flying out dogs
 

Has anyone any 1st hand experience on flying out dogs, Glasgow ~ Vancouver. Any information would be most appreciated.
Best airline ........ process ......... how stressful for dog :( ..........prices etc.
Thx

Re: flying out dogs
 

I did Glasgow-Toronto-Winnipeg last Oct with mine...but that was AC and the transatlantic part of that route doesn't exist anymore :( Real shame...especially as they forgot to charge me a penny, obviously didn't deal with livestock regularly!!!!

But as regards ground staff at Abbotsinch airport, they were fine with the dog, no problems there. We saw him be loaded on, all was fine. And it was okay to leave the castors on his crate, a guy went behind him up the belt into the hold.

Dog was a bit fretful when being wheeled round airports, but fine otherwise. No ill effects noticeable. He had a drink of water at Toronto and didn't mess his crate at all.

Re: flying out dogs
 

Not to Vancouver, but 2 dogs and our cat flew LHR to Toronto. Cost was £660 with British Airways. BA were wonderful! Animals all arrived happy and content and were not stressed in the slightest.

Re: flying out dogs
 

Hi
Air Canada, easy - if you have all the shots and vet certificate saying the dog is healthy to travel, not stressful for the dog, give a nice soft bedding to lie on though and the cost was minimal (if you do it yourself and dont go through a shipping agency) about 400 quid I seem to remember. I bought the crate from Air Par in Colchester which was also cheap.
Good luck :)

Re: flying out dogs
 

Hi

I'm looking to fly my Cocker Spaniel out from Manchester to Toronto. I would expect to be flying him out probably just after Christmas this year. AC don't run a winter service from Mcr to TO so any ideas on other airlines. I've flown with Zoom before and they were fine. Not too sure about dogs though. Any ideas anyone?

Drew

Re: flying out dogs
 

Hi
We did Man-Toronto last year with Air Transat (Canadian company) through Globespan. The dog travelled as excess baggage and cost about £125. It was a pain to book because we didn't know whether to book the dog first and hope we got seats or book our seats and hope that the dog would fit (I think that it is best to book your seats first). Once booked we then had to buy a crate from a company (I can't remember who but I'll look it up if you need to know) and they brought the crate to the airport for us (that cost about another £125ish). It depends on the size of your dog.
They were very good with the dog but the plane was uncomfortable to travel on with small seats and little legroom. However the staff were very helpful almost as compensation. But it was easy to travel with the dog and we were only doing it once.

Re: flying out dogs
 

Syd

Thanks for the reply. If you could dig out the number of the company you got the crate from then I'd really appreciate it.
Whereabouts do you live.
Cheers
Drew

PS What kind of dog have you got and what vaccinations etc did he or she need. My vet has told me that all our guy need needs is a rabies shot and a health certificate issued by the UK Government.

Re: flying out dogs
 

Try a Varikennel crate - they're just a big plastic pet carrier, available in different sizes. I got mine from an online pet shop. Means you can use it again, rather than just getting a wooden one made and having to chuck it away when you get there.

Re: flying out dogs
 

Try Varikennel - I got mine online for 2 cats. They're ABTA approved for airline use and come in different sizes. We bought Vet Beds for them that wick away moisture (ie. pee) and they still use them as they can be washed.

Only vaccination required for Canada is rabies and a 'fit to fly' certificate issued by your vet no more than 48 hours before flying.

Re: flying out dogs
 

?ABTA??? What am I like???? I meant IATA!! (It's too damn early in the morning to be at work!!)

Re: flying out dogs
 

Trish
Thanks for the info. You still got a lot of snow up there?

Drew

Re: flying out dogs
 

We flew our 2 Springer Spaniels from Glasgow to Vancouver last November with British Airways. It was £90 for each dog. We were charged an extra £200 for the transfer between flights at Heathrow, when they take them to the kennels. We hadn't been told about this in advance and were a bit annoyed (to say the least!) You have to give BA the dimensions of your crates in advance and they tell you if they have the space on the flight you want to book.

Our dogs were fine on arrival and I was worried sick about them. Altogether they had been travelling for 23 hours. Remember they need to get rabies shots to come to Canada.

Re: flying out dogs
 

Thanks everyone for your advice.
I think we will fly out with BA - have done all the other airlines and BA were best for us ~ so i am hoping they will be for the dogs as well.
will have to check the Heathrow transfer though if the flight is not direct.
1 of my dogs gets travel sick :scared: so will have to speak to my vet about that. Not too pleasant for the other dog in the crate :D

Re: flying out dogs
 

Has anyone here used the Bach flower remedies on their dogs prior to flight? It's probably not scientifically evaluated but they certainly don't do any harm and holistic vets approve. I'm going to try using a combination of the remedies for coping with fear and anxiousness.

Re: flying out dogs
 

We took our dog to BC for 3 months last winter. Flew from LHR to Calgary via Air Canada.

Everything worked out ok if a bit expensive.

We were told that it was best not to drug the dog as it can complicate or confuse matters if the animal becomes unwell for any reason.

Bear in mind the cargo hold will be dark and warm so the dog will just sleep. The stressful bit will be at the airports. On the way out our dog remained with us until the last minute which helped keep her calm.

The only bad bit was when she was dumped in the baggage reclaim for some time whilst the missus was grilled by Canadian Immigration.

She (the dog ;) ) is pretty highly strung but seemed to be over experience in no time at all.

Ian.