Shipping a dog...calm my fears

SunDevil - pets cannot be sedated during flights but an alternative is to buy a "calming collar". They cost about $15 and have active ingredients for 30 days that release pheromones and relax the pet. If you put the calming collar on your dog a week or so before travel, it should to some degree calm her on the flight. I don't think they are allowed to wear collars though either in case it gets caught on the crate - I'm almost certain that we had to remove our cats collar for this reason.

I shipped my pooches Abu Dhabi to Amsterdam to Chicago. They were fine - they didn't love it and did end up eliminating in their crates, but that's to be expected as they had 26 hours of travel. I love Betz's idea of freezing a bowl of water. I wish I would have thought of that! You are coming at the best possible time of year, as well, when the weather is cool. I completely understand how nerve wrecking it is and I had nightmares leading up to the trip, but in hindsight I can say they truly were just fine, no worse for the wear. As far as good dog food, all the vet clinics sell a variety of high end foods. You won't have any trouble finding quality food.

One more thing, do you find it difficult to find quality dog food in Dubai? We feed our dog the Iams brand but would be willing to feed another brand as long as it's a good brand and not just filler. Iams is available here too! Another tick on your list!!

SunDevil - pets cannot be sedated during flights but an alternative is to buy a "calming collar". They cost about $15 and have active ingredients for 30 days that release pheromones and relax the pet. If you put the calming collar on your dog a week or so before travel, it should to some degree calm her on the flight.

SunDevil - must have graduated from Arizona??? I have two Dandie Dinmont Terriers that have been shipped to and from West Africa and now Dubai to the States numerous times - too bad they don't get mileage! If you are flying Emirates, then your Lab can come with you, just as Cargo. I have a much BETTER Company to use in Houston they will handle all paperwork, including the FDA Certificate that you need and can only get in Austin. As for medicating the dog - DON'T do it, it will only cause more harm than good. Get online to poochpads.com and order the large crate pad for the crate, it will hold up to 3 times the liquid he pees out. Also make sure he has a water bottle attached to the crate (get the big one like you would put on the outside of a hamster cage), but one of those "live animal" paks from Pet Smart and use the small white snap on dish to put underneath the nozzle of the bottle because every little bump water escapes and causes the pad to get wet - so that helps the prevent that. Don't feed the guy before you take him the day of the flight, he will be fine, just be sure he has the water, what I do is freeze the bottle the night before and then in the morning put it on his crate then it melts and he won't drink it all at once. Take the crate out with the pad in it a week before you leave so he doesn't freak out when he sees it for the first time, put a couple of his favorite toys in it when he travels and he will be just fine. Like some of the ladies have said let DKC handle the reception on this end, much much easier, and the Company in Houston deals with them all the time and knows the procedures and exactly what paper work you will need. The most important thing to remember, is the more calm you are the more calm the dog will be day of travel. My dogs have gotten to the point of when we are in the airport I have had people come up and look in the crates to make sure there was an actual animal in them because they are so quite - and they are terriers : ) If you have any questions send me your email and I will contact you. I am moving to Dubai next month and want to bring our chocolate Lab. She is four years old and an incredible dog that goes everywhere with us, camps with us, walks daily with me, and is wonderful with our two boys. She is family. I know all the details on shipping her and have been in contact with Air Animal on getting her shipped into Dubai. My problem is I'm a nervous wreck about the flight. She'll fly Lufthansa from Houston to Frankfurt and then into Dubai. Air Animal assured me she will be cared for but I have a friend that used to unload cargo for UPS aircraft and he said the dogs would get so stressed during the flights that they would soil themselves and be a mess in their crates. So now I'm worried that I'm being selfish to bring her over there. Maybe I should rehome her and keep her out of the heat of Dubai (we live in TX now and it can get hot here too) and avoid the stress of the flight. But she's my baby and I can't bear the thought of being away from her. Anyone want to share success stories for shipping a dog to Dubai?

