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Puppy Flight Shipment

BulliesofNCBulliesofNC Richlands, NC
edited August 2013 in General
This discussion was created from comments split from: Hoping to add a new member to our little family.....
- Steve Gogulski
"It's not just a Dog, it's a Bull Terrier!"
www.bulliesofnc.com

Comments

  • I did not want to start a new thread, so I figured I would just continue with this one.  As stated, we are expecting the arrival of our new pup in four weeks.  I believe he will be 9 weeks old at that point but I have to verify with the breeder.  Maybe even 10.

    INitially, when I first contacted her, she was supposed to be flying in with the pup.  Last we spoke, that was not possible so she was trying to arrange the trip with a friend or family member who could accompany the pup.  If not, she said she has shipped puppies before.

    Now this breeder is a reputable breeder according to the MBT site and recommendations.  I'm curious if "shipment" of the puppy is something I should be concerned about?  It is probably a four hour flight.  Any thoughts?
  • BulliesofNCBulliesofNC Richlands, NC
    edited August 2013
    @fbones24 - As long as the breeder is arranging an appropriate canine flight for him I don't think you have any thing to worry about. We have send puppies via flight shipment many times even outside the country. To be honest, I'd much rather have a puppy fly to a far distance vice see the puppy get picked up in a car and have to endure hours upon hours of driving time. Try not to compare Your feelings in regard to being in a plane verse being in a car because motion sickness will impact both elements. I'd much rather see a puppy fly for 4 hours vice be driven home for 14 hours.
    One thing to take note of is in order to conduct a flight shipment for a puppy they are required to have a health certification and acclimation statement conducted by a Veterinarian. This has to be done within 10 days of the flight. This means your puppy will be thoroughly examined to ensure he is healthy and fit for any flight shipment. Another positive aspect is the fact that in order to ship a puppy via plane it would have to be at least 8 weeks of age. Many backyard breeders are i a big rush to sell their puppies and look forward to getting rid of their puppies at the earliest opportunity which is about the time they can eat solid foods on their own - 6 weeks old. Some of these breeders will even chastise the idea of fight shipments with their oppinions of it being "unsafe" in attempt to present themselves as a "caring" breeder while they convince you to pick your puppy up at a inappropriate and premature age.
    Let's face it the English Bull Terrier didn't come to America on boat. My stud Nitro recently flew from Poland to England to USA. A very long trip and he met me full of happiness and confidence. I'm not sure he realized he was on a plane. I shipped a puppy to Canada to a person interested in our bloodlines for future show and breed purposes. She too was very worried about the long flight. However, he did perfect on his trip and is doing well today in the show circuit. His photo is illustrated below from a show in Canada.

    This is a good subject and one that I felt warranted it's own thread so I made it one. :D
    Mel Pearson - Tank 1.jpg
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    - Steve Gogulski
    "It's not just a Dog, it's a Bull Terrier!"
    www.bulliesofnc.com
  • Our Maya came down from Spartanburg, SC with a stop in Atlanta. Her flight time was probably 6 hours. She was just fine. I'm with Steve on this one. I've seen other "breeders'" sites that criticize flying puppies. I even emailed one asking him why he opposed puppy flights. He never responded. I suspect because he is one of those that rip their puppies away from their mother, refuse to offer health guarantees, or just will not go to the trouble of the required paperwork to fly a puppy. Delta has an excellent record of pet flights. That's who flew our baby to us.
  • I'm not questioning Steve's experience with shipping pups as he has much more than me.

    We chose to drive 12.5 hours straight home from Michigan with our pup.

    The only knowledge I had of animal shipment was stories from two friends who each had a less than desirable experiences with dogs shipped to them.

    One pup seemed shell-shocked for weeks after shipment which their breeder accredited to "something must have happened on the flight".

    The other was a Pug who's eye was damaged damaged when shipped. The vet said the shredded paper in the crate used to ship the animal scratched his eye.

    I also watched this video.



    I think the Corgi that crapped himself was the one with the cam rolling, replay his face around 3:00.

    I could see how flying in the cabin with someone accompanying the pup might be less stressful than 12.5 hour nap-filled car ride (which is what our little man endured) but don't forget to take into account a possible long wait to board your plane.

    Had I researched this subject on this forum first, I may have had a different opinion.

    My only past experience transporting an animal was riding my bike 12.7 miles as a child with a Tiger Oscar Cichlid on the handlebars in a plastic bag with a couple cups of water in it... Oh and there was the Beta Fish I had delivered with overnight postal service.

