I would like to know what owners would think about taking their dog on a long-haul flight. I'm likely to be moving out to beautiful New Zealand soon, but am worried about taking my young pup. Where do airlines put travelling pets? Surely not thrown into the freezing cold hold with the rest of the luggage. And how can my dog's food and, especially, water needs, be taken care of on such a long (more than 24 hours) flight? In short, is it going to be potentially harmful to my dog to go through this?

No UK registered aircraft allow dogs in the passenger cabin other than Assisstance Dogs. Your dog would travel in one of the heated and pressurized aircraft holds, not with the luggage, and would be fed/watered during transit stops. Most dogs or any other animal for that matter, should generally be given some form of tranquilizer prior to travelling too.

Major Airlines do take the transportation of animals very seriously, not that long ago, a Jumbo Jet diverted as the heating in the hold containing a dog was failing.

HTH

liberty :)

A friend puppy walked the very first Guide Dog to be allowed in the passenger area. It must have been 20 years ago!

I'm getting old :(  John

*scratches head* Mmm, think I remember that flight ;)

liberty

It was a woman doctor (computer wizard). She needed to dog to accompany her on lecture tours all over the UK.

Best wishes, John

Tranquillizers are a big No No for air travel & no airline will accept doped animals They do not need it & it would be dangerous to do so

All the puppies I have sent to friends abroad have arrived fine & unaffected by the flight

Even an older dog(10 yr old Lab) who emigrated with his family was ok-he died last year aged 17 in NZ after having a great life out there

Moonmaiden, I was not suggesting doped dogs, far from it, but a mild tranquilizer is reccommended, it is a very frightening experience for any animal travelling in an aircraft hold. As for dangerous, what a load of rubbish, why on earth should it be??
A relaxed animal is much better than a very frightend one....

liberty

Sorry but it is no tranquillizers at all as they even in the mildest dose affect the heart rate & breathing & this is not me saying this but my very experienced dog specializt vet. It is dangerous for the DOG to be tranquillized it does not make the dog dangerous

The crate must have water dish attached to the door so water can be given but no food Usually the dogs will sleep during the flight. The cabin crew are very careful if they know they have live cargo.(Cabin crew includes the pilot co pilot etc )

If you have sent tranquillized animals abroad by air flight you have gone against the airlines own guidelines & code of practice

No dog I have sent abroad by air flight has been affected I still have the video of the lab & family being reunited & his tails wagging like mad. He also bounced all over the cabin crew when he met them as they left the airport

Of course I would never have sent any poor temperamented dogs abroad & they were all used to being in a crate for a limited time before travelling

Yeah....whatever MM :rolleyes:

You stick with your'very experienced dog specializt vet..'

Well she only treats dogs at the practice & has been doing so for over 30 years But of course Liberty if you know better then you have a very great deal of medical knowledge

Liberty I have personally, rather than use an agent, delivered 2 pups for flights to Germany and an adult male for a 19 hr flight to the USA and every Airline refuses point blank to fly any sedated animal if they are in the least bit suspicious that the animal has been given a sedative they will refuse to fly them and you will be charged to book another flight at a later date.

The admin staff and handlers all go thru the same questions with you and now the dogs have to be removed from their cages so that the cage can be x-rayed and the dog can be seen moving around the tarmac outside their admin buildings, they only allowed me to put my male back in his cage for the journey once they were happy he hadn't been sedated and he had emptied his bowels and bladder, which he did bless him lol.

All my dogs arrived safe and sound and as happy as larry they didn't seem at all bothered about being caged up for over 24 hrs for the adult male without food just water, I use the water bottles that strap on the cage and they can have almost 2litres of water for the journey without airport staff needing to worry about watering them, any food you wish them to have on the journey is tied to the top or side of the cage to remind handlers to feed your dogs if there is a stop over anywhere.

When the "Airport" series was being shown, I remember the quarantine chap getting very angry when tranquillized in-transit dogs were unloaded from their travelling boxes into the kennels for their rest between flights. The dogs weren't allowed to continue their journey until the effects had completely worn off because of the health implications. Apparently a mildly sedated animal can stop breathing in the pressurised holds ...

Directly from the DEFRA site

"The use of sedatives is not recommended
Particularly where air transport is involved because the effect on the animal may be unpredictable. If administered by the owner, sedatives should only be given under veterinary guidance and the animal should be accompanied by a certificate which states the drug, dosage, and date/time of administration.

If there is any doubt about the fitness of a pet to travel, veterinary advice should be sought before the animal is accepted for shipment."

The above covers road & rail transport as well as flights. The veterinary reference means the vet gives the sedative not the owner.  I know of no airline that will accept any animal that has been sedated in anyway & that includes horses. I know a few grooms that regularly travel abroad with horses who are well versed in T Touch massage to calm the horses & we are talking lots £s worth of horses(show jumpers, race hosres & 3 day eventers)

Hi JG, I was refferring to dogs being given a form of 'Dog Valium' not doped or knocked out, more a relaxant for the frightening part of their journey, thru the airport, being loaded onto the aircraft etc. That is what i meant when i said tranquillized, perhaps I did not make my self clear.

liberty :)

Still a no no Liberty have you sent a dog on a flight ? They are not loaded like luggage & every part of their journey is logged This is why the crates have to be the flight crates & not wire mesh crates they have to have all sorts of stickers & seals on them. Even a "valium type"drug could adversely affect the dog

MM, I can only tell you what I have been told...as I work at an Airport, I have seen quite a few dogs/cats being transported and in transit....

All tranquillized I presume then against DEFRA guidelines & at least 11 airlines own rules

I remember that too & the doped cats that were brought in to fly to Canada I think they could hardly stand & the owners didn't realize that the cats could have died during transit. I remember the lady owner being very upset at what she could have unwittingly done to her pets she had only given them a mild dose too

They are amazing dogs, I did see one on a flight once, and they stay sooo calm thru all the noise and commotion, somehow, can't imagine Libby being quite as well  behaved :rolleyes:

liberty :)

This "no valium " policy makes me laugh........Interestingly enough, airlines seem to have no objection to human passengers taking valium, or indeed getting P****d as newts :)

The difference is that the human ones aren't unattended for several hours, during which time anything could have happened to them.

Actually airlines do have problems with people under the influence of drugs & alcohol & the pilot(aka captain)can refuse to take passengers that have taken drugs & alcohol inappropriately & to excess as do the ground side staff at the check in & gates

Cabin crew are also trained to deal with problem passsengers including physically restraining them