Not getting but sending!
I hope this is not an inappropriate post, but if it is, just put it in another section and let me know. I am so pleased we have placed all our puppies, and found them good homes, but I am a little anxious about one home which is far away. We live in Texas, and someone in CA bought one of our puppies. They are paying for shipping, and we have researched the process, and will send her out next week via American Airlines. She will be in a crate for about 5 hours during the flight. My question(s) are, Is there anything special we should do, besides making sure she is well hydrated before she leaves? The airline requires things like a good size crate, vet certificate, etc. which we have. Is there anything I am missing? I know several breeders and puppy recipients frequent this forum, so I am in hopes of some advice. Thanks |
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| Hi,
I am an airline manager and one time I had a dog escape from a crate on a flight I was handling. The dog disappeared for 5 days, but we did finally find her asleep in a shipping container. It was one very happy owner when we reunited her with the dog. My suggestion is to make sure the door on your crate is securely fastened and then to make double sure the door does not open "tie-wrap" (long plastic fasteners available in any hardware store) the door throught the two halves (vari-kennel type) of the crate. Please snip off the excess end. This way if airline personnel need to get into the crate for any reason all they have to do is cut the "tie-wrap" to gain access. Also, make sure the bottom of the crate is well padded. Crates do get bumped around as they are loaded and a well padded bottom of the crate makes it a little easier on the pet. Final hint, try and book the first flight out of the day. This way if there is any problem with the flight there are usually other options available to get the pet to his final destination (same advice for people too). Being a double sheepie owner, show cats owner and an animal lover in general I always watch out for the animals on my flights and I know many other "airline people" do as well. Hope you find this helpful! |
| What a great response - I know many people worry about this! |
| Great idea about the tie wrap! We were going to put something in the crate to pad it and to insure against wetness. Puppies just can't hold it that long. Do you think a towel or one of those puppy piddle pads?
The only flights leave at 6 or 7 am becasue that's the only time its cool enough. Texas gets HOT, HOT, HOT! Even evening flights are out becasue it doesn't get cool enough (85) until about 2 in the morning, so only morning flights can be used. I am concerned, though, about arriving in LA. Isn't it hot there, too? Where do puppies ride, down below in the hold with the luggage? I guess people do this all the time, but its new and a worry to us... |
| You could always fly the puppy as carry-on under the seat in front of you. It'd surely be a business expense. If you had enough time for advance purchase it might even be affordable. |
| All 4 of my sheepies came to me via airplane. 3 flew to Michigan from Texas as puppies (my special needs sheepie flew in-cabin) and one flew from Pennsylvania as an 11 month old. All of mine were booked on flights with absolutely no stop overs and arrived safely. Temperature restrictions can delay or cancel flights too so stay at the airport until the plane actually takes off. Good luck! |
| Hi,
In response to your question the puppy would go underneath the passenger compartment in the cargo/baggage hold. Pets are usually last on and first off the plane. If you should decide to take the puppy on board as carry-on you would need to make a reservation for the puppy at the same time you made your own reservation. Many carriers limit the number of pets allowed in the passenger cabin. He would need to be small enough to fit in a carrier that would fit underneath the seat in front of you for the duration of the flight. You would not be allowed to take the puppy out of the carrier during the flight. I usually recommend a "sherpa" type soft carry on bag to people who want to travel with their pet in the cabin. Hope you find this additional information helpful. |
| Chipper flew in to us from Texas (to GA), and he had a puppy pad on the bottom of his crate, and a toy inside the crate with him- (stuffed animal) that was a familiar "scent" to him.
I also shipped Chipper's sister, Julie, to her family in Pennsylvania. The night before the flight, I fed her a light meal (chick & rice) and some yogurt (helps settle the stomach). Her flight was at 8:20am, so I got her up at 4am, gave her a small amount of chick & rice, and again, some yogurt. Made sure she was well hydrated and offered her some Pedialyte also. I gave her Pedialyte at the Air Cargo location prior to having to crate her. MAKE SURE when you turn the pup over to American, that they "strap tie" the kennel door to the kennel. They are also supposed to put more water in the crate cup once she is boarded. You will need to put 2 feedings worth of dry food in a baggie and tape to the top of crate- American will have forms for you to complete about when the pups last feeding/watering was, and what the pup should be fed in case of an incident not planned. Julie had a pillow on the bottom of her crate, and a toy. If timing permits, I would suggest you asking the airline to send you the forms you will need to complete-so you can do in advance. For me, having it completed in advance, saved me a lot of stress that morning, as I was so uptight having never shipped an animal before. I hope everything works out well, for you and the pup!!! |
| ALSO, be aware, when you check the pup in at American Airlines (Delta required us to be there 2 hours prior to flight), they will check the weather report of the arriving city. If it is over a certain temprature ( I cannot recall if it was 80 degrees), they will not accept the pet.
Julie made it by 2 degrees on the flight... at first they tried to decline accepting her, but then checked another weather report and found that one a few degrees less than the other. Just wanted you to be aware, because I had no clue and was shocked at first! |
Well, we sent off our last two babies today 
But at least they went to nice homes. I have heard from both new owners, and the puppies arrived safe and sound.  |
| I also learned a little trick. The airline requires that shipping kennels have food and water dishes securely fastened to the side of the kennel so that they can be filled from the outside. You must also supply dry food which they taped to the outside to fill the dishes. But how to do this? Most (OK, all) the kennels I looked at had no such provisions.
Do other parts of the country have Tractor Supply stores? They are a chain that seems to do well occupying abandoned Wal-Marts. I bought one of our kennels there, and went back to see if they had anything I could use. Eureka! On the next isle with the bird cages were these slick little stainless steel cups that come with a mounting ring that attaches easily to the stiff wire door of the crate. Anybody else use these? You can see them in the picture of Alex above, and here are another couple shots, sorry about the blurry one... 
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| Ingenious solution! Nicely done! |
| Very nice.
Sorry to see them all go.... but you kept one, right?  |
| GREAT little solution to the feeding bowls problem! |
| I know this is late...
My Girl came from Saskatchewan to Nova Scotia I say it was around 7-8 hours. The paper on the bottom was wet that was it. She was great would have never know she traveled across Canada. They had a water bottle attached to the cage, no worries about spillage. |
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