My husband and I will be spending a month in Italy with our two toddlers and our very well behaved (but energetic) German Shepherd. Has anyone else traveled around Italy with a dog? Is there anything that you can suggest that would make our traveling circus more manageable? We will be bringing our nanny so that we can have regular childcare (and dogcare) for some of our excursions but is there anything that we should be thinking about before we embark on this madness. Are dogs readily accepted at restaurants with outdoor tables? Are children readily accepted, too? We will be spending a week in Tuscany and a week in Umbria at rented villas and then 3 days in each of Rome, Venice and Lake Como. Thanks in advance for your assistance.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Kim,

Where are you traveling from? Does your dog have to be quarenteened(sp)?

In Florence they bring the dogs into the markets!
There aren't a lot of German Shepards here, people love dogs as well as kids, so expect to spend a lot of time getting attention!

Cooking in Florence
www.divinacucina.com

I'm not sure you're aware of this, but I believe any dog returning from Italy has to stay in quarantine upon return to the US for a considerable amount of time.

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Rar
Transplanted into Italy
Fino a July 03

I don't know but we plan to take our westie out at some point in the future so I would be grateful for a report when you've completed your trip.

As for having the dog by your table when you eat outside, I would want to check with each restaurant out of courtesy, but we have seen this happen lots. We've even seen dogs inside restaurants on several occasions.

Beebee

Here's some info on traveling with a dog to Italy-
Italian Tourist Board (scroll down the page)
Pet Travel
U.S. Customs

And your children will be more than welcome at restaurants and anywhere else! (BTW, if you are renting a villa with a pool, be aware that it will likely not be fenced)

Amy in MA
Amy's House Exchange

[This message was edited by Amy on 20 March 2003 at 04:09 AM.]

Thanks for your responses. We will be traveling from Colorado. I don't think that we should be subject to any quarantines to return to the US but I will certainly check into it. One further question, any thoughts on what would be some nice dog/child friendly activities? Are there some nice parks for them them to play to meet other kids and dogs? Thanks once again. Denise

Many people bring their pets on trips from within Europe but IMO unless it is a helping dog (for the blind etc.)and needed for a daily job I would not subject him to the stress of that long flight.

Unless they changed something there is no quarantine but you do need to double check with your local Italian consulate on what the dog needs.

As usual, I'll be the one to ask the dumb question...why would you want to take a dog to Italy? Dealing with 2 children will certainly be enough excitement!

We also have a dog, pretty large, and would rather not travel than subject him to the stresses of a transatlantic flight, not to mention the issues of the handling of the crate by less than lovingly dedicated and sensitive cargo handlers in airports. This being said, it may be that you don't have a better option and I can't argue with that.

The other part that concerns me is that, while it is clear the dog is well behaved, it is a bit harder to predict how will he/she (I hate “it”) will react, post flight stress, etc., to the new environment. I don't know where you live, but we live in a suburb, with wide sidewalks and quiet streets, parks, etc. I apologise if I am bursting through an open door but cities and streets in Italy are somewhat different. In the larger cities sidewalks are very narrow and the pace, as well as the circulation, quite frenetic. In a big city such as Milan, or even in most central parts of Rome, just to give an example, it is practically impossible to walk side by side, not to mention three adults, two toddlers and a large dog. In other cities, such as Florence, you meet constantly torrents of tourists, groups or individuals, some following a guide, others reading a (travel) guide and who don’t pay much attention to where they walk.

Finally, the reaction of others to your large dog. Indeed, people have and travel with dogs in Europe, but I will stick my neck out and say that most of these dogs are smaller. A German Shepherd will tend to attract mostly two reactions: some people will retreat, while others may spontaneously try to pet the dog. While I agree that the latter would be quite stupid if one doesn't know or doesn't have the permission to pet the dog, you are left with the consequences, in a country and place with an unfamiliar legal or enforcement environment. So, to conclude, I assume that, abhorrent as this may sound, you will muzzle the dog when in public, busy, unfamiliar places.

Again, I apologise for presuming, but since you asked, I felt I have to either say nothing or serve you better by giving you my honest opinion.

I have to admit that my first thought was "why would you bring a dog to Italy?" I have met people who travel to Europe with small dogs - but they were taking them to their second home there and they could carry them on with them. It just seems like it would be difficult for the dog and would overly complicate your trip.

Anyone else out there travel with their dogs?

