wildbill]

For those that like the raw food option road kill should do the trick
Bill

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[amarch]

Can't imagine why people are so concerned about a tiny fridge full of food for the journey. It was good enough before Brexit and I really don't think anyone is going to search your van for an illicit packet of frozen sausages. Last month we were searched in Dover before boarding the Ferry. We asked the friendly officer what he was actually looking for - flick knives was his answer!!! But he never even opened a drawer or a cupboard, or a fridge. You can't be serious, we said. Big problem he said. Well then you are looking in the wrong places, we said. So we talked about the weather then went on our way. Brexit was the biggest mistake ever made by this country!!

 

[amarch]

Can't imagine why people are so concerned about a tiny fridge full of food for the journey. It was good enough before Brexit and I really don't think anyone is going to search your van for an illicit packet of frozen sausages. It's a bunch of rules made Last month we were searched in Dover before boarding the Ferry. We asked the friendly officer what he was actually looking for - flick knives was his answer!!! But he never even opened a drawer or a cupboard, or a fridge. You can't be serious, we said. Big problem he said. Well then you are looking in the wrong places, we said. So we talked about the weather then went on our way. Brexit was the biggest mistake ever made by this country!!

 

[bilM]

I took 40kg of dog food into the Netherlands enough for 3 months Millies Wolfheart was not a problem went into Norway no checks done.

 

[sltgapper]

I think it’s max 2 kg for prescription diet nit multiples of. My dog is raw fed but when travelling I transition her onto good vegan kibble (Italian) so we can take it with us ( go 4 weeks at a time) as raw food in a hot small van seems asking for problems. She does well on it. We hit maxi zoo on arrival and stock up on treats snd pizzle chews. In practice we have never been searched and I haven’t heard of anyone who has been.

 

[Jenka]

I took 40kg of dog food into the Netherlands enough for 3 months Millies Wolfheart was not a problem went into Norway no checks done.

Word of caution on Norway if you get caught horrendous fines ,we got checked for all times of food that was not allowed plus the dogs had to be wormed !

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[bilM]

Word of caution on Norway if you get caught horrendous fines ,we got checked for all times of food that was not allowed plus the dogs had to be wormed !

Hi Jenka
Got the dog wormed and papper work done in Sweden for 30eur cost us 10eur in Germany to get the dog back home. I had no checks done at any borders apart from the tunnel back into the UK.

 

[NoName]

Something to be aware of as I didn't think of it and hopefully wrong ....but if travelling with your dog into Europe from the UK when we are allowed, you cant bring meat extract in which will rule out most foods, unless its for health reasons as stated below.

Pet food required for health-related reasons

No more than 2 kg

are intended for the pet accompanying the passenger are shelf-stable (do not require refrigeration) are packaged proprietary brand products for direct sale to the final consumer that the packaging is unbroken unless in current use

If it’s any help from my experience French authorities never even asked about pet food.

 

[NoName]

Can't imagine why people are so concerned about a tiny fridge full of food for the journey. It was good enough before Brexit and I really don't think anyone is going to search your van for an illicit packet of frozen sausages. It's a bunch of rules made Last month we were searched in Dover before boarding the Ferry. We asked the friendly officer what he was actually looking for - flick knives was his answer!!! But he never even opened a drawer or a cupboard, or a fridge. You can't be serious, we said. Big problem he said. Well then you are looking in the wrong places, we said. So we talked about the weather then went on our way. Brexit was the biggest mistake ever made by this country!!

French authorities will ask the question re Knives, dairy products etc because it’s a requirement not because they are malicious. Brexit is one of the best moves U.K. has legislated for.

 

[ukfetchfan]

Wanting to abide by the legislation we took no dog food to Europe in April when we went for 88 days. Nightmare! Had to rush around the first night to locate a pet store to buy food. Our dogs normally have Royal Canin kibble- but this was not available. Bought the best kibble they sold- and both dogs got upset stomach’s. Not nice for them- or me! Then managed to find a Royal Canin supplier- bags were twice the UK price! But it had to be done.
No dog should be transitioned over to a new food in one day- they should be moved across to new food over a week. IMHO this is an area of legislation that should be changed to at least allow you to take one weeks food supply for each dog.
Next trip I shall take sacks with me and just hope we don’t get checked

 

[Peter and Julie]

Customs aren't really interested. Take what you want, if it gets confiscated? Its only a few quid!

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}