    By no means am I an expert, ha!
  • BulliesofNCBulliesofNC Richlands, NC
    I think I can understand anyone's concern to any form of shipment. In truth I could put a dog in a travel crate and simply pick it up off the ground to put it in a car and photograph a look of concern on the dogs face. I get that same look on my face when I get on a plane and it takes off for flight. (Too many military flights in theater).
    You'd be shocked with what some people deal with by putting their dogs in their car for a short drive. There's even a thread on this Forum on that subject. I think the best thing about conducting a personal pickup of a puppy is that the owner can rest assure that the entire safety of trip will be controlled by their supervision. It's for that reason alone that my preference would be to conduct a personal pickup of the puppy if it's within means of traveling. However, I don't oppose the aspect of flight shipment because I've had good experience in puppy shipments this route.

    - Steve Gogulski
    "It's not just a Dog, it's a Bull Terrier!"
    www.bulliesofnc.com
  • Understand the trepidation of flying. After all, landing the thing is nothing more than a controlled crash anyhow.
  • BulliesofNCBulliesofNC Richlands, NC
    edited August 2013
    Here's a story I'll share with you all.

    A while back I had a customer who purchased a puppy from us who made the decision NOT to have their puppy shipped via airplane because they claimed that the shipment method posed a threat to the safety of their puppy according to what they read on some internet site. Instead they opted for a Canine Ground Transporter which I agreed to. This canine transporter specialized in shipping puppies, dogs, and cats from point A to to point B throughout the country and raved about the benefits of ground transportation verse air transportation.
    On the day the puppy was to be picked up the company arrived to my residence in a F350 hooked to a long trailer with a home made multiplex of small cubby holes for stuffing in dogs or cats. They had no A/C and only one window. I couldn't beleive my eyes when I seen the size and conditions of crates. the poor dogs looked miserable. Inside the crates were straw and a water bowl all of which were empty from obvious road motion. The dogs were panting and hot. One dog was large in size and crambed into a kennel where he could even turn around. I told the driver to let him out. He knew I was pissed and actually listened to me by moving him. When the dog was taken out he didn't wait a single second to piss all over the ground obviously from holding his bladder. When the guy went to the other side of the trailer to put the dog away in another kennel i noticed blood coming out of the window of another kennel. I started yelling at the guy and he had enough of me I guess and got back in the truck to leave. I still broke out my phone and got a couple pictures because I wished to report the incident. He drove away pissed off thinking I was the bad guy. NO WAY was I going to entertain that kind of transportation. It literally made me sick to my stomach and I felt so bad for the dogs that were in those kennels full of crap. God only knows if they were even free from the spread of disease like Parvo.
    All I can say is at least canine flights through Delta and Continental regulate safety procedures and look after the welfare of the animals in their care unlike some small scaled private transportation company or business that could care less about their reputation.
    I hate to disgust you all with the photos I have attached but I think they can be used as an eye opener for others that may be view this thread while researching the best approach to animal shipment. I think these photos speak volumes and a hidden camera taking videos would only bring tears.

     
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    - Steve Gogulski
    "It's not just a Dog, it's a Bull Terrier!"
    www.bulliesofnc.com
  • BulliesofNCBulliesofNC Richlands, NC
    By the way, the puppy ended up flying out on Continental without any problems. ;)

    - Steve Gogulski
    "It's not just a Dog, it's a Bull Terrier!"
    www.bulliesofnc.com
  • Thank you everyone for the responses on this "new" thread.  I felt good about it before but just wanted to make sure.  I completely trust the breeder and she also indicated that it was not a problem.  Hopefully he ships with a friend or family member, but I am no longer going to concern myself with the 4 hour flight.  

    Now I'm just concerned about making a good "first impression" at the airport.  Should I bring treats? 
    :D
  • philsergeantphilsergeant Palm City, Florida, USA
    edited August 2013
    Re: Road Transporters.
    I suppose the ladies from PETA are far too busy baring their breasts for some television camera to be able to get around to attending to this horrific mistreatment of animals.  I'm sick to my stomach how the love of money corrupts the mentally diminished in the world.
    In the beginning God created English Bull Terriers, in the image of EBT's, God created all other breeds.
  • I got banned from the PETA web site after I sent them a box of fresh deer guts by FedEx.
  • They allow transportation in that rackity piece of crap? Just looking at it makes me think it's disease infested. I would eat a good chunk of money to not have them on there. I thought it would at least be an enclosed trailer with the cage doors facing inside. I have also dealt with Delta with no problems. They deal with such a higher volume of transports there are bound to be a few complaints. Especially these days where everyone feels like they're obligated to find something to bitch and complain about.

