After yet another disappointment waiting for a pup to show ive decided to import from the states,a breeder i have been in touch with for the last 2 years has a boy that i am interested in and if all goes to plan with the new rules starting in jan regarding importing i may have him end jan.my question is will a 5 month old pup be able to fly in january if its cold and also does anyone have a rough quote of the flight price,from either louisville international or Indianapolis International Airport flying to london,the breeder says she will find out in jan,id rather have a rough idea now but i cant find any info on the net,thanks

You will need to contact each airline individually and check their policies.

There are temperature restrictions in both directions.

If the temperature goes below a certain level (around 7'C) then you will need a certificate to show the dog is accustomed to temperatures below that, and then they can fly as long as it doesn't go below 20'F (-7'C).

There temperatures are for the loading and offloading and waiting times at the airports as of course the hold is climate controlled.

When I travelled to New York and back last year I rang round th airlines.  I ended up going with American airlines and flew back via Brussels.

If you fly direct to UK you will have to fly the dog as Cargo.  In May that cost my friend for a 20kg dog and 12kg crate over £1000, most of it fees for the Quarantine kennel use, taking off plane and checking documents.  It was cheaper to pay the excess luggage charge of $150 and then taking ferry and driving home, but that was because I was accompanying.

In some cases it still works out cheaper to fly out and collect, you Will need to do the math.

> After yet another disappointment waiting for a pup to show

Did the bitch with kennel cough have problems with her pups then? I know how heart breaking it can be. I have been hoping to get a puppy from a certain mating but the bitch has missed twice now and the breeder is thinking of using a different dog next time. So I am now having to look round for another option as I particularly wanted this combination.

Sadly yes,only 3 pups and she lost 2 and is keeping then third,it was so sad.I contacted the airport and they said to contact the airline the pup will be flying with but when i ask the breeder she just says she will sort it but there isnt long to go and all i need is a rough quote of the flight price,thats all.

I don't believe you can fly direct to the UK from either of these airports. I feel that it would be better for any dog/puppy flying over to make sure you have a direct flight only. I would suggest looking at direct flights in and out of Chicago, which appears the nearest airport where you can fly direct..AA and BA appear to do those flights for your info.. However temps do drop very cold in this area..

If you don't choose to fetch pup yourself then you may find it best to have one of the pet travel companies do the whole thing and they will be able to quote you.

The advantage here is that they know all the ins and outs.

I have always used Overhill Imports and Exports when exporting and they dealt with our import and Quarantine before the Pet Passport.

If you google you will find a number of companies offering the service.

As I said before you are best to check with each airline and which routes your allowed to use.  From January all the airlines who are offering Pets passport travel to UK can use any of their UK routes.

As has been said only use a direct flight.  I foound American Airlines very good, Delta seem to have a spotty reputation depending where the dogs is flying from, but excellent from New York and LA.

Does anyone know the nearest major airport that ships dogs internationally in indianna?the breeder has told me that delta have given her a list of major hubs she can use and that she has no way of getting to any of them as theyre too far away,surely i cant be this unlucky!

Sounds like your best bet is to get her yourself (so you handle the transfers from one leg of the journey to another by being there) or put it in the hands of an experienced Pet shipper.

Sadly my US geography is useless and I have only had dogs shipped dogs on direct flights from LA and New York.

The nearest city with a direct flight is Chigago which I've already mentioned, estimate a few hours drive from what I can see, that is to the airport.

>

You need to look at www.ipata.org and find a shipper closest to the breeder.  You also need to check on DEFRA'S website under approved shipping routes into the UK from the USA.  Just because an airport may be close to your breeder it does mean they have flights there on airlines approved to bring in Pets to the UK.  Sounds like the best thing is to find professional shipping agent and let them take care of the procedure.  By the time you try and do it yourself without having a super helpful breeder at the other end it will cost about the same.  Remember there are things like health certs for flying, crate fees etc. 

she contacted me today and said that she either has to be a member of ipata,fly over with the pup or hire a shipper but she isnt allowed to do it herself,is this correct?

