I have read many of the posts about taking pets abroad, mostly about cats though. Is there anyone out there who can give me some information about taking dogs to Europe? I am aware of the issues of having all the correct papers for transport and making sure the dogs will be welcome in housing in Europe ...
I have 2 Doberman pinschers, a brother and a sister, and wouldn't dream of leaving them behind. Someone wrote a posting saying to NOT send them through cargo on the airplace. But how else do we transport big dogs? I assumed that you put them in a big pet carrier, give them something to keep them calm, and entrust them to the airlines. Any information or suggestions?
I was planning to take a plane in a U.S. city from which I could fly directly to Europe, thereby avoiding a layover and making the trip longer than possible.
Thanks for any information about this topic.
Taking 2 Dogs to Europe?
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Cr8ivTchr
Taking Dogs to Europe
We have two beagles that travel with us everywhere. They made the move with us from Texas to Korea (and back) and we recently brought them with us to Poland. Although they are not as big as your dogs, they are too big to ride inside the plane and have to travel as cargo. We have not had any problems traveling with our dogs this way. We do always find a way to have them on a direct flight though so we don't have to worry about them missing a connection. This has caused us to rent a car and drive across the U.S. to find a city with a direct flight and, on our last move, we had to rent a car in Poland as well to drive from Warsaw to the smaller city where we are living. We feel the inconvenience is worth it for the sake of the dogs.
Although airlines generally advise against it, we do give our dogs a sedative when they fly. One is quite old (16) and has severe separation anxiety so we feel this is necessary so he won't be in panic mode the whole flight.
Be sure to check with the country's requirements for importing your pet. Entering an EU country from the US is relatively easy...you just need an international health certificate (which most vets are able to get for you) showing a recent rabies shot and also a microchip implanted in your pet. We did all this (as well as getting a bilingual EU form) as Poland required and then nobody even asked to see any paperwork once we arrived. The airline in Chicago did look at the health certificate but that was it. Other countries may be more vigilant, though, so I'd have everything in place. I know England still has a lengthy pet quarantine but I don't think other European countries do. A good resource for finding out what you need for your pet is www.pettravel.com. On the left sidebar there is a place to check pet immigration requirements for any country.
Some airlines have restricitions on the size of the cages they'll accept in cargo so you'll want to check this as well since your dogs are quite large and need a cage they can move around in. One final note...depending on when you are flying many airlines also have restricitions about accepting pet cargo during hot weather. We always try and arrange for an evening departure if we are traveling in the summer.
Hope this information helps. Let me know if you have any further questions.
Although airlines generally advise against it, we do give our dogs a sedative when they fly. One is quite old (16) and has severe separation anxiety so we feel this is necessary so he won't be in panic mode the whole flight.
Be sure to check with the country's requirements for importing your pet. Entering an EU country from the US is relatively easy...you just need an international health certificate (which most vets are able to get for you) showing a recent rabies shot and also a microchip implanted in your pet. We did all this (as well as getting a bilingual EU form) as Poland required and then nobody even asked to see any paperwork once we arrived. The airline in Chicago did look at the health certificate but that was it. Other countries may be more vigilant, though, so I'd have everything in place. I know England still has a lengthy pet quarantine but I don't think other European countries do. A good resource for finding out what you need for your pet is www.pettravel.com. On the left sidebar there is a place to check pet immigration requirements for any country.
Some airlines have restricitions on the size of the cages they'll accept in cargo so you'll want to check this as well since your dogs are quite large and need a cage they can move around in. One final note...depending on when you are flying many airlines also have restricitions about accepting pet cargo during hot weather. We always try and arrange for an evening departure if we are traveling in the summer.
Hope this information helps. Let me know if you have any further questions.