# Shipping Puppies on Airplanes - your experiences



## luv2laugh (Oct 4, 2011)

So, my little vizsla puppy is supposed to be shipped to us on October 28, 2011. We put down the deposit a couple weeks ago.

I am having second thoughts about this shipping thing. The guy lives across the country, but when trying to find out what to expect when the puppies get off the plane, I found a thread with horrible info. (I did search pre-deposit, but was not on this forum yet and didn't see the links. I found affirming information. I spoke with references who got puppies through him before were near me and had a decent experience with the shipping and also local trusted breeders that also ship)

https://www.msu.edu/~silvar/airplane.htm
http://www.petflight.com/pet-incidents/airlines/united-airlines

Did any of you get your puppies shipped to you? What was your experience? How were the puppies when they got out of the plane?

He is shipping our little guy United.


----------



## lil_fuzzy (Aug 16, 2010)

I had Obi shipped to me when he was about 12 weeks old. He was well socialised and naturally confident. He seemed a little nervous in the carrier, but as soon as I got him out and carried him and put him on my lap he seemed fine, and as soon as we got home and I put him down he started running around and investigating stuff, so he was perfectly fine. He spent about 2 hours on the plane, and before that he waited in the airport a few hours I think, because he missed the flight he was supposed to be on (the foster carer was horrified when I told her he was late, because it meant he spent an extra 2-3 hours in the carrier).

But all in all it was a perfectly good experience and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again.


----------



## WildHearts (Dec 18, 2010)

I got my older dog, Sasha, shipped to me about a year ago. 

I had her shipped Delta, and everything went fine. She was on the plane about 3 hours I think but there was a wait in between airports for a couple hours too. When I picked her up at the airport she didn't think much of me, but that was probably because she's a reserved dog, and pretty shy. But she didn't act like the flight had scared her too much. When I got her home and let her out she was running all over sniffing everything. 

I would do it again for sure.


----------



## luv2laugh (Oct 4, 2011)

Thanks for responding. I was having anxiety about it last night and your responses calmed me down. Those links were so scary.

Glad both of you had good experiences. Fingers crossed ours will go well also.


----------



## hast (Aug 17, 2011)

My dog was shipped to me as a 81/2 week old puppy and I also brought her to Sweden and back as a 3 year old. When I picked her up as a puppy she was very calm and 'watchful' ... a very confident girl from the start. When I picked her up in Stockholm she was stressed ... but when I picked her up here in the US she was much calmer since it was only 5 months between and she knew what to expect.


----------



## Inga (Jun 16, 2007)

I had one of my males shipped to me from North Carolina to Wisconsin and when he got here he was calm and comfy. Not stressed out like I feared he may have been.


----------



## MafiaPrincess (Jul 1, 2009)

Continental was a nightmare. They pet service which is supposed to be stellar was staffed by people who don't like animals..

There were no direct flights NC to Ontario. He boards his first flight.. I'm at home excitedly watching when I see the warning his connecting flight just cancelled. Call Continental. They don't really care. Call the breeder, who calls Continental.. They won't pull him off the plane which won't take off for an hour, there are no other flights for 4 days.. they won't ship him back and I can pay a few hundred a night kennelling fee.

Breeder throws massive fit.. They ship him to Jersey and back. He didn't receive water the way they claim pets will.. He was dehydrated and a mess. Sadly I couldn't turn around and drive to NC to go get him so we had to try again a week later. Similarly messy puppy, dehydrated.. Dish this time removed from his crate and asking the breeder.. was reziptied with a different colour zipties.. His eye meds duct taped to his crate had been removed..

I called to complain.. Continental really didn't give half a damn whether I had poor service or not.. If I have to ship again it won't be a Continental flight.


----------



## luv2laugh (Oct 4, 2011)

oh my gosh, Mafia Princess, that is a disaster. I would have been so angry and just a wreck. Would you ship again with another airline or would you only buy locally in the future?

At this point, I think we are going through with the shipping, as we really have no other choice except to forfeit our deposit and give up this little guy. I could ask the breeder to use a different flight though if I heard bad things about united. No dish, eye meds removed - that is really horrible!


----------



## Inga (Jun 16, 2007)

luv2laugh said:


> oh my gosh, Mafia Princess, that is a disaster. I would have been so angry and just a wreck. Would you ship again with another airline or would you only buy locally in the future?
> 
> At this point, I think we are going through with the shipping, as we really have no other choice except to forfeit our deposit and give up this little guy. I could ask the breeder to use a different flight though if I heard bad things about united. No dish, eye meds removed - that is really horrible!


My breeder had taken one of the large yogurt containers, froze the water in it so it would melt slowly and not make a mess. Also, it was sort of wired to the front of the kennel. Also there was a nice towel in there that was nice and soft. I expected it to be soiled but apparently he was comfy enough to sleep his way to his new home. We had used Delta and it was a good experience. I am so sorry to hear about your bad time Mafia Princess.