The FDA has recently changed rules on who is allowed to ship dogs out of the US.  As I suggested you yourself need to look at the ipata site, find a shipper close to the breeder and speak direct to them yourself.  That way you will get the correct information 1st hand.  As far as I know though yes the breeder can arrange the shipping through an ipata agent though otherwise people would not be able to take dogs easily out of the USA to show in Europe so easily?  Though remember DEFRA do not make it easy for shipping in from America and they influence the rules regarding airline and route designation.  Having shipped over several dogs from breeders in the US dare I say your breeder sounds a tad hard work?  But then they may not have the time to devote to shipping one pup, most buyers do all the arranging of shipping.  If your heart really is set on this particular pup you are going to have to do the contacting the shipping agents yourself, it may simply be asking too much of the breeder in this case to do all of the legwork for you.

Thanks,the breeder contacted a shipping company and im awaiting a quote,ive really no idea what figure to expect,am so new to this.

Certainly over £1000 just for the cargo and UK airport and paperwork checks.

You then will have the shipping Agent's fees, health certification, Vets fees etc, Airline crate.

Putting the boot on the other foot from breeder perspective, on the few occasions I have exported I put the potential owner in touch with a reliable Shipping Agent that I have used for both import and export and they dealt with them direct.

As the breeder all I had to do was make sure the puppy had any required vaccinations, blood titre tests and pre-flight health certification, the shipper made sure I knew what I needed and sent me details to give the vet to ensure correct procedure and timings.

Unless the breeder mis a Novice it is very unlikely they have never shipped a puppy, as the distances in the USA mean that puppies often travel long distances to their new homes, though many breeders require the owner to accompany the puppy themselves.

It's much cheaper and easier if you fly over (I drove to Paris, stopped the night, flew over, picked up the dog, flew back, picked up car and drove to Calais to get on the ferry).  If you can't go can you get someone to go for you?  Check the routes on Defra website, but don't forget if you fly him yourself you only have to check the last routes - channel tunnel or ferry ports.  I've just come in from Zeebrugge to Hull with no problems :-)

That's basically what I did I looked at returning to Amsterdam Paris, but fortunately found that AA had a direct route to Brussels which was closer.

It was cheaper though fro my friend in May to import her boy Cargo in May as her return flight and driving ferry and excess baggage would have worked out More due to it being a more expensive time of year.

So it's down top comparing prices getting quotes and going from there.

Has anyone used world pet travel?id rather hear someones personal views before i go ahead although i know this may not be possible,its just a lot of money to part with and im so worried i get it wrong or get ripped off.

so far my fees are coming to nearly £2000 is this expensive or about average,its the first quote i have but i have nothing to compare it to yet.also im being told fees at the uk end at the airport is$750,is this right?

> im being told fees at the uk end at the airport is$750,is this right?

Sounds about right as my friend paid around £500 for the Heathrow bit.

My US geography is non existent, what size crate will pup be and is it East or West coast USA?

edited, looked on wiki and it is sort of West of East Coast.  How does the £200 breakdown as friends dogs actual Cargo charge with Delta was £500ish (36inch x 26 x 24 varikennel), with the other £500 for the charges this end.  Of course there was the pups to pay for, hi keep/training/socialisation to 10 months, Veterinary expenses with Pet Passport vaccinations and blood testing, so all in all cost £4000.

> so far my fees are coming to nearly £2000 is this expensive or about average,its the first quote i have but i have nothing to compare it to yet.also im being told fees at the uk end at the airport is$750,is this right?

You are pretty much at the "average" cost.  Yes the fees at the UK airport end do add up to about £500 from what a couple of friends have each paid recently importing from the USA. One brought in a large breed puppy and it was closer to £3,500, not sure what route she used. People thought with the relaxing of the pets passport to 21 days after the rabies shot and therefore being able to import much younger it would lower the costs but not so.  Remember airlines ship on volumetric weight, not actual weight of the crate / dog combined. 

Another has brought in a mid size puppy of 4 months via Amsterdam on KLM thinking it would be cheaper but in the end with petrol, etc it only saved her around £150 and was a long trip for the pup on top of the flight.