Puppies arriving by air

[Betsy & Ridley]

Hi -

 

My mini goldendoodle Ridley is arriving on Thursday.  His breeder is in Central Illinois & I'm in Minnesota.  I went back and forth on whether he should be shipped or if I should go there to get him.  In the end I decided that a short flight would be better than a 7 hour drive (without stops) for a little puppy like that.   A littermate (Amos) is coming to live with my aunt and uncle and the boys will be traveling in the same crate.

 

 

I'm wondering if anyone has different advice for puppies coming by air.  In reality the flight will be pretty short - about an hour I'd guess so it's probably about the same as the car ride home for a lot of pups but not sure if it's scarier or harder for them.

 

Should they stay in the travel crate until we get home or allowed to get out as soon as pick them up?  It's a very short ride from the airport home (15 or 20 minutes).  When he leave the airport though he will be separated from his brother.

 

 

I'm feeling kind of bad about the flight and not knowing what is happeneing between being dropped off by the breeder and greating him at the airport.

 

Any advice or ideas are welcome!

 

 

Betsy and Ridley

Beth Rick & Amos

[Bonnie and Kona]

I think you should let him out as soon as possible to let him go potty and have the security of your loving arms. We shipped our Cavalier King Charles Spaniel 13 years ago. He bonded to me immediately upon exiting his crate and was my dog from that moment on. They are more one-owner than a doodles, but it was imprinting on him to be released by me. We had an hour and a half drive to bring home our doodle and he slept in my daughter's arms all the way home. It is a new and stressful experience however you do it.

[shelly]

My puppy came from Canada and although we were so anxious to see her and get her out, know the breeder had not given her a morning meal so she would not get sick...we did opt to wait until we got home.. we didn't know how frightened she may be and didn't want to take the chance of her running due to the extra noise of an airport, the trauma, etc... when we finally did get her home, (which was about an hour) she stayed in the crate for a while and took a while to come out. ...she never pottied in her crate for the flight and took quite a while to go after coming out as well....If I had to do it again, (and WHEN we do) I would opt NOT to have my puppy fly...now being more educated.

[Patty, Roxy & Spencer]

Hi Betsy,
We had the same kind of decision to make when we were adding Spencer to our family. When we got Roxy we drove from the Bay Area (CA) up to the Seattle area to pick her up. It took us several days (a few sightseeing stops) to get there and 1 1/2 days to get home. We had to stop over night with her in a hotel room which went fine. We decided to have Spencer flown down to us because we didn't have the extra time off to drive up to get him (my pups are from the same breeder). My breeder reassured me that it would be just fine to fly him to us. They do this all the time and have their favorite airline, etc. His flight was about 2 hrs. They do have to fly air freight, but the handlers and the regulations are really good. Of course I had to be at the airport 1/2 hr before the flight was due and we had to wait for about an 3/4 hr. to have him processed. I kept looking through the glass window in the cargo area at his little crate wanting so much to get him out of it and hug him. Which is what I did exactly when they handed him over to us. You won't want to wait to hold and snuggle your puppy. We're only about a 1/2 hr. from the airport so we didn't try to find a secure place to let him out to potty, which is something to consider. Spencer was perfectly fine and gave me a big slurrpy kiss. Your breeder should be able to reassure you that everything will be ok. Oh, we went to the airport several days before Spencer's flight so we would know exactly where to go and we talked to the air freight guy to make sure we knew everything we would need to claim our pup. If you can, it's a good idea to do this. Good luck. It'll all be fine and enjoy your new puppy.

[Lynda Kamrath]

I got all three of my dogs by air and it was a little different story with each. The first was traumatized by his trip from Ohio to California and hid in the back of his crate. As soon as he got home, he adjusted pretty quickly. My second pup traveled with his sister from Washington to California and he seemed pretty happy just to be here. Cuddled right up to me and sat on my lap all the way home. My latest pup came from Texas to California on Continental Airlines and they seemed the best equipped for transporting puppies. He was a little older and very happy to be here. He also sat on my lap all the way home and had a 4-yr-old goldendoodle waiting for him. I would suggest finding a place to take him for a walk and a chance to go pee if he has not already done that in his crate. Breeders are usually great at getting the pups transferred by air. Another choice is to fly to him and bring him back as carryon luggage. Lots of puppies travel that way and it is no more expensive that shipping them by air.

[KC]

Our puppy flew 5 hours from Toronto to San Francisco, and did fine. He was barking excitedly when they brought the crate out, and we opened it at once and cuddled him. Took him to a park right outside the airport to let him pee, and then put him in the crate for the one hour drive home. He was totally fine, had kept his crate dry and clean, and was just one happy ball of fluff even after a long scary flight.
KC