Hi

I have purchased a dog from Norway but we are finding it really difficult finding a way to get it here.  I am therefore asking on here if anyone has used a shipping company or similar that they could recommend.

Thanks

I tried - and failed - to find a company that would sort shipping my boy from Finland to UK last summer. In the end, I just contacted the airline (only one would fly a dog) and dealt with them via email. They couldn't have been more helpful and it was all very straightforward - if pricey!!

If flying them in you have to go Cargo anyway.  I have dealt with Overhill kennels for both import and export.

Your cheapest option would be to fly with him to Brussels (or other convenient city) as checked baggage, and then come back by car via one of the Ferry routes.

This is what I am doing when taking my bitch to US for mating.

You talking about a 10th of the cost for the dogs flight (if your accompanying), and your ticket will be about half or less of the dogs cargo ticket.

I am of course assuming he has his Pet Passport and has been titre tested with high enough result more than 6 months before import date.

If not then he will need to be picked up for Quarantine on arrival, and you can arrange that with your chosen Quarantine kennel.

I have just sent a puppy to Finland through Overhill and they were fab, as fa r a s i know they will import for you from anywere as long as the airlines will fly , may be worth giving them a ring.

Peanuts

Couldn't wish for better service, I have sent to Australia twice and Japan, and we imported from USA before pet Passports and their care with importing and Quarantine was great.

I had a dog from Norway 5 years vago and used James Cargo based at Heathrow,excellent service!!!

sorry to drag this thread up but just wondering if anyone could advise re importing a dog from Norway to Ireland? And what the situation is with titre testing a pup? Obviously if importing a 12 week old pup you can't have had 6 months to check the rabies titre but i think the new rules as per Jan 2012 would mean that's obsolete between these two countries? or maybe it's just between Ireland and the UK.

you can't take a 12 week old pup into Ireland - pet passport rules mean you have to have a rabies injection at 12 weeks, wait 21 days, have a tapeworm treatment and you can then bring the pup in.  The easiest way is to drive and collect the pup - which I did from Germany last month.

Thanks Penny! We could get the ferry to England and is there a ferry to Norway does anyone know?

http://www.flysas.com/en/jp/Travel_info_old/Special_needs/Pets/Charges/

Am I missing something? 60 euro extra to transport a pet? Sounds too good to be true.

you have to consider time on board for your dog... probably better to drive from rotterdam or similar - the Hull/Zeebrugge/Rotterdam which is overnight is the longest I would take a dog although some of the more modern ones from Harwich have the kennels on the cabin decks.

The flight option sounds much better for all involved!

can you take them as hand luggage into Ireland? You can't into UK so it puts me off using that route - I'd rather drive to pick up a pup.  What about flying from Paris or Amsterdam where you can take pup as hand luggage (in hold) then drive through UK (through tunnel or via ferry).  Or you could take the train.

> Sounds too good to be true.

and it is :-) That's for checked baggage, which you can't do into the UK or Ireland :-(

Flip! Does anyone know if cargo is suitable? I don't even know what the cargo hold in a plane looks like.

is cargo the same as 'hold'?

Ideally I'd like to make the journey and distance travelled as short as possible for the pup's sake and the sake of my long suffering other half who will be driving!

Another option:

http://www.norwegian.com/uk/customer-services/travel-information/fees/

sometimes cargo goes in the hold, sometimes a cargo plane will just be 'cargo' and there will be no passengers.  If my dog is on a plane I want to be on the same plane - can't do that into UK so from USA we flew into Paris and drove home, from Germany I flew over to meet him and breeder and drove to pick him up.

> What about flying from Paris or Amsterdam where you can take pup as hand luggage (in hold) then drive through UK (through tunnel or via ferry).  Or you could take the train.

Brussels is another option (which I used to avoid Cargo when coming back to UK with Inka)  excess baggage only applies to accompanied pets but sadly not into UK, but you can't take a dog on Eurostar trains.

Worth finding out if Ireland swill still require Pets to fly in as Cargo, if they allowed Accompanied excess baggage that would be great for you.

Different airlines also have differing policies and charges for carrying pets.

Perhaps I wasn't clear - my suggestion was to drive to europe and then go by train if the OP didn't want to drive all the way.... my examples of where to fly to were just that - examples :-(  Flying to Brussels would give you not much of a journey to Zeebrugge although when I went there the journey seemed never ending!

Brussels to Dunkirk was a pretty easy drive, and to Calais not much worse.

What I meant was she couldn't take a dog on the Eurostar, if you could it would mean being able to get back to UK without someone having to come and meet you.

I never said anything about anyone having to be met or otherwise.... I was talking about driving to Europe and perhaps going by train if the OP didn't want to drive... you can leave a car somewhere like I did when I flew to USA from Paris...... I suggested driving to Paris eg and flying, or suggested if she didn't want to put the pup in the hold then she could get a train...

