What’s the safest and most reliable way of shipping a dog cross-country? A Google search returns quite a few companies offering the service, but I have no idea how reputable they are. I don’t care too much about cost. It doesn’t have to be door-to-door; airport-to-airport is fine.
In case you’re curious: my aunt’s family recently lost their dog due to old age. One of my dogs has medical and behavioral issues that make it difficult to keep in a 1-bedroom apartment, so I think she’d be happier in my aunt’s house+backyard.
How big is the dog? If it’s small enough to fit in an under-seat carrier, you could arrange to fly with the dog and deliver it to your aunt personally.
Well, you could send her in the cargo hold while you fly along as a passenger. If cost isn’t an issue, why not just make the trip with the dog, help her get adjusted to her new home and say hello (and thank you!) to your aunt all at the same time? Sounds like a great excuse for a mini-vacation to me.
If that’s the best way and worth the cost, I’d do it. But I can’t take any time off work right now so I’d have to get there and back during the weekend, which won’t be very enjoyable.
That can be rough on large-breed dogs. From what I’ve read, while there *is * oxygen in the luggage hold, it’s thinner than normal and large dogs can have trouble breathing. If they’re stressed or have medical conditions, this could be a serious problem.
I would suggest a courier service which specializes in this sort of thing. Ask for references and call the people who have used the service before. (Any reputable company should have no problem giving you references.) Ask a lot of questions about how the dog will be transported and how its needs will be met. If it’ll be a several-days trip will someone play with the dog or make sure he gets exercise? (You don’t want the dog to be just locked in a crate and ignored.) How would medical emergencies be handled? Just from the answers to those questions, you should be able to get a good idea of what kind of company you’re dealing with. You don’t want one which sees dogs as “packages” to be shipped, but rather one which cares about the dogs’ well-being and comfort.
Which is why my first suggestion was to take the dog in the cabin with him. But if that’s not an option, people do safely transport their pets in cargo holds every day (and yes, I know that there are isolated cases of mishandling and tragedies, but they are rare by comparison to the total number of animals that are moved safely via that method).
Before I went about asking courier services for references, I’d talk to my veterinarian about the potential risks the various options might entail for a dog with medical problems. It may be way harder on an ailing dog to spend several days traveling with strangers in cramped conditions (even if it’s being let out for walks periodically), than a few hours in the cargo hold of a plane, even if the oxygen is thinner in that environment.
I live overseas and travel all the time with my 45 pound dog. He’s never had any sort of trouble (knock wood) and he makes a 12 hour flight (one way) at least twice a year. A five hour trip should be a breeze. Normally it’s much cheaper for you to fly and take him as baggage vs shipping him cargo. (For example, it cost $125 for me to take my dog as excess baggage to and from Germany vs $1200 to fly him cargo) I usually fly United and they always take very good care of us.
As an aside, it’s good to give your dog a Dramamine before the trip - it knocks him out and has the added benefit of keeping him from horking in his crate.
The air pressure in the cabin is the same as the cargo hold. But I suppose the temperature may be more comfortable.
The medical issue is epilepsy. And side-effects of the medication, but no respiratory problems, as far as I know. Of course I’d consult the vet and do everything they recommend (including sedation, I suspect).
Knowing that such services exist for horses, I googled “horse transport” and one of the links was a more general pet shipping company. I know nothing about them, but that might serve as a search point to start looking if you want professional help.
Looks like there are a lot of results under “dog transport” too. You do know that you’re going to have to get a health certificate from a vet before shipping across state lines, right?
How far would this dog be going? You could ask for a CUR (Canine Underground Railroad). We do GURs (Greyhound Underground Railroad) all the time up and down the East Coast.
Basically these are done by groups of individuals who use their personal vehicles for transport - the trip is done in a series of legs, where one member hands off the dog to the next member in the chain.
If you are interested in something like that, email me privately.
I have twice used Delta to ship dogs- once two adult dogs that were traveling to a competition and most recently we two pups shipped to us from Washington. Both times went extremely well, the dogs were not stressed and the airline was really helpful and obviously concerned for the welfare of the dogs. It was very easy, they even had us pick up the puppies at an local office instead of having to go through the airport.
I just purchased a dog from a breeder out of state. He is being shipped Continental Airlines and I will be picking him up from the airport baggage office. So I know Continental has this service.
I was under the impression that exaggerated, obviously wrong tongue-in-cheek answers were humourous. Consider that ingorance fought. :rolleyes: Seriously, I know it’s a bad idea, I send and receive packages from UPS regularly. Seeing the condition some of these packages arrive in I’m occasionally hesitant to even ship paper in them.