Taking Dogs on the Spirit of Tasmania | Dog Aboard
Taking Dogs on the Spirit of Tasmania | Dog Aboard
Taking dogs on the Spirit of Tasmania especially when the dog is your beloved pet can be a daunting preposition. Sadly over the years there has been reports of dogs (and other animals) dying on the journey. Fortunately though there are many like us who have made the voyage to and from Tasmania with their dog and other pets without incident.
Our guide below takes you step by step through the entire process and answers questions such as how much is it to take a dog on the Spirit of Tasmania and can I leave my dog in my car on the Spirit of Tasmania?
Dogs and Which Pets Can Travel on the Spirit of Tasmania?
According to the Spirit of Tasmania website “dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, ferrets, some birds, chickens and ducks may travel on the Spirit of Tasmania”. The website also provides a list of animals that cannot travel on the Spirit of Tasmania, if in doubt or you have any questions it is best to ring customer service.
Taking Your Dog The Spirit of Tasmania
Making The Booking
Booking an your dog (or allowed pet) onto the Spirit of Tasmania is easy using the online booking form. There is a section of the online form titled “Who’s Going” where all humans and dogs (pets) are included. Simply select your number of pets.
Further in completing the form you will need to select the number of kennels required. This will need to be one kennel per pet “unless the animal is a mother with pups or kittens.” It also states on the online booking form “if travelling with a pet, it is a requirement that your pet travels in a Spirit of Tasmania kennel” (this isn’t strictly true and we will discuss more about this below). What is more accurate is each dog or pet must be booked on the by paying for a kennel each (consider it booking them a seat). Currently each Spirit of Tasmania kennel costs $22 each way.
Requirements for Dogs
Biosecurity Tasmania, Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment requires that any dog entering Tasmania must be treated with “praziquantel at a dose rate of 5 mg/kg body weight within 14 days before entry to Tasmania.” Evidence in the form of a letter or certificate from your vet, a statutory declaration from you as the owner, or the pill packet accompanied by the receipt will need to be provided.
As required, Chika (our dog) was taken to our local vet in NSW within the 14 days and was administered the praziquantel by our vet. The tablet given to Chika was massive and I mean the size of two big horse tablets. Thankfully Chika is motivated by food and took the tablet in two halves hidden in food. Chika had no side effects.
Sedation For Your Dog (An Option)
The option to sedate your dog maybe something to consider. It is not an option all dog owners will be comfortable with and for others like it us it is.
Our Ms Chika, bless her, is the sweetest dog but she is also an anxious dog. Her anxiety is mostly triggered by certain noises (too many to list here) and her fear of other dogs. When her anxieties are triggered she requires the trigger to either stop or be removed or to have us reassure her she is okay and remind her what behaviour is acceptable.
It is not possible to entirely control the environment for your dog while on the Spirit of Tasmania so if your dog too has an anxieties we would recommend speaking to your vet. Chika was prescribed a sedative which on our vets advice we trialled Chika a couple of days before we sailed. The result was the medication made her chilled and she laid around sleeping more than usual but she was not unresponsive and it did not turn her off her food.
On sailing day she was given the sedative 30 minutes before departure as directed by the vet. In all honesty, we cannot say for sure exactly how she went during the voyage however on collecting her at the end she was calm but very happy to see us.
Pre Sailing Phone Call
7 – 14 days prior to your sail date a representative from the Spirit of Tasmania will call you if you have booked for any pets. We were asked what breed of dog Chika is and were reminded about the vaccination requirements which we had completed by that time. It is also an opportunity to ask any questions you may have.
Check In and Boarding
It is now sailing day. At check in you will be asked to confirm verbally if your dog (or pet) is still travelling. A yellow sign to hang from your rear vision mirror will be provided.