I will be flying a husky mix and Catahoula mix to Italy from San Francisco and welcome any recommendations for airlines, pet transport services, customs clearance tips etc.
KLM is the best for transporting animals, in my view.
It’s been a long time since I flew dogs commercially.
Only fly when the weather is cool, as the cargo area is usually only air conditioned in-flight. (Many airlines won’t even book pet passengers in the summer, no matter where you’re flying.)
Look online, or check with your local Italian consulate, for entry documents for the dogs. If it’s anything like other European countries, you’ll likely need a certificate of health signed by a veterinarian within 10 days of your trip (your vet. will know what this is), and a rabies vaccination at least 3 months before, but not more than 1-3 years prior to your flight.
Based on your breed descriptions, both dogs should be okay with the maximum size requirements. (For most airlines, that’s a max. 34" high crate, and max. 140lbs for both crate and dog.) (I have Danes, so it’s impossible to fly adult Danes as per the guidelines for commerncial airlines. They have to fly on a cargo plane or, if he/she is really, really lucky, a Dane owner might get an exception made.)
Personally, I’d never leave anyone alone with my dog, so that pretty much precludes flying commercially (you couldn’t pay me to trust a baggage handler alone with my dog). And while arranging a charter flight is the next best option for travel on the same continent, it’s not really feasible for trips to Europe. If you do decide to use some sort of pet transport company, thoroughly screen them, and ask for references from people who’ve flown their pets a similar route with that company. (You wouldn’t want your pets being the guinea pigs for that company’s first foray into Italy.)
It would be preferable for you to fly WITH your pets. Make sure it’s a non-stop flight (if possible), or a stop-over, at worst. Avoid connecting flights like the plague, as your dogs could easily get re-routed, and then they’re screwed. Personally take the dogs somewhere outside the airport for their last potty break, and arrive as close to your departure time as you’re allowed. (That’s usually 2 hrs prior to int’l flights, but the airline can give you a more precise time.) (whispering…the cut off is actually more like 45 min’s before departure)
Keep an eye on your dogs’ crates as much as possible.
Make them really noticeable. One frequent flyer suggests putting crazy stickers all over the crate, to make it really recognizable, out there on the tarmac, so you can watch your dogs from the time they’re brought out, to the time they go in the hold.
Another trick is to put a bungee around the whole crate (horizontally) and looped through the wires of the door, to discourage nosey workers. Many, many of the dogs that escape (of which some are never found or have to be killed because they ran out on the runway) can be traced back to airport employees who just couldn’t resist the urge to open the cage door and pet the dog. A complicated-ly attached bungee will discourage them, while not entirely precluding access into the crate, such as in the case of an emergency.
And on that note, not only make sure your dogs are crate trained, but that they’re taught to remain in their crates absolutely until a command allows them to leave. A dog trained to remain in its crate until given permission to leave is LEAST likely to bolt out, should some baggage handler or flight attendant open the door for some reason.
If possible, attach instructions and contact information to the outside of the crate, in the event that the crate is misplaced. Some crates have a small pocket where a few kibbles could be stored. They all have to have a water dish, which could be filled from the outside, if the dog gets separated from the owners for some period of time. Oh, the crate has to have some kind of absorbant material on the bottom. There are modern designs of grating and wicking fabric that can minimize the possibility of a dog lying on some urine-soaked material for hours.
That’s all I can think of off the top of my head.
If you have more questions or comments, I can ‘edit’ my answer, if you like.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
KLM is the best for transporting animals, in my view.
It’s been a long time since I flew dogs commercially.
Only fly when the weather is cool, as the cargo area is usually only air conditioned in-flight. (Many airlines won’t even book pet passengers in the summer, no matter where you’re flying.)
Look online, or check with your local Italian consulate, for entry documents for the dogs. If it’s anything like other European countries, you’ll likely need a certificate of health signed by a veterinarian within 10 days of your trip (your vet. will know what this is), and a rabies vaccination at least 3 months before, but not more than 1-3 years prior to your flight.
Based on your breed descriptions, both dogs should be okay with the maximum size requirements. (For most airlines, that’s a max. 34" high crate, and max. 140lbs for both crate and dog.) (I have Danes, so it’s impossible to fly adult Danes as per the guidelines for commerncial airlines. They have to fly on a cargo plane or, if he/she is really, really lucky, a Dane owner might get an exception made.)
Personally, I’d never leave anyone alone with my dog, so that pretty much precludes flying commercially (you couldn’t pay me to trust a baggage handler alone with my dog). And while arranging a charter flight is the next best option for travel on the same continent, it’s not really feasible for trips to Europe. If you do decide to use some sort of pet transport company, thoroughly screen them, and ask for references from people who’ve flown their pets a similar route with that company. (You wouldn’t want your pets being the guinea pigs for that company’s first foray into Italy.)
It would be preferable for you to fly WITH your pets. Make sure it’s a non-stop flight (if possible), or a stop-over, at worst. Avoid connecting flights like the plague, as your dogs could easily get re-routed, and then they’re screwed. Personally take the dogs somewhere outside the airport for their last potty break, and arrive as close to your departure time as you’re allowed. (That’s usually 2 hrs prior to int’l flights, but the airline can give you a more precise time.) (whispering…the cut off is actually more like 45 min’s before departure)
Keep an eye on your dogs’ crates as much as possible.
Make them really noticeable. One frequent flyer suggests putting crazy stickers all over the crate, to make it really recognizable, out there on the tarmac, so you can watch your dogs from the time they’re brought out, to the time they go in the hold.
Another trick is to put a bungee around the whole crate (horizontally) and looped through the wires of the door, to discourage nosey workers. Many, many of the dogs that escape (of which some are never found or have to be killed because they ran out on the runway) can be traced back to airport employees who just couldn’t resist the urge to open the cage door and pet the dog. A complicated-ly attached bungee will discourage them, while not entirely precluding access into the crate, such as in the case of an emergency.
And on that note, not only make sure your dogs are crate trained, but that they’re taught to remain in their crates absolutely until a command allows them to leave. A dog trained to remain in its crate until given permission to leave is LEAST likely to bolt out, should some baggage handler or flight attendant open the door for some reason.
If possible, attach instructions and contact information to the outside of the crate, in the event that the crate is misplaced. Some crates have a small pocket where a few kibbles could be stored. They all have to have a water dish, which could be filled from the outside, if the dog gets separated from the owners for some period of time. Oh, the crate has to have some kind of absorbant material on the bottom. There are modern designs of grating and wicking fabric that can minimize the possibility of a dog lying on some urine-soaked material for hours.
That’s all I can think of off the top of my head.
If you have more questions or comments, I can ‘edit’ my answer, if you like.
References :
Well i think that answer just about covered it, nothing more to add good luck your faithful doggie will be fine.
References :