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.
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.