julesnye

Hi just got of the phone with a pet transporter and they said that once the dog is left with them at the airport, that they are then caged, sealed and not let out for the entire journey(even if a stop over), to walk, relieve themselves etc. until MAF have checked them out and released them.

Does anyone have experience of this and can shed some light as to how the dog may be, after this long time being cooped up?

Also, can the dog be sent prior to us emigrating and kenneled until we arrive?

Regards
Jules

Am Loolah

Hi Jules,

This sounds right and is a bit shocking I know. But it is how they do it and there's no way round that as far as I'm aware.

You can send them out ahead of you if you have a contact to sign them in so to speak! You'll find kennels in the white pages for the area you are headed to.

My 2 dobermans took 2 weeks to get over the journey. Way longer than I thought they would. They were wobbly, whiny and had upset stomachs. It didn't help that the bitch flew in season I'm sure.

We used Airpets who were brilliant.

pixi-dust

Hi Jules, I dont know the answer to the second part - but they do have a fair bit of paperwork on arrival so you would need someone to do this - someone else will Know I'm sure.

Our dog came over 18 months ago now - he loves it here.

When we went to pick him up he was just lying in his crate looking out - so of course I promptly burst into tears cos he looked really sad but the second he saw us he jumped up and was wagging his tail like crazy. He jumped out and was so happy - and absolutely fine. His crate was completely clean and he wasn't smelly or anything. The MAF people had already let him out for a wee.

We took him to the nearest beach and he ran around with a huge smile on his face. For a couple of days he was a wee bit jet lagged - he would get up in the middle of the night and want to play but that was all.

When we picked him up there were three other dogs waiting for their owners and they all looked good.
I won't tell you not to worry, cos I know if you're anything like me you will till you see him! But he was absolutely fine


oops cross posted loolah!

Heavenlyscent

Hi Jules
We brought 2 dogs and 1 cat out with us from the uk in dec 05. They landed 2 hours before us so were here the day we arrived in Auckland. We went straight from arrivals to pick them all up, they were fine, the journey had not affected them at all and to see their tails wagging and waiting for us, was wonderful. They now have a daily swim in Lake Rotorua and love it. In saying that they r also flying back to the uk at the end of July all 3 of them. So good luck, try not to worry everything will be fine

Frenchy

We transported our 2 spaniels from the Uk with golden arrow in January. They did a long flight from Manchester to LA then Christchurch, they didn't even pee in the crates!!!!

Milly is deaf and she had a sign on her crate that said my name is Milly I am deaf but happy!!!!!!

You seriously would not have know what an ordeal they had been through, they were both in PERFECT condition (and GA had kenneled them 10 days prior as well)

They were just sooooooooooooooooo happy to see us, it was hard to get the crates open and grab them as they didnt have collars on. We were so scared of how they would be but we need not have worried GA were fantastic!!!!!

Good luck to you!!!

ezzkazz

I have 2 dogs and 2 cats to ship to NZ and I am worried about one of my dogs. She gets very anxious as when she was younger she got run over and nearly died. It took her a year to recover from her main injuries and now she is very nervous of loud noises. There is now way I would leave her behind but I am worried all the airport noises etc will make her panic.

karonious

Our cat used to hate travelling. As we moved many times round Britain, we got to the point that we would ask the vet for sedation for her - not to knock her out but to calm her a bit.
Probably a stupid question: can't they sedate her a bit at least, to take the edge of her anxiety?

ezzkazz

I did ask to about this but they wont give them anything as I believe it can be dangerous for them. My other dog will see it all as one big joy ride and is as stupid as they come but I am a bit worried about the other. She may surprise me yet and deal with it very well

lapsed kiwi

Our mutt was fine, quite hoarse for a few weeks because he obviously barked a lot in the plane but he had made no mess in his box and was back on form really soon.

dlmckay

Shippers will not sedate animals - it may mask symptoms of distress caused by illness. Ask the shippers if they can face the crates so that the anxious dog can see the calm dog. Also look into some DAP spray too - herbal stuff that is supposed to relieve anxiety. Google will have info on that.

Two of my cats rely on each other heavily and I asked if they could be transported in the same box. They have to travel separately, but they made me a single box with a mesh divider so they could still be "together". Maybe you could get something similar for the dogs?

If you really think your anxious dog is going to have a hard time, ask to have the crates in advance of the shipping and turn it into your dog's bed. Then they have a chance to get used to the crate prior to travelling.