Transporting of Dogs

[xxfl350xx]

Hi to all

I'm hoping that everyone here will be able to advise me on the best way to transport me to little dogs all the way to Europe from the South East Asian area.
I'm pretty well aware that they need will need to be cleared by a vet and all that.
My biggest concern is that this is an extremely long flight requiring at least 2 to 3 changes in aircraft's. Having them checked in with my luggage..hmm well just doesn't seem right. Or having them in the passenger aircraft area, I do not know if this is permited.
i'v never seen a pet in the passenger area on my airline, nor have I really had anyone who delt with this type of situation.
So all in put is greatly appreaciated .
And no, leaving them here is not an option :):p

Kudos to all in advance

[PAXboy]

Each carrier has a whole slew of regulations and policies. You should be able to find them on their website. Or phone the booking number.

The key is the regulations of the originating, transit and destination countries. Check with the relevant sections BEFORE making any bookings. Quarantine will apply, the only question is how long.

Animals are boarded in special kennels, placed in specific parts of the hold with heating and checked at interim ports of call. The flight crew will know that they have animals on board.

This is routine and happens every day.

[GrahamO]

Don't travel with Delta though (if you are going Westbound) as I read somewhere this week that half of all pet deaths in the USA in transit happened under Delta control.

[Cymmon]

I would contact qatar airways, if they look after animals as well as they do the rest of us SLF, then I can't see you going wrong. Prices are good too.

[Hartington]

Whilst not claiming Delta are perfect, it's worth reading beyond the headline comment that "more pets died on Delta flights in 2011". The bald statement is true but, as is often the case, further investigation suggests all is not as bad as might be implied by the headline.

As for answering the OP question I would talk to my vet first. It seems to me that some animals may stand up to long non stop flights better than others. I think my immediate preference would be to minimise the number of stops my pet had to make, indeed I would go for non-stop if possible. But if my vet says "dog will benefit from a stop" I would question the definition of "stop" which I suspect would involve exercise, food, water etc and then plan my own flight to spend a night somewhere that I can get control of the dog and provide the required care.

Then I would search for an expert in pet transport and discuss my requirements for the dog.

[jubilee]

They still let my mother-in-law travel

[LondonPax]

I heard that dogs are sedated in flight. Is that correct?

Also, Hartington, I would guess that even if you can do a stopover, quarantine rules will prevent you from removing the dog from the airport so there'll be a limit on what you can do for it in terms of care.

[Hartington]

Quarantine does still exist in some places I grant you. However, the UK has always been extremely harsh in its' application of quarantine rules and even when we were demanding (pretty well) everything spent 6 months in quarantine many other countries had no quarantine at all which led to a surprising number of animals either being carted away on entry to te UK or being refused passage to the chagrin and loud complaints of owners. The point being that many places will allow the animal in. Even if they won't allow the animal in to meet you good planning can mean the animal getting a break, food and water in a facility like the one at Heathrow.

But, I stress, GOOD PLANNING.

[PAXboy]

I have never heard of domestic pets being sedated in flight. Thinking back to 'Airport', they showed hundreds of different animals and sedation was never mentioned. Not least, I'd say, because a sedated creature (including humans) should not be left unattended.

[bedsted]

Have a look at this on Freight Dogs 9 Aug 2011

http://www.pprune.org/freight-dogs/460231-flying-dog-us-uk.html

BTW, sedating is not recommended

[eastern wiseguy]

Pet Air UK | A bespoke pet travel service owned and run by vets (http://www.petairuk.com/)


Try these folks ...for info anyway.

Sedating is a BAD idea.....The last thing you need is the pooch to have a bad reaction ....(I am doing the same research myself...the Queen Mary is high on my (and Annie the dogs) list!!

[boeingbus2002]

Do you have actual details of departure and arrival points? Direct flights would be less stress for the dogs.
Cats often sedated. Not usually dogs. How big are they? Not usually an issue and if passing through or finishing at UK the quarantine staff take good care of animals try check. I've seen them change a kennel due to size being inadequate.

[G&T ice n slice]

refer you to :

Traveller's Pet Corner (http://www.iata.org/whatwedo/cargo/live_animals/Pages/pets.aspx)

Advise destination of dog - as regulations vary by country regarding import/arrival

[Pontius Navigator]

Twice, once short-haul, once medium-haul.

The vet recommended that the puppy was sedated although we weren't keen as I was handing it over to its new owners at LHR. We gave the puppy its pill and it was then checked in as luggage.

At LHR the puppy was right as rain having spat the pill out when we were not looking.

The other was a 90lb German Shepherd - different league to your small dogs. It required an huge crate in which it could stand up, turn around or lie down. Lying down required a floor plan of 5 feet by 3 feet. Total time in the crate was about 9-10 hours allowing for handling - no sedation.

You need to find out whether you need one crate per dog and the size of the crate(s). You should introduce your dogs to the crates up to 4 weeks before the flight. Put their food in the crate, put their bedding in the crate in the same room in which they normally sleep. Gradually increase their time in the crate with the door closed.

They will soon accept the crate and be less stressed on the flight.

[xxfl350xx]

Hi everyone

Firstly allow me to thank everyone for your posts and all the information that has been posted until now.
The input has been extremely helpful until now, in giving me a good idea on how to transport my dogs over to Europe.
I have a bit of time this week to start getting in contact with a few airlines to sort this out and I will post what they have to say, so we can all get a better idea on their procedures.
At least I know now that sedating is not an option and a large crate seems like the way to go.
Quarantine and the connecting flights will still be the biggest issue from what I can see as I'm sure I will have to fly to HK or SG first and then off to Europe.

Kudos to everyone and happy flying

[BOAC]

They still let my mother-in-law travel - book her on Delta?:)

[racedo]

Presume this was to ensure dog was still walking when flight landed rather than as a snack for the passengers...........