What I was meaning is that they won't let you travel on the train back to UK with a dog, a long train journey from Norway with lots of stops probably would not be a good idea for a puppy with a flight so much quicker. 

At least with driving from a closer Belgian/dutch/French airport your in charge of the journey, can stop etc as the pup needs.

Driving all the way or Fly drive are the only real practical options.

> can't do that into UK so from USA we flew into Paris and drove home,

That's exactly what I did, but flew to Brussels as it was closer.

You guys are a wealth of information -thank you.

I spoke to a friend who has transported rescue dogs from Ire to Sweden before and I think I can fly with Lufthansa and return with them and the puppy can fly in the hold. It will be 200 max for him and probably about 500 return for each of us flying, it's not cheap but ferrying/driving/petrol/trains etc would probably work out similar and this should be less stressful and less travel time for puppy.

Ah if they allow them in as accompanied baggage rather than Cargo into Ireland that is great.  Either way they are in the same place in the hold but a HUGE DIFFERENCE IN PRICE.

well... they lufyhansa take dogs from ireland to sweden, i presume it would work the same way going backwards..?

unfortunately outwards is fine (which is why I flew out excess baggage with Inka to USA from Heathrow,, but came back to Brussels) it's coming into UK that require dogs to come in Cargo, but don't know if Irish government do the same.

You need to contact the equivalent of DEFRA to find out what the routes and rules are.

Why is that? :-/

Here's what it says....

http://www.agriculture.gov.ie/pets/approvedpetcarriersroutes/

hmmmm

This is the relevant part Inka.

>Entry into Ireland will be by airline into Dublin Airport only, pets must be transported as cargo with an Airway bill, and transferred to the quarantine facility acting on behalf of the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine for inspection. Arrangements, including costs, will be a matter for the pet owner.

OH FLIP.

So,cargo is the only way :(

Yet this is a bit confusing as it seems to consider Norway a country with low risk:

http://www.uefl.ie/services/pets/index.php?command=FILES_DOWNLOAD&download=18399227e24ba0b107b8861d4ce03b4c

Oh yes it is low risk but they are going same way as UK only allowing Pets in as Cargo, where other countries happily allow them in as checked baggage.

This not only cheaper but the better and quicker way, as the dog is brought to baggage claim and does not have to go to Cargo 4 - 5 hours before a flight, but stays with you until just before passenger boarding, though you do need to check in about 4 hours before flight but after that you can take dog for a walk etc until they want you.

Oh yes I'm sure checked baggage is a much better way all round. Cargo seems to be my only option though :(

Probably find even with the extra charges with being in Ireland two ferries and two lot of driving may well be more expensive.

The only problem I see is the routes into Ireland if I'm reading it right only do Frankfurt to Dublin, doesn't seem to be a direct route from Norway????

Nope there is no direct flight with Lufthansa anyway so pup would have to 'make a connecting flight'.

I think you need to price up and work out practicalities with driving over to get pup and then the two ferries business, or flying pup to a convenient EU airport on a direct flight and fetching yourself, driving and two ferries, or a straight import as Cargo with unfortunately a connection and stop over, bearing in mind they are unlikely to let pup out of it's crate at any port from leaving with Cargo to arriving in Q. and then you getting pup from the Quarantine facilities at the airport.

If you talk to people at shows who have imported into Ireland they can advise who are reliable import agents.

Currently I'm down to two choices: Get a Norwegian company to organise it all which they seem to be saying will work out as around 600 euro (reasonable in comparison to what I thought) OR fly with pup from Oslo to Frankfurt as baggage and then he has to fly into Dublin as Cargo for which I will be charged 550 euro and 130 euro on arrival to Dublin.

Both options seem more reasonable than I had expected - I was expecting 2 grand and thereabouts.

Of course, I have only had one emai from the breeder at this point but I did want to ensure the travel was feasible before going on a waiting list/deposit etc. No point doing all that and finding out in a year's time that I can't bring the dog over here.

I did email the breeder back again last night to explain what I was looking into re transport (adding that I of course know nothing has been agreed!!!) but I hope it shows that I'm researching thoroughly.

Lo and behold I think i have it sorted! (the transport)

Brilliant.

Now I just need the breeding to go ahead as planned, lovely healthy pups to be born, the breeder to want me to buy one and hey presto! Simples LOL

What transport solution have you decided upon, Inka?
I've flown a dog from Finland to UK - did look into driving but decided that the flight was simpler. And I'm just about to fly in a pup from the Slovak Republic -fingers crossed all goes smoothly!

I'm going to use a Norwegian transport company who are aligned with SAS airlines (an approved carrier to ireland) and the pup will fly as cargo direct to Dublin - a 2h 10 minute flight. The only other feasible option was to fly with the pup myself from Oslo to Frankfurt in the cabin with me but then he'd have to fly from there to Dublin in cargo anyway so just doing it the first way will be the quickest and hopefully safest option.