FERRY CROSSING ABERDEEN SHETLAND WITH DOG

I ve never done it but I would have thought 12 hours was a long time... where do they do their business?

Apparently there are decks where dogs are allowed whilst the ship is underway. Owners have to clear up after their dogs (obviously). When not on the deck, they have to be in a kennel. You are allowed to visit them in the kennel and take them to the dog decks. I'm not sure how comfortable I feel with the arrangements and just wondered if anyone has actually done it.

Would you have to put your dog in the on-board kennel? Would it cope with that?

How about crossing from Scrabster to Stromness in Orkney instead and then picking up the Shetland ferry in Kirkwall that evening or the next day? Or just breaking your journey in Orkney en route from Aberdeen to Shetland?

It would add some time to your journey, though, which might not be practical for you.

Sorry, Yangste1007 - my post crossed with your reply to BlueBelle.

Thank you Septimia, that is certainly an idea. It would certainly cut down the amount of time dog has to spend in kennel. We haven't got a planned itinerary so anything is possible. We went to Shetland on a cruise a few years and loved it and would like to return under our own steam and with the dog.

tbh- if the weather is good, perhaps it would be OK. But what if there is a big strom? Perso, I would not do it, sorry. Even for a short crossing from Dover to Calais, we take the Tunnel because of the dog.

Planing to go to Corsica next year, with the ferry from Italy, but the dog can stay with us on deck and in cabin, and the chance of a storm is much smaller.

Do you have to take the poor dog? It doesn't sound like a very kind thing to do for a family pet. Could you leave him/her with friends back home?

Agreed Jane10

we cannot leave little Emma, as she has been really traumatised by the events of last Summer- losing her previous family and her son of 12 years euthanazed- so we are planning all our holidays with her in mind. No flights, and no stressful journeys. She is 14 soon, and this will be the case as long as she is with us.

My father moved from Scotland to Denmark, sailing from Newcastle to Esbjerg an overnight journey with a German Shepherd.

Dog, Rex, consented to lift his leg on the car deck, where that was allowed and held himself in as far as doing a job was concerned until they had disembarked and were outside the town in the car, so he could be let out on his lead in a lay-by.

I quite agree: it would be far worse to leave her behind. Enjoy your holiday.
I am sure Emma will be fine, but you could ask the vet for a couple of tranquilizers for her if she is not all right with being in the kennel.

My friends daughter did this crossing last year. They gave the dog a sedative some time before, and then the dog went into a cage. They could access the dog if they wanted to during the crossing. The dog came out ok at the other end without having been to the toilet.

most airlines now forbid taking on board dogs that have been sedated- and few vets would currently prescribe sedatives for travelling dogs. I would never sedate a dog for travelling, never- and certainly not an old girl like Emma, soon to be 14.

The crossing is overnight so maybe the dog would be asleep most of the time?