dpa (TNS)

BERLIN — Anyone who has brought dogs hiking or to the beach likely has fond memories of them panting and zig-zagging across rolling hills or splashing exuberantly in pursuit of a stick fired into the surf. But for those who want to go further and bring a jet-set pet on holiday, the process can be tricky, going by guidelines published by the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Before you book a hound into the hold, it is probably prudent to suss out if the dog is what in human terms is known as a good traveler — which can be hard to know unless the animal has been away before.

Then there is the dizzying array of rules: vaccinations, tests, treatments, health certificates and so on. These not only vary from country to country but often within countries — and need to be checked out in advance as part of a preamble that eats up the hours and invariably entails trips to a vet.

Airlines, airports, hotels, public transport all should be contacted in advance for a heads-up on the rules around having pets tag along.

The European Union warns travelers of “detailed rules” when bringing a pet on holiday within the bloc. Rules get more detailed with more potential tripwires down the line if travelling farther afield: airport layovers and flight changes are not always straightforward at the best of times, even for solo travelers shouldering no more than a carry-on bag.

According to Pet Relocation, a company specializing in helping owners move their animals from place to place, getting a pet through layover while changing airlines can mean clearing customs as part of the transit.

Customs rules can apply if a stopover exceeds 24 hours, which can be an unforeseen development such as bad weather, in turn putting even the best-laid pet plans in turmoil.

Then there is the question of whether the dog really wants to go at all or if an owner just assumes as much.

The answer is likely the latter, if recently published research by Arizona State University is anything to go by. People not only often struggle to understand dogs but tend to anthropomorphize or project human traits onto the animal, the ASU team found, after carrying out a series of audio-visual tests.