Flying a puppy from another state?

[caevent]

Has anyone bought from a breeder in another state and had it Delivered to them via air transport?

I’m looking for my next heart dog and have submitted applications to foster/rescue, but I also want to keep my options open if the right adult dog doesn’t come along. It seems that most of the quality breeders I’ve found are 1000’s of miles away. I’ve always said that I would never submit a pet to flying on a plane (seems terrifying and abusive?) but it appears to be a common way for breeders to get their puppies to new homes.

Has anyone done this? Did the dog travel well? Would you do it again? Thanks for any info.

[Nezzy]

yes we got our 11 week old Chinese crested powder puff from the breeder and she was fine. My friend also had a dog shipped into the local airport and he is fine, too.

[Marshfield]

I’ve shipped dogs via Delta, and it’s been an uneventful experience. Puppies, you can typically fly out and fly back with the dog under the seat in front of you

[S1969]

I haven’t done it but my breeder friends do it fairly often and I have never heard of a bad story. Usually, when at all possible, they choose direct flights, and might ask a buyer to travel to another city to meet the puppy where a direct flight is available.

However, some breeders might not let you ship a puppy out of state if they have never met you in person. You may find that while breeders might be willing to ship puppies by air, they won’t necessarily do it for everyone.

What breed are you looking for? Some of us might know breeders closer to you.

[dressagetraks]

Not a dog, but I’ve shipped cats. When Coda arrived on Delta from North Carolina and I went to the counter to claim her, there were two crates side by side. One had the yowling Siamese kitten who was NOT amused at this day’s proceedings. The other, set right next to hers, had a Beagle who was sound asleep. He looked as unstressed as it is possible to get.

I’ve always wished I’d taken a picture of that. The side-by-side contrast of how Siamese vs. Beagle handled this whole airplane trip concept was funny.

[Horsegal984]

There are some new regulations on breeders being able to ship or sell to owners they have never met, so you may have to fly out to meet them. Then most times puppies are still small enough to fly back as a carry on.

[caevent]

[QUOTE=S1969;8894463]
I haven’t done it but my breeder friends do it fairly often and I have never heard of a bad story. Usually, when at all possible, they choose direct flights, and might ask a buyer to travel to another city to meet the puppy where a direct flight is available.

However, some breeders might not let you ship a puppy out of state if they have never met you in person. You may find that while breeders might be willing to ship puppies by air, they won’t necessarily do it for everyone.

What breed are you looking for? Some of us might know breeders closer to you.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the info. I am partial to the short legged Jack Russells but it seems that most quality dogs I can find near me are Parson Russell Terriers. Im in northern California.

[Houndhill]

I just drove from NC to NYC to help deliver a greyhound puppy to JFK on her way to Finland. Her Finnish owner flew over to accompany the puppy, who at that point had to fly cargo as she was 40 pounds, had to be 16 weeks to get rabies etc.

A Jack Russel puppy? I’d definitely be flying out there, you get to meet the breeder, pups relatives, etc, and fly back with her in the cabin under your seat!

I envy all of you with little dogs!

Even the greyhound puppy who went from NC to Oregon at 8 weeks could fly with her new owner in a bag under the seat.

[caevent]

[QUOTE=Houndhill;8894920]
I just drove from NC to NYC to help deliver a greyhound puppy to JFK on her way to Finland. Her Finnish owner flew over to accompany the puppy, who at that point had to fly cargo as she was 40 pounds, had to be 16 weeks to get rabies etc.

A Jack Russel puppy? I’d definitely be flying out there, you get to meet the breeder, pups relatives, etc, and fly back with her in the cabin under your seat!

I envy all of you with little dogs!

Even the greyhound puppy who went from NC to Oregon at 8 weeks could fly with her new owner in a bag under the seat.[/QUOTE]

Flying out to meet puppy is a good idea. You’re right about the small size. They are the perfect portable “big” dog!

[Jchambers]

We had our six month old puppy flown to us from Kugluktuk (most northerly point in Canada) to Yellowknife and then down to Vancouver where I met her for the first time at the airport! The rescue works with people flying on Westjet (Canadian airline) who can be “companions” for the dogs on the arrival in case something goes sideways. Most northern rescues operate this way and are able to get many dogs out of bad situations where shooting them is still considered population control :mad:

[lesson_junkie]

My Boerboel puppy flew to Greenville, SC from the San Francisco area with no trouble at all. She was 12 weeks old.

