The post Brexit rules for travelling to the EU with a dog are well known. They include the need to arrive in the EU with a pet health certificate. These are dual language documents and I believe that, assuming you are arriving in France, are issued in English and French. You are then allowed to move freely between EU countries for up to four weeks before the certificate expires. The question (raised by our vet) is whether any more documentation, such as a Spanish translation of the certificate, is required for onward travel between France and Spain. The official websites of the U.K. and Spain are not too clear on this. Any help or experience welcome.

Sorry for four weeks read four months!

Update: According to the APHA - the Animal and Plant Agency - our vet was barking up the wrong tree (sorry!). If you have an English/ French animal health certificate you can travel through France to another EU country e.g. Spain without further documentation.

The documents may allow 4 months travel for your pet, however my understanding is that the owners can only remain in the EU for 3 months before having to return to the UK for 3 months. And it's cumulative, so you can't do 3 months in Europe, then come back to the UK for a week and then return to Europe again for another spell - you have to have 3 clear months back in the UK... is that right?

Under normal circumstances that is correct. Exceptions include those working, studying, visiting for medical purposes or like me, if you wife has an Irish passport.

from our Government website:
"You do not need a visa for short trips to the EU or countries in the Schengen area if both of the following apply: you're staying for 90 days or less in a 180-day period and you're visiting as a tourist or for certain other reasons."

From iameileen.com (claims to be the ultimate guide as to how to get round the 90 day rule):
"Once you are allowed to enter the Schengen Area — with just your passport or with a short-term visa — you are ONLY permitted to stay for 3 months (90 days) in ANY 6-month period (180 days). The 90-day span doesn’t need to be consecutive, it’s treated as cumulative (especially if you have a multiple-entry visa); but the fact remains that after you have stayed in Schengen for a total of 90 days, you have to leave. You are NOT allowed to come back again until the 181st day from the first time you stepped in. Nevertheless, it’s said by most travelers (who are free to enter Schengen countries with just a passport) that southern countries like Greece, France, Spain, and Italy are not so strict on checks. While western countries like Belgium, Germany, Netherlands, and EFTA states (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland) are very firm with entry and exits (primarily at the airports or train stations, more so if you’re going to an isolated island).

That means, I believe, that UK citizens can only go the the EU for 3 months max in a 6 month period - i.e. you have to have 3 months out of the EU. Not sure even a wife with an Irish passport gets you past that - she can stay but you can't? Ireland isn't in Schengen either.

And it is cumulative, I'm afraid.

Response fro EU Contact Centre -

“The fact that you reside with your Irish wife in the UK is, on its own, not sufficient to waive the limits of the 90/180-days rule if you intend to travel on your own to a Schengen Member State.

However, if your wife is travelling with you to a Schengen country, or joins you in a Schengen country, the 90/180 days limitation does not apply. Accordingly, any stays in the Schengen area together with her will not be taken into account when you travel again on your own. Please be aware, however, that in this case you might need to have documentation to show on when you were travelling with her and when you were not”

Oh dear, not a ringer

Ah, you will see I said that Sarah had an Irish passport. That was courtesy of her Grandmother. We were, as I recall, competing as an international team (remember our flag was a parrot!) By the way I still have the trophy and looking forward to an opportunity to defend the title.