Tallie

Hi everyone

I am currently trying to understand the logistics of putting my dog on a transatlantic flight. She is a cairn terrier / bichon frise cross and is on the small side - about 9 inches tall, please could anyone tell me what breed of dog they have transported from the UK to the US in the cabin?

Also, please can anyone tell me what make of airline approved dog carrier they have used - both in the cabin and in the hold?

As it is such a long flight I may put her in the hold anyway so that she has a bit more space.

Thanks for your help!

Tallie

avanutria

Dunno about dogs but I've been investigating the same for our cat, and there's a kennel brand called Vari Kennel that seems to be the accepted standard - but double check this with your airline.

dunroving

AFAIK, you can't keep your dog in the cabin on a US-UK flight.

Just Jenney

I used a Vari-Kennel to transport my 90lb Akita from Santiago, Chile to Washington, DC (in the cargo hold, obviously). However, that was 12 years ago. You may have more luck with this:

PetTravel.com : Airline Pet Policies

Be sure to read the other links located under the "Airline Regulations" section.

Putting her in the cargo hold will not give your dog "a bit more space." Whatever carrier size is appropriate for your dog is the size you should use, regardless of whether she'll be in the cabin or in the cargo hold. You should NOT put your small dog in a medium- or large-sized carrier. Her carrier should be just big enough for her to lie, stand, and turn around in. Otherwise she could slip and slide and/or be tossed around in the carrier, which puts her at risk for injury.

~ Jenney

Tallie

Hi everyone

Thanks for your replies. I have now measured her and she is 11in tall, definately too tall to go in the cabin so she will definately be in the hold.

I will have a look at the vari kennels.

Jenney - I think my worry is that if she is in a small kennel she will not have enough space to do her business as her bed will take up all the space! I guess there is a fine line between the dog being comfortable and having too much space which may lead to injury.

Tallie

dunroving

Jenney is correct - You don't have any choice, as there are strict regulations governing the size of container you can use - can't be too small, but can't be too large either. I think the IATA Web site gives the regulations, but a lot of airlines also have links to the same information.

(Here you go: http://www.iata.org/whatwedo/cargo/l...imals/pets.htm)

Tallie

Thanks for the link Dunroving. I'm hoping to order a crate this week so I can get the dog used to it before our flight in January, so I'll use this to decide what size to order

Tallie

Just Jenney

You should plan on not feeding your dog for at least 6 hours before the flight, and also, before heading to the airport, taking her on a walk that's long enough for her to get everything out of her system, if you know what I mean. That way there won't be any need for her to do anything inside the crate. And besides, most dogs instinctively won't mess their beds unless they absolutely can't hold it in (they have diarrhea, a bladder infection, etc).

To me, it's a clear choice: I'll take a messy dog over an injured dog any day. In any case, Dunroving's right, the choice is pretty much already made by the IATA anyway...

~ Jenney

dunroving

Or you could match-set the dog (technique used before dog shows, where an inadvertent poop means disqualification). Works every time.

newcomer

Tallie - I would contact a pet carrier (eg Airpets) before you order the carrier. We have flown 2 labrador size dogs from the UK to US recently and after a lot of research I discovered that I had to book through a specalist pet carrier and could not book directly with the airline. Airpets made wooden crates to measure and if you buy a crate and the airline decides that it is the wrong size your dog will not be allowed to fly. I assume all rabies vacs. etc are up to date too - that is another minefield that the pet agency will advise you on.

buckers

Hi

We are moving over to US in a weeks time and taking our pet to the the US. She is a golden retriever so way to big to go in the cabin. We are flying with virgin as after looking at different airlines and speaking with them all, Virgin seemed (to us) to be the better one for her welfare - not sure if they were the cheapest. One thing you should know though is that if you are travelling on a weekend and you pick Virgin, they dont fly dogs on the weekend. Whilst we thought it would be easier to go through a pet travelling agency, actually when we looked at it it was very easy. We got a Vari carrier like the others (it cost us around 120Gbp). You need to arrange a pet health certificate in order for your pet to travel but this can not be any earlier than 10 days before the flight. All of your dogs immunisations need to be in place and dependant on the state you may need to get them vaccinated against Rabbies (we did just as an added precaution to ensure she gets through okay). You shouldnt feed them less than 24 hours before the flight but make sure they have plenty of water etc. No proper bedding is allowed but you can put down either paper or an absorbent mat (the pampers bed matts for children are quite good and we cleared it that we could use this). You need to drop them off around 4hours before for flight aswell.

Virgin were around 850 Gbp to transport, i think the others were around the same.

Hope this helps
Best of luck

dunroving

I'm surprised it cost that much - I thought that in the UK-US direction, dogs weren't charged as cargo if you are on the same plane ... charged as excess baggage (about 100 GBP)?

[I know that's not the case into the UK, because DEFRA rabies reg's require them to be shipped as cargo class, even if the owner is on the same plane]

newcomer

From what I understand the rules have changed over the last couple of years and you are no longer allowed to check them in as excess baggage and pet carriage is just another extra cost that airlines are piling on now. We tried to book the dogs ourselves, but BA and Continental would have charged us more than a pet carrying co. because they give discounts to the agents. In other words it is a big rip off whereby the agents and airlines benefit hugely and the customer is made to pay through the nose. They have you over a barrel as pets are part of the family and it is so difficult to leave them behind.

avanutria

Yeah, no more excess baggage for pets. Our cat flight is costing £380 on BA, but we're providing our own vari kennel. We're using Pet Exports UK Ltd.

I've just ordered some "Dryfur" kennel liners from the states, they are supposed to be very good. Shame the international shipping is extortionate - $24 shipping for $22 of goods.

meauxna

Sorry to interrupt.. I don't have a dog and am not flying anywhere, but what does that mean, "match-set"? Or is it another one of those things I wish I hadn't asked about?