Our lab mix dog outgrew her current crate, and we would like to get her a larger one so she is used to the crate when we are moving abroad. What kind of crate that is Airline approved did you use?
#movingabroad #travle #airlines
#dogs #largedogs #travlewithanimals
@irisRichardson Iris, get a big one. We used to take our dog w/us to LA and he hated being in a smallish crate. They're in cargo and it's cold so a blanket helps too....
@rnatale Yes, that is my thought. There are so many options out there.
@irisRichardson best of luck to you and your family Iris. Happy Thanksgiving too...
@irisRichardson we bought ours directly from the airline (Air France in our case). The price was virtually the same as youโ€™d fine anywhere else and you know that the airline accepts the type of crate.
@gedankenstuecke Thank you, that is a great idea.

@irisRichardson all the best for the trip! We did it just earlier this month and itโ€™s nerve wrecking but went ultimately really well!

Youโ€™re likely already doing it, but on the off-chance: itโ€™s worth comparing airlines for how they handle pets, as thereโ€™s quite a few differences between them. Eg Air France guaranteed the dog being on the same plane, which not all of them do.

@gedankenstuecke We are also considering taking the Queen Mary cruise since they do allow for dogs.

@irisRichardson I donโ€™t know what your final destination is, but if itโ€™s not the UK I wouldnโ€™t recommend that option, as then youโ€™ll have to do animal paperwork twice, once for the UK and once for the EU (iirc they only go to Southhampton, UK?)

@eugecovernton once told me that for many folks moving from Argentina to the EU they use France as the first port of call even when then moving elsewhere in the EU.

@gedankenstuecke @eugecovernton Thank you for that tip. Our destination would be Italy. Did you medicate your pup.

@irisRichardson @eugecovernton nope, and one isnโ€™t even allowed to, as any meds to keep them calm are risky due to the flight itself.

What we did is keep her awake the night before the flight and tire her out the day before (had an early morning flight), so that sheโ€™d be tired on the flight itself. And it seems like it worked well, she arrived a happy dog on the other side of a 13h flight!

@gedankenstuecke I thought I read something like this, but another dog owner had told us that is what they did. Keeping her awake is a great idea. Thanks
@irisRichardson hereโ€™s
1. Getting her used to the crate
2. Her just when she arrived in the crate at the airport on the other side
3. And a day later relaxing from the trip ๐Ÿ˜„
@irisRichardson just to add to what @gedankenstuecke mentioned: the airline made us check 3 different boxes in websites/documents that included some version of "I certify that my dog ha not been tranquilized" (this was one of them, but they also asked about it during booking and at the check-in counter: https://img.static-af.com/m/28d3345af68762f/original/EN-Discharge-responsibility.pdf). I was worried before the flight but the staff was really nice and she indeed showed no signs of having been too stressed, beyond being hungry and thirsty as expected :)
@irisRichardson @gedankenstuecke (also as a side note: the crew showed us a picture just before departure of our dog in the hold of our plane, which was really reassuring as we knew she wouldn't accidentally end up in a different flight!). If you end up going with Air France, don't hesitate to ask for advice if needed ;)