Dog Kennel - Kutyapanzió - Dog Boarding

Please share the information with us in the event that you receive further info.
Also - We are contemplating a move to Budapest but have yet to find the info we need regarding the regulation for importation of dogs into Hungary. Do you have further info?

Regards
Karen

karenh wrote:

have yet to find the info we need regarding the regulation for importation of dogs into Hungary. Do you have further info?

From where would they be imported? Outside the EU they will probably require a period of quarantine. From within the EU I don't think there is any special "import" law. But last I "heard" (but believe nothing you hear -- especially here) there are, or are proposed, tag laws in Hungary that (will?) require scanable tag implants in dogs.

klsallee wrote:

karenh wrote:

have yet to find the info we need regarding the regulation for importation of dogs into Hungary. Do you have further info?

From where would they be imported? Outside the EU they will probably require a period of quarantine. ...

I think you have to have a valid rabies vaccination certificate as well. This is required even with inter-EU dog relocations (for sure, the UK requires six months quarantine). However, when we imported our cat into Hungary we found that no certificates were required for export from the other EU country at all for cats but dogs did need a vaccination certificate for import. No idea why and we never found out why the difference despite trying to find out. Depends on the animal's risk I suppose.

I think you also need a dog permit in Hungary but that might be old info or if not, I am sure it's widely ignored especially out in the sticks. Probably hard to ignore if officially importing.

fluffy2560 wrote:

I think you have to have a valid rabies vaccination certificate as well

That is usually a standard requirement anyway within most countries in the EU, and pretty much an act of responsible pet ownership to vaccinate your dog against rabies, so I don't consider it anything special for bringing a dog into Hungary.

The quarantine period, from outside the EU import, is often used to detect rabies by the way.

Hi klsallee & fluffy2560

We are residing outside of EU.

We live in a country where our dogs' vaccinations need to be tip top with not just Rabies but Parvovirus, Distemper, Adenovirus, Parainfluenza, Coronavirus, Leptospirosis & Bordetella. Also our dogs are European Standard RFID Microchipped.

Any clue about the quarantine period for dogs? Or is there a website where we can find this info?

Regards
Karen

karenh wrote:

Any clue about the quarantine period for dogs? Or is there a website where we can find this info?

21 days up to 3 months depending on country or origin. And a new rabies vaccine is required even if the current one is up to date.

http://www.dogfriendly.com/server/trave … tml#europe

And it seems that the tag implant is a EU requirement now, so Hungary's law I mentioned is probably just to bring it into EU norms. And since this is now based on mostly EU norms, even if laws vary between countries, you can probably get most of the important requirements from an English language site:

https://www.gov.uk/pet-travel-quarantine

klsallee wrote:

That is usually a standard requirement anyway within most countries in the EU, and pretty much an act of responsible pet ownership to vaccinate your dog against rabies, so I don't consider it anything special for bringing a dog into Hungary.

The quarantine period, from outside the EU import, is often used to detect rabies by the way.

If you have a valid rabies certificate I believe you can move your dog around in the EU. It was not however necessary when we moved our cat. Nothing at all was required. If you have a "passport for pets" I think you can now take your vaccinated dog from another EU country to the UK and back again.

Quarantine is certainly used as an anti-rabies measure. In the UK, having quarantine has meant that we do not have rabies in the wild at all. All cases of rabies are "imports" (usually from people who have travelled to countries where rabies is endemic and they have received untreated dog bites).

Many people complain about the 6 months quarantine period but I am in favour of it because of my own experiences. Short anecdote shows how seriously the matter is taken in Hungary.

Many years ago, I was standing at a bus stop in Budapest on a cold day and I was bitten by a passing dog that took a dislike to me. Upon reaching the office, I mentioned in passing that a dog had bitten me (dog had bitten right through my gloves and broken the skin. I was taken immediately by the local HU staff to a hospital where I was given the first of a series of anti-rabies injections over the next six months. All of this was done for free, in quick time and very efficiently. I was living in District II at the time. Shortly thereafter I heard they were dropping vaccinated bait by helicopter into the forest in District II because of a rabies outbreak in foxes in the area. No wonder I was of interest. I consider myself pretty lucky they took good care of me.

fluffy2560 wrote:

a dog had bitten me (dog had bitten right through my gloves and broken the skin.

