A Staffordshire Bull Terrier puppy going abroad

On this page

1. The puppy does not leave at two months
2. First of all: where a Staffy cannot go
3. What travels with the puppy
4. The export pedigree, and why to tell us early
5. Who comes to collect
6. How far ahead to move
7. An honest note
8. Talk to me early

A Staffordshire Bull Terrier puppy going abroad does not leave at two months like one staying in Italy, and the reason is a health one. To leave the country it needs the rabies vaccination, which cannot be given before 12 weeks of age, and after the first dose another 21 days must pass before it is valid for travel. The arithmetic is simple: a puppy born today cannot travel before four months. On top of that come the European pet passport, a microchip registered with the national database and the official health certificate, under EU Regulation 576/2013. Anyone promising delivery abroad at two months either does not know the rules or is breaking them, and in both cases it is worth wondering what else they are not doing. Documents, car, train and plane: the practical rules are in the guide on travelling with a Staffy.

We receive enquiries from outside Italy, mostly from Eastern Europe. It is possible, and we have done it before, but it works differently from a placement within Italy, and it is worth knowing that before falling for a photograph.

The puppy does not leave at two months

In Italy a puppy cannot leave its mother before 60 days. To leave the country, however, it needs the rabies vaccination, which cannot be given before 12 weeks of age. After the first dose another three weeks must pass before it counts for travel purposes. Documents, car, train and air travel: the practical rules are in the guide to travelling with a Staffy.

The arithmetic is simple: a puppy going abroad leaves at around four months, not before. That is six or seven weeks more than an Italian placement, and the puppy spends them here with us.

This is not red tape to be worked around: it is the time it takes. Anyone offering to send a two-month-old puppy to another country either does not know the rules or is breaking them, and in both cases it is worth asking what else they are not doing.

First of all: where a Staffy cannot go

In Germany there are two different rules, and it is worth not mixing them up.

• Bringing a Staffy into Germany to live there is forbidden throughout the country. A federal law (§ 2 Hundeverbringungs- und -einfuhrbeschränkungsgesetz) says so. It applies in every state and names the Staffordshire Bull Terrier together with the Pit Bull, the Amstaff and the Bull Terrier. A permit from a state is not enough.
• There are three exceptions: service dogs (guide dogs, assistance dogs, rescue dogs); dogs that already live in Germany and are coming back from a trip; and people who live outside Germany and stay there with the dog for four weeks at most, on holiday for example.
• Keeping a Staffy that already lives in Germany follows the rules of each state instead: some require a permit or a temperament test, others do not.

That is why a puppy going to a family who lives in Germany cannot leave, from us or from any other kennel, whichever state they live in.

In Austria and Switzerland there is no nationwide law like the German one: the rules change from one region to another, and in some Austrian states and some Swiss cantons the Staffy is on the lists, with a compulsory permit or course and sometimes stricter rules. Before writing to us, check what your state or canton requires. The rules of the various countries are on the page Staffy and the law.

What travels with the puppy

• Microchip to the European standard, registered
• European pet passport, completed by an authorised veterinarian
• Valid rabies vaccination, with the dates recorded in the passport
• Export pedigree: the ENCI genealogical certificate carrying the stamp that makes it transcribable abroad
• TRACES health certificate, issued by the official veterinarian of the local health authority after a clinical examination of the puppy

The TRACES certificate is the one that surprises people who have not been through it: when a puppy passes from a breeder in one member state to a family in another, the movement counts as commercial and the official certificate is required. The passport alone is not enough.

None of this is the breeder's own paperwork. The rules are set at EU level, and the European Commission publishes them in one place: microchip, passport and rabies vaccination for every dog, plus the additional certificate when a movement counts as commercial. Without them the puppy is turned back at the check.

Some countries additionally require treatment against Echinococcus multilocularis in the days before departure. It concerns few destinations, but it has to be checked case by case.

The export pedigree, and why to tell us early

The Italian pedigree on its own cannot be transcribed abroad. ENCI has to apply the Export Pedigree stamp: that document, and only that one, is what your national kennel club will accept in order to register the dog as a pedigree Staffordshire Bull Terrier.

How you get there depends on a decision made much earlier, when we register the litter:

• If we already know the puppy is yours, we register it in your name from the start. ENCI issues the certificate with the Export stamp and posts it to you. That is the short route.
• If the puppy is already registered to us, the change of ownership has to go through the Delegation first, and the certificate then goes to ENCI for the stamp. Same destination, a few weeks longer.

This is why we ask you to talk to us early: the litter is registered in the puppies' first months, and if by then we know who you are, the document sets off down the right road.

One thing to expect: the export pedigree almost always arrives after the puppy. It is posted to the new owner's address and does not travel in the crate. The dog leaves perfectly in order, because microchip, passport, vaccination and health certificate are what matter for entry. Registration with your own kennel club happens afterwards, with that sheet in hand.

Who comes to collect

The puppy does not travel alone. No couriers, no cargo holds, no handovers halfway in a car park.

You come to Ostellato. That is how we see who we are entrusting a dog to, and how you see the mother, the house and the place where he grew up. It matters even more when you live far away, because it is your one chance to check in person what you have read on a screen.

How far ahead to move

If a litter interests you, talk to us while the puppies are still small. It takes weeks to schedule the vaccinations at the right time, book the visit for the official certificate, and reconcile two calendars.

An honest note

Rules change. The European framework was updated in April 2026 and individual countries apply their own conditions, particularly for young puppies.

What you read here is how it works today, but before travelling it must be confirmed with your own veterinarian and with the animal health authority of your country. We do the same at our end, with the Ferrara health authority, for every single puppy that leaves Italy.