Shipping a puppy

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isonychia
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Shipping a puppy

Post by isonychia » Sat Feb 17, 2018 10:00 am

I am expecting to have a puppy shipped out to me from out of state. My airport is fairly small and will likely have to travel 3-4 hours to pick the pup up. Delta has same day options but they are pretty long, much longer than if I were to fly out and pick the dog up, waiting on an inquiry to AA. What is the max amount of time the pup sould be in transit? Are petmate kennels the only reasonable choice? Ruff tough has plastic doors ruling them out. What size pet mate for an 8 week brittany pup? 100 series/small? Is a health certificate required for a pup that young?

Any help from experienced shippers would be greatly appreciated.

cjhills
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Re: Shipping a puppy

Post by cjhills » Sat Feb 17, 2018 10:46 am

isonychia wrote:I am expecting to have a puppy shipped out to me from out of state. My airport is fairly small and will likely have to travel 3-4 hours to pick the pup up. Delta has same day options but they are pretty long, much longer than if I were to fly out and pick the dog up, waiting on an inquiry to AA. What is the max amount of time the pup sould be in transit? Are petmate kennels the only reasonable choice? Ruff tough has plastic doors ruling them out. What size pet mate for an 8 week brittany pup? 100 series/small? Is a health certificate required for a pup that young?

Any help from experienced shippers would be greatly appreciated.
Do not know the Max time in transit.
You can get a steel door for rough tuff kennels that complies. the pup needs to be able to stand up and turn around. Some airlines require the pup to0 be Ten weeks to ship and we do also. You can take the pup as carryon if it will fit under your seat you can take it in a soft bag or kennel make sure it gets air. This is cheaper than shipping and is what we generally do. they do require a heath certificate but the shipper gets that............................Cj
Last edited by cjhills on Sat Feb 17, 2018 10:51 am, edited 1 time in total.

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isonychia
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Re: Shipping a puppy

Post by isonychia » Sat Feb 17, 2018 10:49 am

cjhills wrote:
isonychia wrote:I am expecting to have a puppy shipped out to me from out of state. My airport is fairly small and will likely have to travel 3-4 hours to pick the pup up. Delta has same day options but they are pretty long, much longer than if I were to fly out and pick the dog up, waiting on an inquiry to AA. What is the max amount of time the pup sould be in transit? Are petmate kennels the only reasonable choice? Ruff tough has plastic doors ruling them out. What size pet mate for an 8 week brittany pup? 100 series/small? Is a health certificate required for a pup that young?

Any help from experienced shippers would be greatly appreciated.
Do not know the Max time in transit. you can get a steel door rough tuff kennels. the pup needs to be able to stand up and turn around. Some airlines require the pup to0 be Ten weeks to ship and we do also. You can take the pup as carryon if it will fit under your seat Which is cheaper than shipping and is what we generally do. they do require a heath certificate but the shipper gets that............................Cj
Good to know about the rough tuff door. Quotes on shipping are under $300 from both AA and Delta. Round trip flight, hotel room and carry on pet fee ends up being around $750

Timewise65
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Re: Shipping a puppy

Post by Timewise65 » Sat Feb 17, 2018 11:10 am

I have only bought one puppy that I air shipped. The only reason I did it is because we live close to an airport and the California airport they shipped from had a direct flight to where we live. So, it was limited risk and was less than 3-hour flight.

I have never heard any limit to time for a pup to be on a plane. But I do know you should not ship a dog in the summer as the heat can kill them while waiting for their crate to get loaded or unloaded...so avoid that situation. I personally would never ship my pup if it required a change in airplanes, to many things can happen up to and including a lost or stolen dog! I also would not feel good about carrying the dog on the plane. Young dogs who were just separated from Mom and Pack can make tons of noise. Probably a good way to get thrown off a plane not to mention all the mad passengers who may not love and tolerate your pup as much as you do............I have heard of people getting a drug to keep the puppy quite, but my vet said drugging a young dog like that would be dangerous.....

