I am considering getting another westie pup but as I am in North East Scotland I may well have to travel as far down as London to get one. The last time I did a 10 hour round car trip to pick up a pup which was far enough. We will be looking for a different breeder this time.

Does anyone have experience of air travel with a pup? Does it go in the hold (pretty traumatic for a wee pup me thinks?)
or rail travel? Would the pup have to go in the guards van? And if so is it possible to get to the pup during the journey to check he or she is okay?

I know I could phone up airlines/rail companies etc but I wondered if anyone had good or bad experiences to share with me as I am still very much at the early planning stages.

ive just flown a pup over to ireland, the other option was a really long drive-then a ferry ride then another long drive, -the flight took just over an hour,,so id imagine it would be a lot less stressfull than having a real long drive, yes the pups is kept in the hold, you cant visit them,
suerly you can find a well bred westie much nearer to where you live????

We have taken our dogs on the train. They have sat with us. It depends on the guard whether they'll let them on the seat with you, but a young pup won't be any problem. Our dogs have either shared the empty seat next to us or curled up on our laps and no one has said anything. They LOVE the train.

The only thing is with a pup - the 'potty' bit. I would get some incontinence pads or something like that and put 2-3 on the floor in the toilet and let the pup go - then wrap them up and put in a bin later when you get off the train.

Also - as far as I know on flights if they are under a certain size (ie puppies) you can take them on board with you. But that might only be in the states.

Wendy

Unless things have changed you cannot take a dog into the passenger area on planes in this country. Some years ago A friend of mine puppy walked a dog for the Guide Dogs for the Blind. Because the person for whom the dog was being trained needed to fly around the country at very regular intervals the dog was specialy trained for air travel and was the first allowed on British Airways.

Regards, John

Pampers Care Mats work really well - they've got a waterproof backing and the chemicals in them help to stop them smelling.

Fiona
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