Hi SunDevil It is stomach churning isn't it? They are just family and the thought of them travelling alone had me a nervous wreck. I shipped my 2 boys in August last year. There crates came a few weeks before take off so they got used to them and they also had the house smell on them. We took them to the airport and I cried when I put them in their crates and said goodbye.... such a baby. Then I saw them from the departure gate being lifted into the plane, the guys on the ground kept going over to them and talking to them. When we arrived at DXB we were sat right above where they take them out so had I been able to open the window I could have almost touched them. So we watched them being unloaded. They looked calm throughout the whole process, the only thing I did was to ask the staff just outside of the plane to please ask the ground crew to get them moved, as they had been down on the ground for 15 mins, which isn't long but it was Auguest right.... and I waited until they had been moved so I knew had been collected. They were then delivered to us about 3 hours later, very pleased to have a massive hug but in no way stressed. Neither had soiled their crates, but then our flight was just over 6 hours. Very relieved to have them arrive safely and I appeared to be the only stressed by it all. As long as your baby is fit and cleared by your vet I would bring them in a heartbeat. As already said sedation is not allowed, it reduces there blood pressure and then add to that the different pressures which can occur with flying it is extremely dangerous for an animal. We flew with Emirates and Dubai Kennels & Cattery handled the DXB side for us. Good Luck with your decision.

Thank you! That's a great referral. Will [u'>definitely [/u'>be in touch with them.

Hi Claire - it was my vet who raised the prospect of medicating. And you are right, he is not qualified to send Dogs overseas - just your regular suburban vet! I just had her there for a checkup - as she is 12 years old I was worried she might not make the trip. But I am needing to take her to a vet that is accredited with the Australian Quarantine Service in order to organise her export. Hopefully the issue with the sedation would have come out somewhere along the way. But I'm glad it's been pointed out to me beforehand in any case. Thanks for being so helpful. BMAP - we used the Australian Company "Jet Pets" when we brought our cat out 5 years ago. They also do dogs. They are very good, caring with the animals and will let you know all the procedures/ do's and don'ts of pet travel. There is quite a bit of stuff that needs to be done prior to leaving Australia (if you want to one day take your pet back easily) in regards to Rabies vaccines etc. I think Jet Pets are worth checking out and worth the cost. And no, they definately do not sedate as not good for the animal and it also then becomes a liability for the airline. <em>edited by SJAussie on 26/01/2011</em>

Also used Alison very good :)

Alison from the Doghouse is excellent - she dealt with my Border Terrier's arrival and departure and I will use her again this year when I bring him back again. As we arrived late at night it was great to know she would be dealing with things as the dog doesn't get clearance for a few hours after landing. My dog seemed unperturbed by his journey and after having a pee happily climbed back into the crate! However I did notice that he hated being seperated from my from the next week or so and barked if left in the house during that period - he soon got over it though.

May I suggest (if you can change carriers at this point) that you use KLM? I have moved my dog 4x with them from North America and back. The stop over in Schipol Amsterdam includes a stay in KLMs pet hotel where they are removed from their carrier in a secure area, walked, watered, cleaned up if necessary (the last time I got a new, better carrier substituted in Schipol). I have been able to talk to the hotel people from the info booth in the airport (you are not allowed to visit puppy on the stop over) and the flight crew kindly ensured that puppy was on board and doing well for the next flight. Can't recommend KLM highly enough but I know people who have used Lufthansa (I haven't) and were happy with the service

I think you should get someone professional to clear the dog but be at Cargo Village yourself too when your dog arrives and welcome him there. Our dog was only 3 when he moved here and he was quite calm when he arrived, not at all traumatised. We actually had ours delivered to the villa but it was the middle of the night and the kids were already at school and needed their sleep. I am sure she will soon adjust to life here, as you say she is part of your pack and dogs are ultimately people orientated.

Much easier to have someone in the know doing it for you. They are used to the routine of customs clearance. As far as putting something in the crate with your animal - you won't be able to do that either. I flew three dogs and a cat out to Bahrain 4 years ago and have since flown out another one. I was a gibbering wreck but the animals were wonderful. They shot out of their crates as though I had just been to the shops. Not stressed, certainly not soiled and as I am about to ship them home again, I really have absolutely no worries about this trip.