Was the dog owner found? In the US, that dog, and its owner, would have been tracked down, and unless the owner could prove rabies vaccine, the dog would have been confiscated and had a rabies test done (yes, it is lethal to the dog). I often find the response to this type of thing in Hungary, which as you pointed out does have a active rabies potential, to be very badly done and very much lacking in regards to human health services. After all, that dog could have bit many more people who were not advised to go to the doctor.

Similar issue with some dogs here where we live, that got out of a yard, and killed a dozen sheep. In the US the owner of the sheep would have been in his right to ask that dog's owner to pay for the sheep and to request that the dog be removed from the area or destroyed (once dogs go after sheep they tend to do it again). Not here: apparently removing the problem dogs was not an option. And surprise, they got out again from the fenced yard and killed more sheep a few months later.

Don't get me wrong, I love dogs, and this is mostly about irresponsible owners, not bad dogs. But there were fundamentally no "consequences" at all. Only the farmer lost -- his sheep. Very odd.

I must say it is really odd. In Zimbabwe, the dog would have been taken to the vet to scanned for history. In the event that the dog is not vaccinated against rabies, the dog will be put down and the owner will need to pay for all cost including a fine.

I went through the links klsallee provided and sad to say, under PART C - List of third countries or parts of territories provided for in Article 10, no African countries were listed. We are in Zimbabwe and we have more stricter rules than some of the countries listed! Despair despair!

klsallee wrote:

Was the dog owner found? In the US, that dog, and its owner, would have been tracked down, and unless the owner could prove rabies vaccine, the dog would have been confiscated and had a rabies test done (yes, it is lethal to the dog)...... But there were fundamentally no "consequences" at all. Only the farmer lost -- his sheep. Very odd.

Oh, no, no-one said anything, not least the owner who carried on walking past. I assume it was the owner and not a passer by. I was quite fortunate that one of the other foreigners had been bitten the week before and the local personnel knew exactly what to do. If I was just visiting with no local contacts, I could have been up the creek. I can only praise the local health services and the quick action of the local personnel but I was lucky. As a British person, I had almost no awareness of rabies as a disease as (I said before), we don't have rabies in the UK.

There's no way that all the people in HU vaccinate their dogs for rabies. I reckon many a dog or dog dies of rabies after being bitten say, by foxes, and then is quietly buried in the garden. Mrs Fluffy says that cats and dogs are "things" in the Hungarian countryside and less pets and more working objects. i.e. if it's broken, just get another one. Taking cats and dogs to the vet is almost unheard of out in the sticks. They will take their horses or cows but not their dogs or cats.

I am reminded of the time I spent in Romania and the stupid involvement of Brigitte Bardot in the anti stray dog campaign in Bucharest. Originally stray dogs were to be shot on sight until she became involved in lobbying the mayor. While I was there, a Japanese resident was killed by a dog pack who hunted him down and bit him to death in the lobby of his apartment building. Brigitte didn't seem to care about this sort of thing much. Mrs Fluffy and I were shadowed by dogs in the forest once. Not very nice.

I quite liked the Russian stray dog control mechanism which is a severe case of lead poisioning to the head administered by the police on the spot for unlicensed untraceable dogs. I think you can guess I favour severe and radical methods to deal with stray dogs.

Sorry, I'm digressing off topic....

karenh wrote:

.... We are in Zimbabwe and we have more stricter rules than some of the countries listed! Despair despair!

Try here: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/regulations/v … gary.shtml

Click the link for non-commercial animals less than 5 in number. Looks like an EU format animal certificate. Seems to be a wealth of info there and much in Hungarian.

Ok, I'm not reading through all of this but quarantine does not exist anymore. I brought my dogs from America, you need to have the sufficient paperwork (through your country and Hungary), rabies vaccination obviously and any other vaccinations), EU microchip (can be ordered online), and a health certificate from your vet.

You can get an EU passport here after arriving.

