Hi all,
We have decided to import a puppy from the CZech Republic. Our current plan is to drive and collect puppy in person which is approximately a 14 hour drive each way.
Has anyone ever imported by air and found this easier than driving?
To make our situation more complex - puppy will be old enough and
Have had his vaccinations to enter the UK wb 21st December.
We are aware that we will have to isolate on return and have factored this in. We are nervous of leaving it later in the month due to brexit.
Any top tips for doing this would be greatly received. We have imported a dog before but he was brought by courier and we would rather not do this again. We want to see puppy with mum and where he has grown up.
Many thanks

Just a heads up, the UK is not changing the Pet Travel scheme for dogs ENTERING the UK, so BREXIT will not affect imported dogs, if the government apply for EU listed country status then dogs/cats etc LEAVING UK to go to EU countries won't be affected either. Travelling to non EU countries will be unaffected.

If they do not apply for listed status then titre testing & health certificates etc will be required for dogs/cats etc ENTERING the EU

This information comes directly from DEFRA

Thank you so much for this. Must confess I hadn’t thought to check with DEFRA.

If you import via air then you can only bring them in as cargo and not as accompanied excess baggage. Driving will be less stressful for the pup and also cheaper.

When I imported my girl from Russia I had her couriered over. Took three days with all the rest stops but she was happy as Larry when she got here. Travels amazingly well too.

We recently imported a puppy from Croatia and can thoroughly recommend Daisybrook Kennels International Transport.

It was originally our plan to collect her ourselves but couldn’t risk quarantine on return due to my husband’s job. They are Defra registered so able to enter the uk on return with no restrictions. Yes it was expensive, but still probably cheaper than our travel costs for that kind of drive. We received updates every few hours and our puppy was so happy when she arrived, no stress and was kissing us all like she’d traveled 10 miles not 1800!

Sorry I re-read that you would prefer not to do that but in case circumstances change your mind. I travelled to her breeder for a two day visit when she was 8 weeks before quarantine in Europe came in hence why we used Daisybrook.

We made contact with Daisybrook who seem very professional and were more than happy to offer their service. The breeder has however said that they would prefer us to collect ourselves. The current climate makes it so difficult... if one of our children falls unwell for example we will be unable to make the journey if they are showing Covid symptoms or are required to isolate after contact. If the 2 week isolation was not in place we could potentially have visited beforehand.
Thank you for the advice.