----------



## MafiaPrincess (Jul 1, 2009)

We road tripped from Ontario through 12 states this summer and it was fun. I think I'd drive for my next pup.. but I'm not opposed to flying. I just had the worst of the worst flight experiences it seems. I kind of want to meet my next breeder.. though in my puddling around many don't want you at their homes for varying reasons.


----------



## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

Depending on where you and where the breeder are located, you could consider shipping the puppy on Pet Airways. They only serve a dozen or so major cities, but if there is a service location within 2-3 hours drive for both ends of the flight, the puppy could fly in the cabin with an attendant for not much difference in price.

Personally, while plenty of people ship dogs just fine, what I would do is fly out myself on a cheap flight like Southwest Airlines and fly back with the dog. (since a puppy should be of the size to fit in the carrier which goes under the seat). I've flown cross-country on SW before regularly for under $300 and its $75 to bring a pet (which would be only one direction of course). Then I could also meet the breeder and such.

I've never shipped a dog, I just worked at an airport and especially coming into winter know there can be lots of cancelled flights and delays and re-routes that can cause problems.


----------



## Inga (Jun 16, 2007)

MafiaPrincess said:


> We road tripped from Ontario through 12 states this summer and it was fun. I think I'd drive for my next pup.. but I'm not opposed to flying. I just had the worst of the worst flight experiences it seems. I kind of want to meet my next breeder.. though in my puddling around many don't want you at their homes for varying reasons.


Honestly I am not sure I would even consider buying a dog from someone who didn't want me in their home. I chose to fly my pup but my breeder had welcomed me with open arms and offered to have me over night and everything. I think I have a very high standard for all breeders and honestly very few meet that standard. ha ha


----------



## JuneBud (Feb 17, 2010)

Kodi's breeder will not ship puppies. You have to pick them up. The only experience I had with shipping an animal was our cat. We had moved and left the cat with our daughter. She felt she could not give him enough attention and shipped him to us. He was misdirected to the wrong airport and had to wait in the airport a few hours before getting back on a flight to us. It was very upsetting. When he arrived, he was quite unhappy, but none the worse for wear. He complained loudly all the way home in the car though.


----------



## hast (Aug 17, 2011)

Shell said:


> <snip>
> Personally, while plenty of people ship dogs just fine, what I would do is fly out myself on a cheap flight like Southwest Airlines and fly back with the dog. (since a puppy should be of the size to fit in the carrier which goes under the seat). <snip>


My plan was to fly out to meet the breeder and get my pup in a carriage under the seat. The personal at the airport claimed that the pup he tried to send (with a person who flew up from FL) two days before was too big and since all pups were about the same size and weight (20-22 lbs) they had to be shipped. 



Inga said:


> Honestly I am not sure I would even consider buying a dog from someone who didn't want me in their home. I chose to fly my pup but my breeder had welcomed me with open arms and offered to have me over night and everything. I think I have a very high standard for all breeders and honestly very few meet that standard. ha ha


Agreed. I would not buy a puppy from someone who wouldn't have me in their home to meet the bitch and see how the puppies are cared for.


----------



## cshellenberger (Dec 2, 2006)

If they're going to ship it should be either Delta or United, I've heard great things about both. I would never EVER ship Continental!


----------



## MafiaPrincess (Jul 1, 2009)

I agree. I've never seen that before. But it's been a while since I looked at breeders..

One has some crazy kennel insurance and having strangers over seems to violate it.. they worry about things like parvo being tracked the their property and don't want their kids to feel like side show freaks apparently... 

I'd like to meet some of their lines.. and meet the people I'm buying from. I want a better sport prospect. I'd like to show.. but I don't think it'll ever happen if I'm physically too far away from them so meh. I'm just not sure how I feel about making an exchange in a lot somewhere like it's a sketchy exchange... If I'm driving 10-18 hours to get a puppy... I'd like to spend a few hours talking, cooing over your lines.. Chat about future plans...

For Smudge I sadly didn't have the inclination to drive.. now that I do.. more than one breeder has this policy now.. and they all have decent show winners etc. I'm confused.. But I've hijacked this thread..


----------



## luv2laugh (Oct 4, 2011)

It's all good, MafiaPrincess. It's an interesting hijack.

I wouldn't buy from a place that wouldn't let you visit (show winners or not). With parvo scares, you take off your shoes, ask them to, I don't know, wear clean clothes?? lol. I understand it, just wouldn't. When I was 10 we got a family dog from a breeder who bred show dogs. She didn't show us where she kept the puppies when we visited. He was an extremely skittish puppy though and would flinch whenever anyone picked up a newpaper, hmmm. It took him a while before he calmed down. There were other things about how he behaved that led us to believe she did not raise him in a good environment (and we picked him up from the house). He was a great family dog, we love him so much, but we probably should have checked all that stuff out before hand. He still is not very social with strangers and other dogs. 

My breeder offered for us to fly there and sent us videos and pictures of the puppies through their development. It's not a guarantee, but I do believe a breeder not wanting you to visit is a red flag. 

