Taking a pet to the US!

[bemydruidess 0]

My fiancé and I are currently weighing up what on earth we are going to be doing regarding me joining him in the states.

However I am very keen to adopt a puppy.

I am curious as to how people transport their animals into the USA, I have heard of a site called Jets4Pets, but don't know if anyone has any other ideas or experience?

Looking to get a weimaraner so quite a large dog.

[Kastrs 723]

It would probably be a lot easier, since it seems you do not already have a pet, to wait until you are in the US to get one

It can be quite expensive as well as stressful(for pet and owner) to import them

If you do decide to go ahead and get a puppy now, you would need to look into the airlines that will transport them internationally, not all will and there are typically certain restrictions. Also, I have never found an international airline that would allow a non service animal to fly in the cabin (they are always handled as cargo).

[LionessDeon 2,060]

Your timeline isn't completed so I don't know how far in the process you are, but it just seems to make sense to wait until your USA arrival and choose a pet together. It would make things alot easier. Also you wouldn't have to put a new pet through that travel process.

[trudi 1,317]

If you don't have a dog already then I would definitely wait until you get there. I am in the process of arranging for my boxer dog to travel and it's not cheap. £1500 from the UK (my flight will be around £500 for comparison), depending on what country you are coming from there can be various vaccinations/blood tests before travel and as above its not going to be an enjoyable trip for the dog in the hold.

[kris&me 572]

Your English is good but i will not assume you are from UK

any other country the animal would also be listening to a foreign language and have to adjust to American English here

I have a gf who is a dog physicologist and according to her this is an issue more than we realize

most countries your animal is in quarantine a month / I traveled into Canada with 2 goldens and forget to take record of shots. When i returned, mine were supposed to be quaranteened 30 days. I drove the 130 miles home and got the shot records and retuned to pick them up.'

Include your country here and some can answer you as there are different services for various countries Jets4pets is a UK service

[cherryL 1]

hi ! I brought a cat from France to the USA ! here is the story (it all went fine) : http://fromhometothere.blog.com/2016/02/05/travelling-with-a-cat/

[bemydruidess 0]

May I ask what airline you flew with?

[cherryL 1]

It was United airlines direct flight.

[ckibs 52]

I just brought my dog with me over here about a month ago, we flew with SAS and it cost me about $100 to have her on board. I was very concerned about how my dog would handle the flight though (almost 9 hours), it made me feel sick having to put her through it however she handled it really great! (thanks to herb pills to calm her nerves).

I don't know where you are in the process but honestly, I would wait on getting a dog. It was cheap bringing my dog but there's also the vet bill for the check-up + pet passport before even getting your dog on the plane.

My dog has handled the transition great, also the transition over to hearing commands in English but I'm sure it's confusing for the dog !

Edited February 9, 2016 by ckibs

[NikLR 13,227]

There are lots of dogs in the USA that need adoption. Weims are not for beginner owners either so be careful with your choice of pooch.

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

One more vote for waiting till in the US if you don't already have a pet.

We brought our cat over, and it was very stressful for both animal and us.

Not sure if mentioned above but depending when/where you do it you may not be able to bring over at planned time if weather is too hot etc either.

Waiting just makes so much more sense if you don't already have a pet.

Edited February 10, 2016 by SusieQQQ

[AMZJ 61]

It costs a lot of money to ship pets. I sent a dog over to a friend 2 years ago and it cost £1200 at the time. It's not cheap! That didn't include the rabies vac, her booster (it was out of date) as well as paying the vet to write a letter saying she was fit to fly.