l4urenec

Has anyone used skydogs.co.uk company?

I have been given a quote by my vet which was coming to £7K whereas this company are saying around £4K.

Can anyone let me know how much they were charged for full transportation, documentation etc and veterinary costs pre-travel per dog?

I'm flying two dogs but want to get an idea of what the average cost is per dog that I should be expecting as £7K seems quite high but not sure whether as I know my vets to go with them so would appreciate any recommendations.

spouse of scouse

7,000 pounds seems awfully expensive. I know this probably won't help because it's 'the other way', but I've just flown my very large golden retriever from Australia to the UK with Emirates for AU$4,150 (GBP 1,915 at today's XE live exchange rate).

The price included everything, rabies shots, 2 home visits for check-ups, pick up from home and drop off at UK address, crate, flights, all customs paperwork - I didn't have to do a thing.

Australia is generally acknowledged as dearer than the UK for most things, which is why I think 7 grand is horrific! 4 grand sounds more like it. Don't forget you need to have a government accredited vet do all the sign offs for shots, microchip etc.

l4urenec

That's what I thought... seems incredibly expensive.

I'm shopping around and at the moment I'm getting around £2000 without all the vet costs, import permits and cost for quarantine. Do you think that sounds about right? I'm thinking it will probably be around £4000 ish in total.

Do you know how to check whether they're accredited? I know the vet that gave me the quote is, but I assume these larger companies such as Skydogs etc Petair etc will be accredited.

l4urenec

Who did you use by the way?

DML

A couple of years ago we used Petair UK to fly two (very large) old english sheepdogs out to melbourne from Heathrow. Cost about £5K in total. Flew with Qantas. Couldn't fault Petair, excellent service.

l4urenec

Did that include the quarantine fees too?

l4urenec

On top of who did you use, did this include the quarantine fees and import permits or were these on top of that price?

DML

no quarantine charges were on top. Thankfully these days dogs from the UK don't need to be in quarantine for as long but its still expensive. http://www.agriculture.gov.au/cats-d...ntine-services

Belle121

I've just started the process myself, I'm going to see if I can actually do most of it on my own. So far my dog received the rabies jab, next shall wait till end of January where I will go back to vet to get the blood test done (RNATT). Once I've got the permit then it's a case of a timeline of booking flight, crate, other inoculations, book quarantine and onwards travel once she arrives in Aus.
Ok, I maybe naive but I rather do as much as the leg work as possible to save $$$

It's not impossible to do it alone, there's enough on the net to guide you.

jersey2perth

Dear Belle121

I was wondering how you are getting on with your efforts to do most of the paperwork etc. yourself for your dogs transportation?

We live in Jersey which adds a considerable curve ball to the transport mix! Paying a company to just do it all is looking unlikely because none really operate locally so I need to at least get him to the UK for the main departure - but everything else needs to be done on island

Any pointers gratefully received - thanks.

Belle121

Hi jerseytoperth,

We are aiming for July to transport so really at the early stages and have Rabies jab done and blood tests.
My vet asked if I was employing a pet courier or doing it myself. So he's reassured me that if we keep in the loop together it's quiet possible to do this without paying a third party.
Just so happens when I was at the vet getting blood tests done the local pet courier guy came in, I don't know him I just saw the van with signage and saw this opportunity to ask a few casual questions.
The tricky bit with Oz is that everything is on a time line, if you miss a date for any of the process you end up back to square one.
There are many hoops to jump through, they are equally spaced out and you need to jump through each one as and when, otherwise you will have to start again and possibly have to leave dog behind for a company to do it anyway.

You kind of need a date you're leaving yourself then you can work towards that.
My date is early July. I'm on schedule so far.

Your first step is a rabies jab, wait 4 weeks to get bloods done.
I started process back beginning of Dec for a departure of end of June early July.
I'm in Aus at the moment so on return I will pick up blood results and apply for permit with my blood results.

That's where I'm at right now.... Early stages but hey, I think if you have the time or don't have a company to use then anything is possible. It's not rocket science!

Belle

jam.skinner

Hi, can I ask how you have/will book the flight? We have called round a few airlines and have been told we have to book through shippers only. Like you, we are sure we can do it ourselves to cut out the third party costs, but flights seem to be an issue.

Belle121

Jam.skinner

Our shipping agents we are using to transport everything but the bricks of the house can transport pets too.
It's a good point you've raised, I'm going to enquire with them about the flight it's self.
I'm using PPS based in South London.

I know I may at some point have to use an agent or third party but if there is any way I can reduce costs I will.

Once Coco pops arrives in Aus, I know I will have to use a shippers to get her up to Brisbane.

On the case.....