*Shell* - Thanks so much for your input. Working at the airport, I feel like makes you an insider. You made me want to fly out to get our puppy. After reading your post yesterday, I researched how much it would cost to fly me out there. It costs about $200 more. I was starting to feel extremely guilty because I don't really want to do that. I also looked at Pet Airways. What I didn't like about that is that it takes almost a day to get from Chicago to LA. You drop him off the night from 9-11pm and then he gets here at 5-7pm. Even though it is climate controlled, that is one long flight! I think they stop to exercise the animals. this would almost seem to increase the chance that a doggy would get hurt. I'm worry about it all, but I don't know if that would be worth the extra money.


----------



## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

luv2laugh said:


> *Shell* - Thanks so much for your input. Working at the airport, I feel like makes you an insider. You made me want to fly out to get our puppy. After reading your post yesterday, I researched how much it would cost to fly me out there. It costs about $200 more. I was starting to feel extremely guilty because I don't really want to do that. I also looked at Pet Airways. What I didn't like about that is that it takes almost a day to get from Chicago to LA. You drop him off the night from 9-11pm and then he gets here at 5-7pm. Even though it is climate controlled, that is one long flight! I think they stop to exercise the animals. this would almost seem to increase the chance that a doggy would get hurt. I'm worry about it all, but I don't know if that would be worth the extra money.


I would consider the fact that although the Pet Airways has a SCHEDULED flight time longer than a typical commercial flight, on the Pet Airways flight they are monitered the whole time and if the flight is diverted, instead of the dog sitting in a kennel at a random airport, they are taken to a boarding facility IF they can't be transfered to another plane and continue on their way. Same with delays in that the dog is monitered, given more water if needed etc. Basically, a whole heck of a lot of commercial flights get delayed long enough to make the total flight time longer than a pet airways flight. Normally, people whose flights get delayed overnight are offloaded with all their luggage and stay in a hotel... if they offload all the luggage, where does your puppy end up?

As far as the safety during potty breaks and transitions, I would think it would be similar to trusting a boarding kennel*. Dogs flying as luggage get transferred also and have (rarely) escaped. At least there is a moniter who would be tasked specifically with taking care of the animals as opposed to just the baggage handlers who vary widely in terms of dealing with luggage. 

*I have never used Pet Airways, so I cannot vouch for them personally. I am just evaluating how they work in relation to airport practices and typical airport snafus.

Edit to add:
As far as being worth the extra money, I can't say yay or nay on that one because I don't know what the difference is and what your own finances are like. IMO, anything under about $200-250 would _probably_ be worth it. Same with the potential for flying out, I'd be willing to pay a couple hundred to carry the dog on-board if that were an option.

AND- if you send the dog as luggage, I highly recommend a direct flight! That way, if there are any delays in Chicago, the breeder will be there and able to hold the puppy until the rescheduled flight as opposed to any delays in Chicago causing the pup to miss a connecting flight in a random city.


----------



## Stevesters (Jan 7, 2012)

Hi luv2laugh. I was wondering how the shipment of your puppy went. We initially intended to travel with our dog from Washington DC to San Francisco and then back again, but I am having second thoughts. We are traveling with Frontier Airlines. Please let me know your experience. Thanks.


----------



## lauren17 (Apr 14, 2009)

The only time I've had a pet shipped wasn't a dog. I had one of my sugar gliders shipped from the breeder who had done this pretty often without any problems. I can't remember what airline we used now, I'd have to look it up but I was not happy with them. Everything seemed fine when I arrived to get him. But they then told me that they had opened the crate up to check on him when they were getting him off the plane and he jumped out. Luckily they were able to get him back in his pouch and in the crate without injuring him or losing him! I guess a sugar glider is a little different than shipping a puppy but that did scare me a little about shipping on airlines again. I was just lucky that that joey was so friendly, I hate to think what could have happened if he had really tried to get away.


----------



## luv2laugh (Oct 4, 2011)

Hi, sorry for not updating. 

The shipping went rather well. I would do it again. I didn't account for the unloading time, so it really was a long period of time that Oso was in that crate.

Oso did poop on himself, but psychologically gets an A+. He was happy and hungry when he got out. His crate was unloaded into a big warehouse. They told me he wouldn't be ready to come home until 2-3 hours after the flight landed, but I got there an hour after and he was ready. 

I brought baby wipes, a towel, food, water, but it never occurred to me to bring scissors. After walking away from the cargo pickup in LAX to find a green spot, I couldn't get the zip ties open to get him out. So, he came back home and straight into the bath tub with me. All our plans of how we would introduce him to the house were smashed, but it all worked out anyways. 

Oso was in a big warehouse when we picked him up. If he was in the middle of the fear period, I think there is a possibility it could have done emotional damage, but otherwise no problem whatsoever.

Oso was a playful curious little boy and still is. It would have been a lot of time for me to fly there and get him and this way I was well rested to receive him. 

I'm sure every dog would be different and there is a website which lists all the deaths/injuries that have occurred by month on the different airlines. I remember looking at them and thinking most were conditions exacerbated by the stress or due to hot/cold (ours was temperature controlled and in September), etc. There are risks in everything. Like I said, we would probably do it again.


----------

