Germany · Verbund rules
Can my dog travel on SH-Tarif buses and trains in Schleswig-Holstein?
Checked · Official source ↗
Yes — if you meet every condition.
What this means for you: Schleswig-Holstein splits by mode: the buses ask for a muzzle only if it could endanger someone; the trains require it for any dog bigger than a cat. So the Kiel–Flensburg or Hamburg–Sylt train means muzzle on, child ticket in hand. The North Sea and Baltic coasts are on, on those terms.
The rule, line by line
What SH-Tarif buses and trains actually say.
- Who gets on
- Any dog on a lead, with a child ticket. On the trains, every dog bigger than a house cat must be muzzled; on the buses only a dog that could endanger others.
- Who doesn’t
- On a train, an unmuzzled dog bigger than a cat.
- How much
- A child single ticket for the dog, unless it’s in a suitable carrier. The Deutschlandticket doesn’t include the dog.
- Where they ride
- On the lead, floor.
- Never, whatever the size
- Nothing by breed in the tariff.
- Where this applies
- Schleswig-Holstein — bus, tram, U-/S-Bahn and regional trains under the Verbund tariff. The cities inside the Verbund are below. Double-check who actually runs your service.
- Assistance dogs
- Guide dogs, companion dogs of severely disabled people (mark “B”) and marked assistance dogs ride free and are exempt from the muzzle; proof of training can be asked for.
State dog law applies on top
Breed rules come from the Land, not the transport operator, and they override the tariff.
- Schleswig-Holstein: No breed list. Every dog on a lead on public transport. What counts as a dangerous dog
- Germany (federal): Pit Bulls, AmStaffs, Staffordshire Bull Terriers, Bull Terriers and their crosses may only come into Germany with an owner who lives abroad, for four weeks at most. The federal rule
The cities inside the Verbund
Dogs on public transport in Kiel (KVG)
One tariff, one rule for every operator in it. 1 of the 1 networks below take a big dog on a lead; where an operator adds its own term — a muzzle, a fee, a ban on the call-taxi — it’s in the row.
Where a big dog rides — on a lead, under the Verbund rule
There is one network where the idea is the same: lead, off the seats, and you clean up. Muzzles and fares vary, so read the row.
Child ticket; lead; on buses muzzle only if dangerous, on trains muzzle for every dog bigger than a cat.
Train = muzzle, bus = maybe. The same ticket, two rules.
Checked 14 September 2026. Local rules change more often than the area rule — recheck the week you travel.
Your next step
Before you book.
- Read every condition, not just the yes.Lead, muzzle, fare, where the dog sits — each one is a reason a driver can turn you away.
- Check who’s actually running your service.Subcontracted and rail-replacement services can run under a different rule.
- Screenshot the rule.The operator’s own page on your phone settles most arguments at the door.