Advice on importing a dog from abroad please

Spot_the_Risk

Spot_the_Risk

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www.animalcrackersdevon.co.uk
A friend of mine has decided to import a dog from Poland. She has probably been a little rash, as she hasn't ever been abroad herself, and the breeder has never had a dog go to England. She is now trying to work out how to get the dog to the UK, he will be ready to travel after quarantine on 18th December.

The options she's come up with so far are -
1. Get a lift to Brussels to a major dog show on the same weekend, and hope to organise someone from Poland to bring the dog to the show - I think this is pretty unlikely unless someone on here lives in south west Poland and is going to Brussels that weekend!
2. Drive all the way to Poland to pick up the dog - good idea if you're comfortable and experienced in driving abroad, but a mid winter trip, alone, to Poland seems like a bad idea.
3. Get to Brussels, then train across to Poland - involves a night stop from what we can work out on train time tables, so would be a three day trip with a puppy.
4. Fly it direct to Gatwick, costs about £1000 and the dealer lives about 300 miles from Warsaw airport, which is probably the place the dog would have to fly from.
5. Fly from Brussels to Warsaw, pick up dog at airport fly back to Brussels, then home by car. Not looked into this in detail - the dog is a Chinese Crested, so as a toy breed can possibly go hand luggage.

I've been racking my brains to try and help, but have no knowledge of transporting dogs large distances! Can anyone help?
 
There are Chinese Crested breeders in the UK, is it for showing or breeding? If not I wouldn't go to that sort of bother, my friend has a powderpuff, class little dog, failed showdog.
Sounds a bit mad to me. I do know people who import from Germany and they always just drive over.
Please make sure she isn't being taken for a ride.
 
The obvious choice is Warsaw to Heathrow as that is a Defra approved route. Much safer to use a direct flight than try to connect elsewhere.

What is so special that she is importing this dog and paying more than from a top UK breeder?
 
I have a bit of expereince re flying animals to eastern europe. I flew my cats from UK to Hungary. Cost was about £750 for 2 cats with BA. They weigh the crate and dog and a chinese crested is small so hopefully won't be as much as £1000. If BA will be in hold and not in aircraft

In all cases make sure that the breeder gets a GOOD vet that is used to the passport restrictions and paperwork to do the pet passport, bloodtests and possibly worming within 48 hours of transport (when the fit to travel cert is organised if required). It seems harder to bring one into the UK that has a foreign issued pet passport so make sure vet has done this regularly with no mistakes. I can imagine in Poland they will quite happily take the dog onto the aircraft with errors in paperwork if they are anything like Hungary - then it will arrive in the UK and not get through customs - that would be a nightmare.

Friends have driven from Hungary to Norway. It took 2 days and is very stressful and tiring. You will need two people to drive this sort of distance and will need to organise pet friendly hotels for your stopover.

I have no idea about the rules but with my cats, following a successful blood titer for rabies then they could not come back into the UK for 6 months. Once 6 months up after ok titer could come and go as they pleased as long as annual rabies vacc done. How would this work for a puppy? It won't be so much of a puppy if they have all its rabies vaccs then have to wait 6 months after titer test. I can't see them being more lenient with a foreign passported dog. I worked in a vet clinic over the summer and it did seem a lot of hassle to bring the Hungarian passported dogs to the UK on holiday. I think they needed a titer done a few months prior to travel even if they had been vaccinated their whoile lives for rabies and had prior successful titers (language barrier here but seemed a lot ofg hassle)

Seems like a lot of hassle unless its a special show dog or for breeding.
 
Defra approved routes.
http://www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-pets/pets/travel/pets/documents/eu-air.pdf

British airways are about the best to use. The pets are not put in the general hold but in an air controlled section.

The biggest part of shipping is the handling charges rather than the fare. I sent a kitten to Portugal last year. The airfare was about £60 but the charge at the airport was around £160 after they had charged for x ray, weighing, moving the carrier from the shipping desk to the loading bay................

An animal carrier gave a quote of £460 to do this (Heathrow is a 400 mile round trip) so it is worth phoning the airline ( BA cargo ) directly.

I will not ship unless the flight is direct.
 
Agree with 4sugar - def HAS TO be a direct flight - particularly if animal unaccompanied. BA 'lost' my cats in the airport. If they had a connecting flight they would never have made it. Luckily the taxi driver was lovely and drove me everywhere between terminals, and we eventually found them.

I was very happy with BA - well except for loseing them in Budapest! I did it myself from the UK end as although the pet carriers will try and frighten you, there's nothing a sensible person can't work out . I doubt there is a pet travel service in Poland but you never know. Be careful re the crate used as well - not all are BA/airline approved. You need to go over BA's rules carefully as well as DEFRA's. Also BA would not take the booking until 2 days before the travel date which made organisation hard. Also you won't be able to pay until the animals is x rayed and weighed at the airport so either the breeder will have to pay or someone may have to go out for the dog. Many Polish people will not speak Englsih so trying to pay by cc over the phone would be hard.

If I think of anything else will let you know!!!!
 
Can't really help because I have never done it, but I am pretty sure it's viable. A friend of mine breeds golden retrievers and imported one from Finland, another friend breeds basset hounds and sold a puppy to South Africa......We're in 2010, of course it's doable.

I personally would try and go by car (and make a mini holiday out of it!), Poland is supposed to be gorgeous and if she has a friend with her she should not be too worried about the driving!

Rules for puppies do differ from rules from adult dogs -- pretty sure the reason behind it is precisely cases like this :)
 
Thanks everyone for your input - friend has arranged it with (good) local travel agents. She will be flying to Krakow, then train to the breeders village, stays with the breeder that night. Then train back to Krakow, fly to Frankfurt, then change and fly to Brussels, where she hooks up with friends at the big Brussels show and car back with them! Whew! Rather her than me! The dog can travel hand luggage, in a flight approved box. Fingers crossed it all goes smoothly!

Thanks again everyone!
 
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