[KellyG]

I flew or Texas on two occasions to pick up a Papillon puppy.

Unless you know the breeder well, I’d make a trip to meet the breeder, see their program, and make sure you, the puppy, and the breeder are all on the same page.

Then fly back and pick up the puppy…or use a puppy escort…I did that with my newest Pap…delivered right to our hands for $300 (plus, of corse the purchase price).

I’m not one to send the Littles in cargo.

[Minerva]

I’m also in California and I just picked up my beagle puppy from the airport yesterday. We used a puppy escort and she was fantastic! She gave the breeder and I text updates and pictures every step of the way, had her own approved carrier and supplies, and treated him like her own. I really appreciated it because I really like his breeder but they had had a bad experience shipping and were a bit leery of it.

It’s a great option for those of us that can’t find what we’re looking for in the state. The only beagle breeders I could find were show breeders that were also fruit bats; I had to go several states over to find a sane one. :eek::lol:

[CindyB59]

I flew to Salt Lake City to meet the breeder & flew home with puppy (toy poodle) in the cabin with me. I think it was $125 extra, but worth it to me. Plus I was not 100% committed to puppy, so if I hadn’t liked what I saw, I could back out. I was 95% sure I’d be coming home with him though.

**Edit to add. Was on Delta & at the time they only allowed 2 pets in the cabin, so you’d need to verify that ahead of time

[drs]

I flew to Tennessee to buy my ACK Russell Terrier puppy. She fit under the seat in front of me and was the perfect little girl not a peep out of her.

[caevent]

[QUOTE=drs;8924404]
I flew to Tennessee to buy my ACK Russell Terrier puppy. She fit under the seat in front of me and was the perfect little girl not a peep out of her.[/QUOTE]

Do you mind telling me (in a pm if you prefer) which breeder you used and how you chose them? Love the little Russells!

[vali]

I flew out and met the breeder at the airport and flew back with our new 8 week old white Swiss shepherd as carry on. It was a direct flight from Chicago to San Francisco so I was able to do it all in one day. The breeder has a wait list for puppies and requires new owners to come in pick them up in person, and you never know what can go wrong in cargo. Puppy got lots of attention in the airport and then slept peacefully once the flight started.

[MontanaDun]

My Cardi pup was shipped at 11 weeks from Little Rock to Baltimore. Uneventful trip.

[Lazy_Palomino_Hunter]

I had a 10 week old puppy shipped from a breeder in Vancouver, Washington, to Detroit (I’m in Cleveland and it was the closest direct flight).

My experience was not a good one - the cargo heater broke in the plane, and the puppy was rerouted. He went from Portland OR, through Atlanta and then Chicago, before finally arriving in Detroit 17 hours later than scheduled.

He is now 3 years old. We’ve been seeing a veterinary behaviorist for terrible separation anxiety and claustrophobia since he was 5 months old, and we probably should have started seeing her earlier. At age 3, he’s finally weaned off of medication and able to be left home alone… but OH MAN what a road we have traveled.

The dog is from an absolutely top notch breeder with many generations of stellar temperament behind him. He has 8 littermates, 6 of whom were flown to new homes, who have no issues whatsoever. Our behaviorist attributes his issues to the 20 hours he spent in cargo during a critical fear period.

The odds were low that something bad would happen on his flight.

But, having now dealt with the impact a bad flight in cargo can have on a puppy’s developing psyche, I would not do it again.

If I were to get another puppy from far away, I would absolutely fly out to pick them up and fly back with the puppy in cargo with me.

YMMV.

[corgif]

[QUOTE=KellyG;8895080]
I flew or Texas on two occasions to pick up a Papillon puppy.

Unless you know the breeder well, I’d make a trip to meet the breeder, see their program, and make sure you, the puppy, and the breeder are all on the same page.

Then fly back and pick up the puppy…or use a puppy escort…I did that with my newest Pap…delivered right to our hands for $300 (plus, of corse the purchase price).

I’m not one to send the Littles in cargo.[/QUOTE]

Puppy escort - sounds like my dream career! How does one get to be a puppy escort?