Phil K

Hi, also looking to ship 3 golden retrievers in early april. got prices from 5500 to 11000, we are based east London. will check out pps in south London belle121. we have just got our import permits authorised by BICON for the 3 dogs and will apply for quarantine on Monday. so far I have done all the dogs stuff myself.http://www.agriculture.gov.au/cats-dogs has a import timeline calendar if this helps this is ours timeline for the dogs, it is a bit of a mindfield but not undoable Tracey K

What you need to doRecommendedEarliestLatest
Visit your vet09 Sep 201508 Mar 201418 Sep 2015Take your pet to the Government Approved Veterinarian and ask them to: a) Scan their microchip and confirm it matches all health records; and b) Vaccinate your pet against Rabies; and c) Write a note for you to take that confirms they performed (a) and (b)
Visit your vet09 Oct 201507 Apr 201409 Oct 2015
Take your pet to the Government Approved Veterinarian and ask them to: a) Scan their microchip and confirm it matches all health records; and b) Take a blood sample to test for Rabies; and c) Write a note that confirms they have performed (a) and (b).
Visit your government office23 Oct 201507 Apr 201410 Feb 2016Take your pet's rabies blood test result to the Official Government Veterinarian so they can complete and sign the rabies declaration form published on the website of the Australian Government Department of Agriculture.
Apply for an Australian Import Permit06 Nov 201506 Oct 201510 Feb 2016Apply for an Australian import permit and blank health certificate from the Australian Government Department of Agriculture.
Book pet accommodation27 Nov 201527 Oct 201506 Apr 2016Book your pet into accommodation at an Australian Government Department of Agriculture Quarantine Facility, as located in Melbourne or Sydney.
Visit your vet26 Feb 201617 Feb 201602 Mar 2016Take your dog to the Government Approved Veterinarian and ask them to: a) Review the requirements in the import permit; and b) Scan their microchip and confirm it matches all health records; and c) Perform a clinical examination that your dog is free from ticks; and d) Give your dog their first tick treatment (external parasites); and e) [US exports only]: Vaccinate your dog against canine influenza virus; and f) Write a note for you to take that confirms they performed (a)- (d)/(e).
Visit your vet18 Mar 201616 Mar 201623 Mar 2016Take your animal to the Government Approved Veterinarian and ask them to: a) Review the requirements in the import permit; and b) Scan their microchip and confirm it matches all health records; andc) Perform a clinical examination that they are free from ticks; and d) Give them their first worming tablet (intestinal parasites); and e) Give them their second tick treatment (external parasites); and f) Take a blood sample to test for Brucellosis OR provide a desexing certificate; and g) Take a blood sample to test for Leptospirosis OR provide records that the dog has been fully vaccinated for this disease; and h) Take a blood sample to test for Leishmaniasis; and i) Take a blood sample to test for Ehrlichiosis; and j) [US exports only]: Give a booster vaccination against canine influenza virus if required; and k) [If visited mainland Africa only]: Treat them with an anti-babesial agent; and l) Write a note for you to take that confirms they performed (a)- (k) and have them attach all reports and certificates.
Visit your vet01 Apr 201601 Apr 201606 Apr 2016Take your pet to the Government Approved Veterinarian and ask them to: a) Review the requirements in the import permit; and b) Scan their microchip and confirm it matches all health records; and c) Give them their second worming tablet (intestinal parasites); and d) Give them an additional tick (external parasite) treatment if required; and e) Perform a final clinical examination that the animal ‘is free from ticks and clinical signs of infectious and contagious disease’;f) Write a note for you to take that confirms they performed (a)-(e); andVisit your government office01 Apr 201601 Apr 201606 Apr 2016

Belle121

Phil K,

Yes the goverment websites are invaluable.
I've applied for the permit but their website won't let me upload my RNATT declaration. I've emailed them and waiting a response.
For anyone else thinking of doing this themselves is really isn't as bad as how it's made out.

The most important tip is that once the bloods are taken for the rabies antibody test, the dog can not travel until 180 days after this blood test.

Once the permit is granted then it's just a time scale of what's what as what Phil K has mentioned and this is all on the bicon.agriculture web site.
Just put in the dates you wish to travel and the site automatically works out what you need to do when.

Has anyone else had issues with upholding certificates on the online application site on bicon.agriculture? Each time I upload the certificate comes out pixilated. The bloods report form was ok! Have rescanned the RNATT, saved etc but each time I upload I get same results.
Anyway, am waiting a response and can easily post the RNATT if needs be.

keep me posted Phil K on how your getting on. Have you bought crates yet? I've a Portuguese Water Dog, small lab size dog... Any ideas on size and make on crate?