On that note, I know several pet-owners who bring their pets back and forth through the UK/Ireland/Scandinavia without quarantine. It's not used anymore. A blood titer test used to be used but that's not even used anymore to show the rabies antibodies. As long as you have a health certificate, rabies vaccination from x number of days from travel, and all other regulations are up to date you should be fine to bring your dog into the EU.

cadl1982 wrote:

On that note, I know several pet-owners who bring their pets back and forth through the UK/Ireland/Scandinavia without quarantine. It's not used anymore. A blood titer test used to be used but that's not even used anymore to show the rabies antibodies. As long as you have a health certificate, rabies vaccination from x number of days from travel, and all other regulations are up to date you should be fine to bring your dog into the EU.

From what I read, USA is different and some things are not needed when importing into the EU only from the USA. There's an annotated version of the EU form (link below). I read that one, not the blank one.

EU Passport for pets is definitely needed to avoid the quarantine (in UK). Not sure what the difference is between a health certificate and an EU Passport for Pets.

There are different regulations for dogs imported from EU, for dogs imported from non-EU countries but considered “favourable” and finally - for dogs imported from non-EU countries but considered “unfavourable” because rabies may be endemic among domestic pets.

Unfortunately, we fall under “unfavourable” although in the last 3 years, I have not heard of an incident in Harare!! Therefore we do need several extra steps:

• anti-rabies vaccination; and
• rabies anti-body titration test
  o blood sample taken by an authorised veterinarian at least 30 days after vaccination and three months before movement & documented in the health certificate
  o test done in any EU-approved rabies serology laboratory
• Health certificate (valid for 10 days from the date of issue)
• Electronic identification system (transponder) – microchip

The Pet EU Passport does not apply in this case since the dog will be coming from non-EU Country. However, once we settle in Hungary, then we'll need to apply one for them.

Thanks so much to everybody's participation to this forum today. You have helped me narrowed the scope tremendously on what we should do to bring our pets in this relocation.

karenh wrote:

Unfortunately, we fall under “unfavourable” although in the last 3 years, I have not heard of an incident in Harare!! ....

Yes, I agree, you're in a difficult position.

Maybe you could put your pet through another country, perhaps say South Africa in an attempt to reduce your burden while remaining compliant and safe. Just a thought perhaps.

The passport records all vaccinations, health exams, etc, etc along with general information (species, breed, age, name, owner's address and phone number, and microchip number of the animal and location of the microchip). The animal can not have a passport without a microchip. My dogs actually have a few microchips - both have 1 from America, both have 1 from EU, and one has a second EU microchip as the first one went missing behind her scapula (most likely).

The health certificate is given from your vet either by stamp in the passport or a piece of paper (non-EU countries do this). It just describes the overall general health of your animal and whether they are able to travel, etc.

As for the blood titer test, it's a minor in-office procedure to show the rabies antibodies in the animal's blood. The lab work can be pricey enough though. You just need to be strict and follow all the regulations when it comes to taking the blood x number days after rabies vaccination is given/x number of days before travel.

cadl1982 wrote:

Ok, I'm not reading through all of this but quarantine does not exist anymore. I brought my dogs from America

America is different. Just like there are no visa requirements for US citizens to visit Europe, or vise-versa. These things depends on the country of origin. Quarantine is still an option for some "off list" countries if other conditions are not met.

fluffy2560 wrote:

There's no way that all the people in HU vaccinate their dogs for rabies.

True. Unfortunately.

fluffy2560 wrote:

I reckon many a dog or dog dies of rabies after being bitten say, by foxes, and then is quietly buried in the garden.

No animal dies "quietly" from rabies. Part of the vector process is the disease affects the brain and the infected animal become aggressive, attacking other animals to spread the disease.

For what it is worth, having once worked in animal care (in a past life, in another country) I actually had to get the Human anti-rabies vaccine. It's "benefit" is that it reduces (but does not eliminate) the number of shots needed after being bitten.

fluffy2560 wrote:

Mrs Fluffy says that cats and dogs are "things" in the Hungarian countryside and less pets and more working objects. i.e. if it's broken, just get another one. Taking cats and dogs to the vet is almost unheard of out in the sticks. They will take their horses or cows but not their dogs or cats.

Yes, this is true especially of dogs. And cats run almost feral here. Trying to explain their owners their affect on native bird populations, or that they can spread Toxoplasmosis, falls on deaf ears. And ironically, there is a "cruelty" law here against people that kill cats (even feral cats), but not feral dogs.