Our last dog was up in Illinois, about 6-hour drive for us. We left on Friday stayed overnight at a motel, picked up the dog the next morning and drove home with it stopping every two hours to water a walk the pup.....we enjoyed that ride with our new pup, very much...

Good Luck

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isonychia
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Re: Shipping a puppy

Post by isonychia » Sat Feb 17, 2018 11:23 am

Timewise65 wrote:I have only bought one puppy that I air shipped. The only reason I did it is because we live close to an airport and the California airport they shipped from had a direct flight to where we live. So, it was limited risk and was less than 3-hour flight.

I have never heard any limit to time for a pup to be on a plane. But I do know you should not ship a dog in the summer as the heat can kill them while waiting for their crate to get loaded or unloaded...so avoid that situation. I personally would never ship my pup if it required a change in airplanes, to many things can happen up to and including a lost or stolen dog! I also would not feel good about carrying the dog on the plane. Young dogs who were just separated from Mom and Pack can make tons of noise. Probably a good way to get thrown off a plane not to mention all the mad passengers who may not love and tolerate your pup as much as you do............I have heard of people getting a drug to keep the puppy quite, but my vet said drugging a young dog like that would be dangerous.....

Our last dog was up in Illinois, about 6-hour drive for us. We left on Friday stayed overnight at a motel, picked up the dog the next morning and drove home with it stopping every two hours to water a walk the pup.....we enjoyed that ride with our new pup, very much...

Good Luck
Yeah I debated making the 7 hour drive to Denver to pick the pup up from a Delta cargo that only made 1 stop. I remember that noise you mentioned pretty well and also wondered about that. The full drive is more than 26 hrs round trip so that isn't an option.

Couldn't be worse than this; https://youtu.be/Cg6jvKt2h6s

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isonychia
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Re: Shipping a puppy

Post by isonychia » Sat Feb 17, 2018 11:57 am

Just got off the phone with AA, one stop in Dallas and then the pup will arrive here at my local airport for a total travel time of less than 6 hours for under $300. Delta had the pup going backwards to the East coast first and couldnt event get to my airport. Looks like the small rough tuff at about 22"x16"x16" more or less ignoring fractions is probably perfect for an 8 week brittany and can even be good at home for house breaking.

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Re: Shipping a puppy

Post by shags » Sat Feb 17, 2018 1:20 pm

A word of warning in regard to your kennel. I did a lot of pick up and drop off at the airport for a training kennel. Kennel size depends more on the airline personnel than the size of the pup, so be careful. I would pick up a mature dog from say LAX, and a few months later drop it off *in the same crate* at the local airport - only to be denied because the clerks said the crate was too small. This happened with different dogs, different breeds, different brand crates, with the only variable being who was at the counter. After the the first time, when I had to purchase a new, too big crate to ship the dog out, I brought a larger spare along in the truck just in case.

Some of the clerks were fine with the dog being able to stand and turn with its head about even with/ just higher than the shoulders but the sticklers wanted the dog to be able to stand in the crate with its head up, and without nose or tail touching the end of the crate. So instead of a crate for a setter, they went into Great Dane sized ones.

IIRC you also have to include a water dish, the kind that fastens on the inside of the door. The health cert was taped to the top of the crate.

FWIW I’ve had pups shipped to me from Denver and Minneapolis and everything went well. The shipper called me when the pup was dropped off and give me all the flight info, and I got to the airport a little before ETA. Both times the pups were squawking pretty good, but none the worse for the travel.

Good luck to you and the new pup :)

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Irishwhistler
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Re: Shipping a puppy

Post by Irishwhistler » Mon Feb 19, 2018 6:20 am

RUFF TOUGH makes optional metal doors for their crates to comply with air common carrier regulations.