    @fbones24 A few treats wouldn't hurt but I wouldn't overdo it on the food/treats. Not sure how long your car ride back from airport is. You don't want him throwing up on his first car ride with you.
  • @Stvy thanks!  Car ride is about 1 hour so not too bad.  
  • Your actions speak so loudly I cannot hear your words.
  • BulliesofNCBulliesofNC Richlands, NC
    I would bring some paper towels and spray just in case he had an accident. Puppies have a hard enough time holding the bladder for an hour let alone 4 hours. I would also bring a bowl and some water in case he's thirsty. Once he see's you and he's out of his kennel carrier he's just going to want to play and receive attention. Food will be the last thing on his mind.

    - Steve Gogulski
    "It's not just a Dog, it's a Bull Terrier!"
    www.bulliesofnc.com
  • Puppy pads worked great for us on our 12.5 hour return trip in the car.

    On occasion, when the puppy woke up, we'd take him off our lap and set him on the puppy pad on the floor. Almost on command he'd go wee.

    With only an hour car ride, you probably won't have to make a pit stop for him top take care of other business... Obviously we did with our long trip. Same deal as the puppy pads, we'd stop put him on some grass and he'd do his thing once again, almost like on request.

    I don't know how we got so lucky, lol!
  • Thanks!  I'm going to be alone so it's going to be hard for me to remove him from crate while driving to go.  Maybe I can wait to start driving until he has gone and then hope he makes it the hour.  
  • We didn't even really use the crate on the trip home... It's nearly impossible to hide something so darn cute away in a box, haha!

    Of course there was two of us, one to drive and one to handle the cuteness.

    Good luck with the trip and post lots of pics here, we LOVE feeding off the joy and experiences of other Bullie-Lovers :)
  • Will do @Stoeger.  He's a mini so don't "bully" him when I post pics.  =))
  • Oh, we won't but watch out for Phil & Leslie... They'll try and coat him in condiments and eat him right up!
  • philsergeantphilsergeant Palm City, Florida, USA
    @fbones24. My pantry door is wide open for the spicy accompaniments.... I love Minis, ( they are easier to swallow ) ... So post away!
    In the beginning God created English Bull Terriers, in the image of EBT's, God created all other breeds.
  • Yeah not quite so filling :D
    Your actions speak so loudly I cannot hear your words.
  • Like little pigs in a blanket ;)
  • Yummy! Piggies in a blanket are my fav!!
  • With hot sause! !!!! :D see stoeger your gonna be eating puppies in no time!!!! Hahaha
    Your actions speak so loudly I cannot hear your words.
  • YOu guys are already "bullying" but I'll be sure to post some photos when the little guy arrives.  
  • We are holding you to that!!!!!! Theirs fines and loss of membership for lack of pics :D
    Your actions speak so loudly I cannot hear your words.
  • We picked our female bully up by car for a four hour drive.  She got really car sick.  We had to stop and give her a break. 

    Our puppies we shipped all but one.  Two were in flight total 14 hours (including 3 hr lay over).  One puppy was clean and fine, and I might say made quite an impression with everyone at the airport when he arrived. I believe the airline staff looked after him.  The other arrived with a very messy crate, and the puppy was covered with poop.  Unfortunately the pup then had a 2 hr car ride.  Both were shipped United.  The other two were also shipped, shorter times.  They arrived just fine. I believe the staff makes a difference. I would have no reservations shipping a dog.  We did not feed them before flight, and trained them how to use the drink bottle two days before flight.

  • edited August 2013
    Diane, speaking of promised pics, please promise me you'll post more pics of that beautiful Brindle & White pup I spied in a group pic (white face) you posted in another thread. That pup looks to be beyond mustard, possibly sweeter than syrup!!!
  • Hey Stoeger....I'm back to the practice video on the pic's.  Gotta go look for Steve in the AM. 

    (Not sure which pic you want.)  I have a brendle girl, and a white male.  Or was it one of my pup's?  Cause I wanna give them to you!  Ha, ha.  I love showing off my babies. 

    :-*
  • It was the puppy, Brindle & White with at least the right side of it's face all white.

    I didn't get a good look with the pic you posted to describe the baby better...
  • The third pup counting from the foreground back.
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