hi
i bought a dog in sweden last yea, she has had her final blood test and has pasted clear, but is waiting to be shown at the world dog show in July before coming home.
i was looking for some advice from people who have brought a dog from abroad before as i want to start preparing the best way to get her here should i drive ?, or have her sent over in a plane?, should i go over there and see over it myself ? has anyone got any pros and cons for these methods. how did you get your dog here? i know she will need to be checked by a vet a few hours before hand and also she will need a pet carrier. how much did it appox cost to fly your dog over, as i am trying to gather now as much information to decide how to bring her home that will be best for her.
i am leaning towards flying her over as i think it will be the shortest journey for her, but is it the best ?
i know there is lots of questions, if some people that have done this could share there experiences i would be grateful.
any advice would be appreciated.

my boy flew from sweden to uk four years ago he came off the fight full of joys,it was a long day bye the time he was checked in at sweden and arrive to the uk at gatwick airport then,the time was about 10 hours in total from home to home.
but if you know of someone that may be driving to and from sweden they bring her over for a small fee than the flight as you have to go though an agent to bring the dogs in on a plane i will be going to the world dog show to see my liver boy but someone will drive him over for me late summer.

i do know of a couple of people that are driving back from the world dogs show.

Hi Lisacur77

Last year I returned to the UK after 12 years in New Zealand. Obviously flying was the only choice for my dogs and cats so I went through a company who specialise in doing this. This had many benefits as many airlines do not carry animals (some licensing thing I think). They also custom built the crates to fit my dogs exact size. All the paperwork was provided, contacts given and timetable of when each thing needed to be done. This was still stressful as the poor things were confined non-stop for 40 hours, but very professional service. All animals arrived in excellent condition and did not seem stressed, only bewildered and very relieved to see us.

I would also check how long your blood tests last for as ours were only valid for 6 months.

Good luck whatever you decide :)

i was thinking if i drove over then i would also be able to see her been shown at the dog show...
thank you for your advise.
what company did you use lunamoona to bring your dogs and cats home.

i was thinking if i drove over then i would also be able to see her been shown at the dog show...
thank you for your advise.

That sounds like the best plan to me!  Not only do you get to go to the World show but you also have some bonding time with your dog in the way home - can't go wrong with that IMO :d

My bitch came over from Sweden with her breeder.  She drove down through the continent and got the ferry across to here.  She said the hardest part of the journey was driving from the east of the UK to the southwest!

Debs

Hi Lisa

unlike the other two posters I haven't personally brought dogs over to the UK although personally know a few folks who have :)  They each opted to drive back.  Equally, were I to do it, I'd bring a dog from the continent by road and ferry rather than plane. 

Much as the journey is shorter by flying, when travelling myself I've seen several dogs' crates being put into and taken out of the cargo deck and TBH wouldn't want my dog to go through the level of noise that these poor creatures were clearly enduring :(  The engines were on and the noise inside the terminal heading for the departure gate was loud for us - goodness only knows how stressful it must have been for the dogs (without the benefit of ear plugs that the ground crew have :( ) 

If from a country such as the US, Australia etc then there's really no other option but from continental europe, scandinavia etc, were it me I'd opt for picking the dog up and travelling by road.

regards, Teri :)

Thank you Terri for pointing that out to me,
My mum sent a dog from here to England a few years ago by plane for my aunt and althought it was the fastest way to do it , she did not travel well. And that concerns me that my girl could be totally stressed,
i know that she went to her first show last week one on friday and one on sunday where she did well.
i will contact her breeder and see how she travels in the car. i think if she dosnt travel well in a car then a plane would be totally out of the question , thank you for bringing this to my attention.

The company I used was Venturepet but they are NZ based. The comments about noise at the airport are valid, it depends on the individual animal I suppose.

Just to point out the length of travelling involved. I am Swedish, live in the UK, and am taking 2 of my dogs to the World Show. As we have 2 we have no other option but to drive. The journey is going to take 2 full days, which means we have to stop over for one night and find somewhere where we can stay with two dogs. Also as we have to drive through several countries (England, then ferry to Holland, drive through Germany, Denmark, then the bridge over to Sweden, and then all the way through Sweden from the very south to Stockholm) it is vital to check the pet passports requirements for each country as they are NOT always the same.

To be honest if we had the option we'd take the plane as it would be so much easier and probably not cost more either if it was just one dog as the petrol costs, ferry, bridge toll, accomodation (unless we can find a friend to stay with, working on that!) etc will be astronomical, but with two large dogs, there's just no way. Many planes only allow one dog per flight and cargo tends to be charged by volume rather than weight.

Thanks marianneB thats just what i have been looking into how far i would have to drive.And i have further to go because i have to get from n.ireland to england.

Thank you all for your replys its helping me way up the pro's and con's..

Whatever you do make sure her microchip is checked before she leaves.  Friends of mien imported a dog and his chip couldn't be found at Heathrow, so they had to pay to fly him back and Had to start everything again from scratch so another 7 months before they were able to bring him in.

i drove my boy a 1000 miles back to his new home a few months ago. I had visited almost monthly and shown him a bit before hand, but it was still a shock putting a puppy of 75 kg in the van and wondering if he would object to me sleeping in his bed for the next 2 nights en route!!! I suppose it depends on the breed but certainly mine is not one where you would want to fly him at that age (11 months in my case) and I made sure he had his familiar lead and collar and bed for the journey and just got on with it. A friend also imported his bitch from sweden like you, and drove her home easily.

thank you for the tip about the microchip!
thank you all for your input. i still havent decided whats going to work best. if anyone else has any "tips" am very greatful.

Lisa

One of my friends in teh breed had a Spanish from New Zealand last January.  He looked great when he came out of the customs at Gatwick.  Came up to us with no problems in the world, jumped in the car and sat there all the way back to my friends in Yorkshire!  The customs people loved him and said that he was brilliant.

Hi,

I flew my first hound from Sweden...no hastle at all!

Next time I choose to drive... lots of lovely people to stay with on the way ;-)......

Love Sweden.... Let me know if you want any help :-)

Pam

thank you pam for you kind offer, may i contact you through pm

Thank lisa

We are importing from Finland, driving through to get our girl, hopefully beginning of July.
I have not got far with our planning as yet, I will wait for the bloodtest results first and then put my thinking cap on as of where we will drive through and take ferries etc...
Good luck!

Hi,

Of course you can :-) Glad I can be of some help.

Pam