Irishwhistler

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Featherfinder
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Re: Shipping a puppy

Post by Featherfinder » Mon Feb 19, 2018 11:14 am

I believe a pup should be on an airline as little as possible. That said, the mandate comes from your choice as to where the pup is originating from so that aspect is decided for us. The options there-in are limited in that some flights have a number of lay-overs where-as others can be direct or virtually direct. If there is a fee for a more direct flight (within reason) I would go for it.
I have received dogs in Buffalo, NY from various destinations because it is the closest to my home. I have had pups/dogs arrive in excellent condition and I have had others arrive covered in excrement/vomit. Some of that is because the breeder/owner made the mistake of feeding too close to shipping. In other events, it is simply that some dogs are more sensitive to flight/motion. Either way....it's a done deal.
The long-and-short of this is, there are too many variables to put a finger on a magic panacea that addresses all our concerns. If you have done the research and are happy with your final decision...go for it. The other stuff will soon be history.
As for the crate, I request or use typical vinyl airline acceptable crates because they are what I use on a day-to-day basis. I often re-use them for shipping and it keeps expenses reasonable. If you have a choice, ask for a crate that you can use later on as dog grows. This typically is oversize but easily addresses airline constrictions. Issues can arise of the crate is too small - rarely if too big. I don't always agree with their rules because they are often business motivated rather than canine concerns but......
When I ship, I add a small water container that typically clips to the inside of the crate door as well as a small zip-lock bag of the kibble pup is currently eating. In the event of an unplanned delay, pup has food and water. I duct tape the kibble to the top of the crate along with contact info. Most of these suggestions are requirements of some airlines but not all of them.
I wouldn't be overly concerned if pup arrives soiled up. Pup will respond to you/your demeanor more-so than what she went through in the PAST. Be calm/cool, take care of pup, then occupy your mind with what your ensuing plans for making memories together.
Congrats!!
Last edited by Featherfinder on Mon Feb 19, 2018 11:23 am, edited 1 time in total.

JONOV
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Re: Shipping a puppy

Post by JONOV » Mon Feb 19, 2018 11:21 am

isonychia wrote:I am expecting to have a puppy shipped out to me from out of state. My airport is fairly small and will likely have to travel 3-4 hours to pick the pup up. Delta has same day options but they are pretty long, much longer than if I were to fly out and pick the dog up, waiting on an inquiry to AA. What is the max amount of time the pup sould be in transit? Are petmate kennels the only reasonable choice? Ruff tough has plastic doors ruling them out. What size pet mate for an 8 week brittany pup? 100 series/small? Is a health certificate required for a pup that young?

Any help from experienced shippers would be greatly appreciated.
I've flown a couple times with dogs. The first time, I paid $125 each way (he was 12 weeks old or so at the time.) I've done it with Delta and American. When I put him under the plane I used a Dakota Kennebec Kennel.

Health Cert's are required in every instance as far as i know.

I've looked at a few airlines cargo-pet policies, and United Petsafe is the most impressive to me.

It isn't all that hard, but I wouldn't entrust a breeder that isn't 100% on board with it, and 100% comfortable with the process. Too much can go wrong and leave you scrambling, with a dog that didn't get on the plane due to one snafu in paperwork. Now, if he ships two dogs out of every litter, go for it, he has it together and will handle it, but I really wouldn't try and coach someone on where/when to get the dog to the airport, and then trust everything to run flawlessly on the airports side.

Have you thought about looking at ground-shipment services? Plenty of Field Trialers, trainers, etc, haul dogs all over the country, you just have to keep an ear out.

If you're flying your dog into an airport like New Bern, NC, Evansville IN, Fargo ND, etc, the simple fact is that most of these airports are going to have a few flights a day coming in. The dog will fly into (Chicago, Charlotte, Denver, MSP, Detroit,) then get on the one plane into your local airport.

You have to have a water bowl on the inside of the crate.

You have to tape food to the top of the crate.

reba
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Re: Shipping a puppy

Post by reba » Mon Feb 19, 2018 3:56 pm

The Breeder should have full knowledge of shipping and also supply the CRATE.

I bought my last GSP from No-Mars. Leo supplied the crate, the bedding material, water and even a collar and leash.

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