How to Ship A Puppy In A Plane

Whether you are looking to adopt a puppy or find a home for a puppy, you may find yourself with so much distance between the two of you that it's unrealistic to drive (or row your boat) that far. Shipping the puppy on a plane could be the best option but many new owners and dog breeders alike are nervous about the procedure. No need to be, it's not that hard and I've had many years of experience with nothing bad ever happening to any of my precious puppies. Here's the process:

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Airline Approved Crate
• Attachable food and water dishes
• Shredded newspaper
• Vet
• Ziploc baggie

1. Your puppy must be a minimum of 8 weeks old according to airline requirements.
2. Once your puppy is at least 8 weeks old, take him/her to the vet. The veterinarian will give the puppy a complete physical and if the puppy is of good health, the vet will fill out a special airline required health certificate.
   
   Things to bring with you:
   Record of vaccination, if you've done these yourself
   Record of wormings
   Date of birth of the puppy
   Name, address and phone number of the new owner
3. Call the airline of your choice and speak to someone in the cargo department if the puppy is flying without a human.
   Tell them you are interested in setting up (or getting price quote) an airline travel date for a puppy.
   
   You will need to provide:
   ~ The name of the airport (or city/state) you wish the puppy to be shipped to and from
   ~ Age of puppy
   ~ Confirm they have (or will be) vet checked within 10 days of departure
   ~ The date you would like to ship the puppy
   ~ The size of the crate
   ~ Weight of the puppy
   ~ Name, address and phone number of person receiving the puppy
4. Take notes!
   
   The airline will give you times, flight numbers and a special airbill number. The flight numbers are the numbers of each plane. Your puppy may need to be on more than one plane, depending on the flight. The airbill number is the number given to your specific puppy.
   
   Ask the airline where the new puppy owner is to pick up their puppy. Different airports have different areas they request this to be done.
5. Provide your notes to the puppy buyer and request that they have them written down or printed and take with them to the airport when they pick up the puppy. Especially the airbill number! They will need this as well as their driver's license or other photo ID to claim their new puppy at the airport.
6. To err on the side of caution, ask the puppy buyer to also bring paper towels and a disposable plastic grocery type bag just in case the puppy makes a mess of his/her crate contents.
   
   I also suggest perhaps a ziploc with wet paper towels or baby wipes to freshen up a puppy who may have soiled on themselves.
   
   Also, bringing water is a real plus if they live any distance from the airport as those airline feed/water dishes are so tiny, your puppy will be thirsty.
   
   They will also want a leash and collar for the trip home. The crate is their's to keep.
7. Do not overfeed your puppy before their airline trip and be sure they have both urinated and defecated before handing him/her over to the airline personnel.
   
   Place a good amount of shredded newsprint in the puppy's crate. Enough for comfort as well as to help ensure puppy will be kept free of direct contact with any soiling the puppy may do on the trip.
   
   Show up a MINIMUM of an hour early. Trust me, when they say to show up an hour early, THEY MEAN IT. They will not let you ship your puppy if you do not give them ample time to get the puppy ready for the flight. This does not mean you will be stuck there that long. It's for their benefit only.
8. What will happen at the airport:
   
   ~ You will get in the passenger line of the specific airline your puppy will be traveling with.
   ~ Have the new owners name, address and phone number with you. You will be filling out a form while there that requires this. It's very short. You and the puppy owner's contact info and when the puppy was last fed and watered. I give a small amount of food and water at the airport while waiting so as to fit in with the required feed/water times for this form while still not overfeeding or watering the puppy as to risk soiling in the crate to early in the trip.
   
   ~ The person helping you with the papers will call a security employee who will want to inspect the puppies crate. For this, they will ask that you remove the puppy. They are looking for bomb residue, etc. Nothing to be alarmed about. It only takes a few moments. Sometimes, they do this in the back and you don't need to help but at the particular airport I use, they ask for my assistance.
   
   ~ They will place live animal stickers and plastic locking ties on the crate to prevent tampering with your puppy.
9. All done!
   
   Be sure to check up on the puppies safe arrival.

Tips & Warnings

• Bring an extra ziploc baggie of food for your puppy and have it taped to the top of the crate just in case of unforeseen delay and then someone can feed your puppy in your absence.
• Start crate training your puppy in advance of the trip, if possible to decrease any possible stress.
• Include a safe toy to occupy the puppy, keeping in mind they will be unsupervised so choose your toy wisely. NO RAWHIDES please! (they are choking hazards and I NEVER give them - supervised or not)
• Crate will need to be big enough for puppy to stand in without touching head on top and have the ability to turn all the way around comfortably
• Airlines have temperature requirements - especially important for pug nosed breeds such as pugs, bostons, pekingese, etc Normally it is nothing shipped when it's over 85 degrees or below 25 degrees but do check with your airline when you call.
• Do not ship your puppy COD
• Be sure the puppy and all the shipping costs are paid for, up front.
• I do not take personal checks if there is not a minimum of 10 days before shipping the puppy. Instead, I use wire transfers, postal money orders, certified checks or western union.
• Do not use shiny newsprint when shredding your newspapers, the security scanners don't seem to like the chemicals in them. I also avoid colored pages. Black and white newsprint is safer as it is vegetable die based, unlike the chemically altered colored print.