Hi Claire - it was my vet who raised the prospect of medicating. And you are right, he is not qualified to send Dogs overseas - just your regular suburban vet! I just had her there for a checkup - as she is 12 years old I was worried she might not make the trip. But I am needing to take her to a vet that is accredited with the Australian Quarantine Service in order to organise her export. Hopefully the issue with the sedation would have come out somewhere along the way. But I'm glad it's been pointed out to me beforehand in any case. Thanks for being so helpful.

[b'>Sun devil your vet clearly has not dealt with the shipping of an animal. The air carriers will not accept sedated pets so please make sure you do not sedate them. [/b'> We brought our elderly cat over and she was fine and did not soil herself. She was calm and well cared for. Hopefully others from the us can let you know who they used. We used a company in the Uk called air pets and we used Dubai doghouse to clear her through at the Dubai end which saves time. Alison at the doghouse was superb -maybe call her and she can allay your fears. There are many many dogs here who have come over with their families and I've not heard of any horror stories. I would check that your vet is fully up to date with the vaccination requirements for coming over to live here - again the Dubai doghouse can help you with that if you need to double check that your vet is fully up to speed on the requirements. But please don't sedate. Your dog will be wagging his tail in the sand before you know it! Good luck on coming over here - exciting times are ahead for you. Claire if you go back and read my latest post I said my vet does NOT recommend sedating a dog for travel. And we live in a military town and my vet has shipped military animals and military family animals all over the world. She has all of her shots and her certificate of health. She is cleared to travel, I'm just worried but looking for calming words of people who have done this with their family pet. I'm sorry it's early here I must have misread! I hope the rest of my info has helped to calm you!

Sun devil your vet clearly has not dealt with the shipping of an animal. The air carriers will not accept sedated pets so please make sure you do not sedate them. We brought our elderly cat over and she was fine and did not soil herself. She was calm and well cared for. Hopefully others from the us can let you know who they used. We used a company in the Uk called air pets and we used Dubai doghouse to clear her through at the Dubai end which saves time. Alison at the doghouse was superb -maybe call her and she can allay your fears. There are many many dogs here who have come over with their families and I've not heard of any horror stories. I would check that your vet is fully up to date with the vaccination requirements for coming over to live here - again the Dubai doghouse can help you with that if you need to double check that your vet is fully up to speed on the requirements. But please don't sedate. Your dog will be wagging his tail in the sand before you know it! Good luck on coming over here - exciting times are ahead for you.

That's interesting about the meds. And worrying too. Thakns for letting me know. Can you maybe get the crate a while before you leave and settle your dog in there at night for a while to get them used ot it? That might help settle her nerves a bit more... if she is not used to the confined space and then also the hold of an aircraft it would be a double whammy.

Our dogs are now in their third country of residence - it's always nerve wracking when you hand them over to the shippers/cargo people, but I've never had one of them soil themselves in their crate. On our first move we pondered long and hard about our highly strung highly nervous street dog - but eventually decided we couldn't leave hime behind. He was fine. They all arrive waggy tailed and happy to see us. I think it is much harder for us than them tbh. I'm sure he will be fine.

Hi, I can't really help, as we are not there yet, but I can empathise. We are bringing our 12 1/2 year old lady with us from Australia. I had her checked out by the vet last week to ensure she was fit to travel and he said she would be fine and would be probably happier to be with us than have to be rehomed with a "pack" she wasn't familiar with. Rehoming was never really a consideration though. I just don't think I could go without her, she has been with me through so much... I would speak to your vet about perhaps getting a sedative for your dog to be given just prior to the flight. Our vet mentioned this and said it would mean the dogs and cats would pretty much sleep through the entire time. At stopovers, I do believe they get them out of the crates and give them a walk around and that the conditions in the livestock hold are similar as for people - some heating with controlled airpressure etc. Has your dog got a favourite blanket? Put that in so she can smell something familiar and hopefully all will be well. My dear old girl tore her cruciate ligament on Monday running out to my boys. Now she has to have surgery on Friday to repair it (with 6 weeks' recovery). So I am a bit worried about that. What do they say over there? Inshallah, all will be fine. Take care x

I'm from Houston! I'm from Houston! I'm from Houston! (Woodlands).