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Old September 20th, 2013, 11:31 AM
newpuppymum newpuppymum is offline
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Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Vancouver
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Importing dogs.. HELP!

Hi there!
My partner is from Scotland, and his sister has a lovely Bavarian Mountain Hound. She recently bred it, and we have decided to import a puppy. The puppies are due in just under two weeks, and we would look at importing the puppy at 10-11 weeks, which would be sometime after December 14.

Obviously, flying a puppy at this age is not ideal... but he is desperate for this breed.

We have done a lot of research regarding what needs to be done with paperwork/vet/etc in order to bring the puppy into Canada. We are, however, having trouble with organizing the transportation!

I would LOVE some help from anyone who has maybe imported/exported a dog or animal before. The puppy will be in Edinburgh, but the breeders have said that they can get it to Heathrow airport if necessary.

After researching airlines, we decided that British Airways looks like the best option as they have a designated pet area at the airport, and staff who are trained specifically to deal with the animals. We want this to be as easy for the puppy as possible (I know.. it's still going to be traumatizing ). I had started looking into IAG Cargo, who work with British Airways, and it is proving to be very difficult! We first tried calling British Airways, who told us we had to call IAG directly. So we called the IAG Vancouver branch, and they told us they had no idea, that we had to call the UK branches, but NO, they did not have a number to help us.

So we've looked into it more and it doesn't appear that IAG has a branch at Edinburgh... so I'm not even sure if we can get puppy from Edinburgh to Heathrow... unless we have the breeder drive the puppy down, which is a hassle for them and we don't really want to ask them to do that.

I can't figure out who I need to call at IAG so I tried emailing and am waiting for a response. I also contacted 10 UK based pet transport/export companies and am waiting for information from them. They are much more expensive, but they do this for a living and are experienced... so maybe the way to go. Also, they are easier to get information from!


Please, any and all information or help you can give me would be great.
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  #2  
Old September 20th, 2013, 05:53 PM
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Koteburo Koteburo is offline
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Location: Calgary, AB
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Hi and welcome,

Well for starters and since you mentioned is a puppy I know that with kittens airlines won't allow kittens younger than 4 months of age to travel you might want to check that with puppies. Also the weather conditions cannot be too harsh this is either too cold or too hot. (the airline's website will tell you the temperatures limit both for hot and cold to do this)
Most of the information you need you'll find on the airline website, such as: size of the carrier/kennel, health certificate by a licensed veterinarian including his signature and ID practice number indicating that the animal is in good health to travel and with no diseases. Most of the airline requirements will be the same as those of the government in this case of Canada but there will be maybe a couple of extra things like vaccinations up to date with documents to prove it. (I think those are valid for 3 months to travel from the day they were issued)
I think the UK is considered rabies free so you might not need that shot.
Some airlines will allow you to travel with your puppy or cat under the passenger seat (my favorite option) however not all offer this service and I'm not sure at all if any offer it for long trips (like crossing the Atlantic )
hence the need to do it during mild weather since your little guy will be unloaded with the baggage :S (I wish we knew better by now)
As for entering Canada with your puppy you should check this out:
http://travel.gc.ca/returning/customs/pets
You'll probably have to base your flying choice on how pet friendly they are and go for what suits you and the puppy the best.
Keep in mind it's getting colder and also the puppy's age.
If you don't find everything you need on their website (Airline of your choice) I would give them a call as well.
The other option is to hire a company to do this for you. They handle the whole thing and they have deals with planes that do this kind of stuff however it's VERY pricey someone will accompany the puppy from the beginning to the end of his or her journey and you leave almost everything to them.
Hope this helps a bit~
P.S. When I found about this I talked only to the airline, no cargo stuff as in "hey! I'm traveling with my pet how should I proceed" Regardless of the breed in the end it's a puppy so all dog deals apply to him. It's not like you're bringing an amazonian feathered serpent of 8 arms to Canada
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Last edited by Koteburo; September 20th, 2013 at 06:05 PM.
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Old September 21st, 2013, 05:45 PM
Longblades Longblades is offline
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Sorry, no experience with flying, but what an interesting breed. Are there any others in Canada? What will you do with pup? Seems like they would need a lot of exercise, considering what they are bred to do?
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Old September 21st, 2013, 09:00 PM
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Dee-O-Gee Dee-O-Gee is offline
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Congratulations newpuppymom! The Bavarian Mountain Hound looks very striking in colour and physique. Sounds like you've done some intensive research and fortunately, have provided your concerns well in advance.

To hopefully assist, I am a Customs Broker and may be able to hook you up with a pet transfer service. I'll have to chat with a colleague from my Toronto office but they've assisted with the transfer and Customs clearance recently on a few domestic pets from overseas.

I'll reach out to them on Monday to see if they have a connection in Edinburgh or if necessary, London Heathrow that I can pass along.
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Old September 23rd, 2013, 09:36 AM
newpuppymum newpuppymum is offline
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That would be great! Thank! I finally managed to contact the cargo company and they say they will not take bookings from individuals- we have to go through a pet export company. So far, quoted prices has ranged from £550-£1300!! Ouch. Might be worth in to have a family member fly the puppy oven as excess baggage!

There's not too much info on the breed online, so most of what I've learned has come direct from the sister-in-law. They use theirs for hunting a bit (once to twice a month-ish in summer months.) They (and my partner) have said she is absolutely lovely- medium sized, short coat, very limited shedding, and according to them, fairly laid back at home and a great house pet. I will NOT be hunting at all.. But hope to find it another job. It will be my running/hiking partner, and I also ride horses so it will be my barn buddy. I hope to keep it in obedience for awhile and maybe agility or tracking classes.
As far as I can tell there are very few in Canada. I think there are two other imported dogs in BC. We may keep her unspayed and breed in the future, but we need to wait and see.
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Old September 23rd, 2013, 04:05 PM
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Dee-O-Gee Dee-O-Gee is offline
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As noted, I looked into the Pet transport and our Toronto location assisted a company called Worldcare Pet Transport. (http://www.worldcarepet.com). They have a very interesting website and it details how to prepare your animal before flying which I thought was interesting and very helpful. It was a PDF document.

Also, it appears that there is some kind of scam sight that uses the same name but is not linked to the one above. The scam sight is www.worldcarepettrans.com and the link doesn't even work!

The fake company is listed on Scam Warner’s website which I thought was an interesting yet disturbing read. That site is http://www.scamwarners.com/forum/vie...p?f=36&p=96376 and it notes a fair number of scammers for Pet Transport.

Anyway, the first link is legit. I personally, was not involved with the transport or customs clearance but our other office helped with one pet coming from the Czech Republic and another one was imported from the U.S., using this Worldcare Pet Transport Service.

So I’m not sure if this was one of the companies you’ve contacted but it’s one that I know my Toronto office worked with.

Hope this helps and best of luck.
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A dog wags his tail with his heart
Dogs have Masters--Cats have Staff

Rest in Peace Bailey: 12/10/95-1/9/09 (Golden Retriever)
Rest in Peace Kitty: 7/1/2000 - 10/7/2013
Rest in Peace Gryphon (sounds like Griffin): 10/15/2004 - 11/18/2017 (English Springer Spaniel)
Bella: 3/09/2005 LHD Cat adopted by/from Child
Mollie: 6/2/2009 (English Setter)
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