Pauline from Slow Travelers

To answer a few questions. We live in Aspen, Colorado but our dog has spent a fair amount of time traveling and fair amount of time in cities. The flight will not be too hard on him. We will be flying in our own plane and he will spend most of his time out of his crate (except for take offs and landings, he is usually just lying on the floor of the cabin, just like he does at home). We will be making a fuel stop along the way so he will have a chance to stretch his legs, go potty, play ball and have a drink before we takeoff again. Our flight to Italy will be divided into two 4 1/2 hour segments so it really is not very hard on him. Traveling is actually a lot harder on my toddlers. I keep them in their car seats for most of their flight time because of risk of turbulence. Except for our time in Rome and Venice, we will be leaving our dog back at our rental with our nanny during our day time sightseeing trips but we will have him with us during our evening dinner outings since we will be doing that always as a family (and we consider our nanny to be part of the family and would not leave her home alone when we went out). One of the reasons that we wanted to bring our dog on this trip is that the person who bred and trained him for two years lives in Germany and we wanted him to have a chance to see his "baby" again. We imported our dog from Germany last year, and we thought it would be fun for the kids to see where our dog grew up and fun for our dog to visit his old home. But I must admit that the logistics of traveling with my little circus is giving me a certain amount of anxiety! :-)

Now that is the way to travel! Good for you! I think your dog will be traveling in better style than most of us go to Europe.

I was concerned for the dog because of the things I have heard about shipping animals in cargo. (Although I have shipped my cats air cargo within the US with no problems.)

I have no advice about traveling with your dog, but I would love to hear more about your trip. Do you get to fly your plane all around Europe? Or do you just fly it into Rome and park it?

I saw several Great Danes in Italy on a recent trip - but it is true that on the whole, they have smaller dogs.

Pauline from Slow Travelers

We won't be flying around Europe. We will fly to Nice and leave our plane there for the duration of our stay. Flying around Europe (particularly Italy) is a bit dicey. English is the universal language of aviation but that does not mean that the air traffic controllers or your fellow pilots are actually fluent in the language. Several fatal accidents in recent history in Italy have been attributed to the control tower giving ambiguous and inconsistent instructions to pilots, which seems to be due in part to neither the pilot nor the control tower personnel really understanding English. We feel a lot safer just getting to Europe and then taking our chances with our fellow drivers on the autostrade. While our dog did arrive in the US from Germany by cargo, after hearing the horror stories about what can happen to dogs in cargo, I would never have our dog travel that way at this point in time, We could put him in the cargo hold of our plane but if the plane has a problem with its pressurization system, the system automatically stops pressurizing the cargo hold and focuses its resources on the cabin. That would be a horrible fate for any animal at 43,000 feet. So instead he just curls up between the kids' car seats and snoozes. I could not imagine having Great Danes. They are huge! Just getting them to fit a car would be a problem.

quote:

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Originally posted by dmalcolm:We will be flying in our own plane...

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Well, this is a totally different proposition. As I was somewhat afraid, I was bursting through an open (plane) door indeed, and without a parachute...

There are 3 sets of twins in my family (not mine!) so I'm very familiar with the "circus." I think you've received lots of sound advice already. Common courtesy above all, especially when it comes to cleaning up after your dog. Generally, Italians are very clean.

In Rome and especially Venice the location of the hotel will make a big difference. I've seen dogs on the vaporetto but I'm not sure if they are officially allowed. For the dog, I'd pick hotels with gardens or near parks. For the kids, I'd make sure the hotels offer room service during odd hours. You may want to phone the concierge to discuss your needs before you make a final choice. In my experience with Italian hotels, I found phoning is always better than email or fax.

Assuming you’ll have a large vehicle in the country, your dog can always nap in the car if it rains or you want to eat inside. In case you aren't aware, especially important with kids in the smaller towns, you don't have the same flexibility with meal times as you do in the U.S. After lunch restaurants close until dinner, which isn't until 7:30-8:00. Also, most businesses close in the afternoon. The length of time varies in each town, usually smaller equals longer. Many people that rent villas do as the Italians do and have their main meal at lunch. Upon request, villa rental services can arrange private chefs/cooks for your evening meal. Venice and Rome have "faster food" available most of the day.

My Jack Russell and I are green with envy. Have a wonderful trip!

Aspen? Private plane? Nanny? Italy?

Lucky dog.

Rebecca

www.brigolante.com

Thanks so much for all of your help. I will definitely heed your advice. We are compulsive about picking up after our dog. Since we have two toddlers who love to play in parks wherever we go, we know real consequences of irresponsible pet owners!