Abandoned pets here are a real problem. There is no local animal control agency that deals with any abandoned pet properly (well.... there is, but it costs 20,000 HUF for them to come out, have a Keystone Cops moment, then leave empty handed). Every year I see new stray dogs around here.

karenh wrote:

We are in Zimbabwe and we have more stricter rules than some of the countries listed!

Having spent quite a bit of time in Africa myself, this I believe. Parts of Europe are actually behind many African countries on many issues.

Otherwise, welcome to the inconsistency of "EU bureaucracy".

All of you helped to resolve some of our issues. I'm already in contact with the only EU-approved serology laboratory in Africa and they have sent the forms over. Since we just re-vaccinated our dogs last Saturday, we need to wait for another 30 days before we can draw blood samples off them.
But we are still not 100% certain that we'll move to Hungary (haven't sign on the dotted line yet!) but I'd rather go through all this procedures and hope our dogs will forgive us in the event that we won't be moving

klsallee wrote:

No animal dies "quietly" from rabies. Part of the vector process is the disease affects the brain and the infected animal become aggressive, attacking other animals to spread the disease.

What I mean is that the pooch is left chained up in the garden as it's being used as an "burglar/intruder alarm". Fox with the disease passes by, attacks the dog, dog contracts virus.  Dog is alone for a few days while the owner goes off or owner ignores it and the disease becomes active. The owner returns, sees the doggie dead, buries it without any further ado at the bottom of the garden. Even if it's going crazy, they keep away from it even if they suspect rabies, then it dies and into the ground it goes with no questions asked. These animals are not pets, they are tools.

klsallee wrote:

For what it is worth, having once worked in animal care (in a past life, in another country) I actually had to get the Human anti-rabies vaccine. It's "benefit" is that it reduces (but does not eliminate) the number of shots needed after being bitten.

I was warned about the 6 shots at intervals that it was only X% effective and one could still succumb. It's a nasty thing because the virus can be dormant for many months before becoming active. The actual injections were in the arm and not a problem (unlike previous vaccines for rabies). Once started, you have to have the entire course. The last one seemed the worse.

klsallee wrote:

Yes, this is true especially of dogs. And cats run almost feral here. Trying to explain their owners their affect on native bird populations, or that they can spread Toxoplasmosis, falls on deaf ears. And ironically, there is a "cruelty" law here against people that kill cats (even feral cats), but not feral dogs.

They might as well be feral dogs. When they escape they soon get into packs with other dogs. They seem to have that under control in Budapest these days but I've seen groups of dogs in the countryside. Anything above 2 dogs is a pack.

klsallee wrote:

Abandoned pets here are a real problem. There is no local animal control agency that deals with any abandoned pet properly ...

I'm afraid I would take the extreme option. Stray dog, no chip, no collar, no identification, then it's a one way trip to the incinerator. If people have animals they value, they will do the right thing to look after them.

fluffy2560 wrote:

The owner returns, sees the doggie dead, buries it without any further ado at the bottom of the garden.

Got it. Good grief. Even worse. While the virus concentrates in the salivary glands, any body fluid from an infected carcass can harbor the rabies virus. Thus, even the dead body is infectious and extremely dangerous to handle. I hope they don't eat the carrots from that garden......

Do I really want to move to Budapest after hearing all this????

karenh wrote:

Do I really want to move to Budapest after hearing all this????

Well, we all live here and we're surviving. Rabies is endemic all over Europe. It's the same as everywhere else. Just exercise caution.

klsallee wrote:

Having spent quite a bit of time in Africa myself, this I believe. Parts of Europe are actually behind many African countries on many issues.

Otherwise, welcome to the inconsistency of "EU bureaucracy".

You're telling me! Africa has some of great innovators these days.

karenh wrote:

Do I really want to move to Budapest after hearing all this????

Meant as jest .. If I have chosen to relocate to conflict and post-conflict countries in the past, Hungary must be a walk in the park

Hi cadl1982
I was directed to this site regarding pet kenneling: dogmopolite.hu/index_eng.php

Anyone heard of them?