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Air Travel With Four Large Greyhounds

In the summer of 2002 my husband was invited for a job interview with a company based in Switzerland. As soon as it looked like he may actually be offered a permanent position, we both flew out to spend a weekend there and see if we would be happy to move from England to live in Switzerland. After our trip we both agreed we would, and it was from this point onwards that I began to worry about transporting our animals to their new home!

Below I have listed some tips for flying with dogs, and my own thoughts and experiences. At this point I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to Barbara Mace of MI, USA, who contributed most of the ideas below, along with endless encouragement and positive stories of her experiences of flying with her pet dogs all over the world.

I would also like to add that the following points are not intended in anyway to replace professional advice. Rules and regulations change, and the information below is only meant to offer some basic guidance. The trip we undertook was a 1 hour 30 minute flight, and the regulations on animal export were in our favour as we were moving from a rabies free country (England) to a country with rabies (Switzerland).

Six months before we flew

I checked the IATA (International Air Travel Association) guidelines on container size and dimensions and made sure that the crates I ordered for the dogs were both the right size and also airline approved. We had two options with the crates. They could have been made to order from wood (cheaper to buy but heavier to ship) or buy off the shelf plastic Varikennels (more expensive to buy but lighter to ship). I opted for the Varikennels, as I was able to arrange to have them delivered several weeks before we flew. They also split in half for easier transportation to and from the airport, and allowed me to introduce the dogs to them slowly by placing their usual bedding in the bottom half until they were comfortable, and then adding the tops. Finally I added the doors and very slowly increased the time that I kept these closed. Make sure you measure your dogs carefully, and don’t rely on breed generalisations made by the company selling the crates. You dog needs to be able to stand naturally and turn around inside the crate.

I spoke to my vet, DEFRA, The Swiss Embassy in London, dog owners in Switzerland, Swiss Air (who we chose to fly with), The Swiss National Veterinary Office, etc. etc. I kept calling and asking the same questions over and over until I had the same story from everyone with regards to the paperwork that would be required to allow the dogs into Switzerland without going through quarantine.

I found out about the different options for travelling with dogs by air. They could be sent as ‘cargo’. This meant they would go to the airline cargo area at least 4 hours before the flight. From here they would be taken across to the flight, loaded and unloaded at the other end where they would be taken to the cargo area for customs and veterinary inspection. This process could again take up to four hours. Adding to this a flight of approx. 1 hour and 30 mins, and this meant the dogs would be in their crates being moved around for over 10 hours. For a journey time of 1 and half-hours this seemed a little excessive.

Option 2 was for a specialist pet shipping company based at Heathrow to take care of everything. All I would have to do would be to check the dogs into their boarding kennels 24 hours before the flight, and they would do the rest. Sadly this would still mean the dogs would be shipped as ‘cargo’, and have to be crated for upwards of 10 hours, the only difference is that I wouldn’t have to get up early to take them to the airport. They would have the added stress of a night in kennels, and I also had concerns over the kennels inflexibility to feed my choice of food, which meant there was also a risk of them being crated for 10+ hours with upset stomachs. The final nail in the coffin of this method was that it worked out considerably more expensive than making the arrangements myself.

Our final option was for the dogs to fly on the same plane with me as ‘excess baggage’. It really is that simple. Of course I did notify the airline well in advance, but on the day itself all I had to do was arrive at the airport, check my suitcase in, and then check the dogs in, who were charged at the standard excess baggage rate of £5 per kilo. Each of the four crates weighed nearly 30 kgs and each dog weighed a little over 30 kgs. In total this meant I checked in 250 kgs of excess baggage!

Two months before we flew

I called the airline to discuss the logistics of flying four very large dogs, and was advised that only 1 plane per day had a controlled atmosphere area large enough to accommodate all four crates. This flight flew every day except Wednesdays and Sundays. I was also advised to avoid flying on Fridays and Saturdays as these days tend to be busier than the rest of the week. Based on all of this I decided to fly on Thursday 6th March 2003. I was also warned that if the airline had to transport a dead body then my dogs would be switched onto the next available flight (dead bodies have priority over animals, and the two can’t be shipped together). I called the airline 24 hours before we flew to check that no dead bodies had jumped the queue!

The crates were delivered, and I started slowly introducing the dogs to them, using lots of treats and positive reinforcement. By the time we flew I wanted each dog to willingly enter his or her crate when given a single command, and view this as something that is safe and fun. On the day itself I did not want to be adding to their stress by forcing them into their crates in the middle of a crowded airport concourse.

Two weeks before we flew

The week before I had a last chat to my current vet and gave him all the details of the dates and times of our flight. I checked what numbers he would be on on that particular day incase I encountered any problems.

I decorated each crate with a selection of brightly coloured duct tape and reflective strips (the reflective tape is particularly important if any part of the journey will be undertaken during the dark—you do not want a fork lift backing into your dogs crate on a dark runway). Inside the crates was a large piece of non slip vet bedding, with a couple of cheap travel rugs on top, so the dogs had something to ‘nest’ in. On the day we flew I added a recently worn item of my clothing to each crate so the dogs would have a reassuring and familiar smell with them.

I wrote a notice for each crate, which gave information about the dog and the flight details, as well as a few lines about the individual animal inside the crate. The letters were laminated and taped to the top of each dogs’ crate. Even though they would be difficult to see when they were inside their crates, I wanted all the airline staff to have a picture of who this dog is, back in his home environment. Click here to see a copy of the letters each dog had taped to the top of their crate.

Two days before we flew

Two days before we flew I went to the airport and made sure I was familiar with where I would need to check in, where the dogs and crates would have to be checked in, where the closest parking was, whether a porter would be available to assist with the crates, etc. I also took the time to chat to the airline staff at the customer service desk, and make a final conformation of our arrangements.

I did a final check of all the paperwork and got copies (in triplicate) of EVERYTHING (vaccination certs, health certs, microchip papers, and adoption/ownership papers). I kept one copy and the originals in my hand luggage, one copy was packed in my suitcase, and each dog had a copy of all of their own paperwork taped to the top of their crate inside a zip lock bag.

I prepared the dogs’ collars. The day that we flew each dog wore two collars. One was a snug fitting padded collar which held two ID tags, and the other was a non-slip martingale attached to their lead, so I could be confident they were completely under control in the strange surroundings of the airport. As they were loaded into their crates to go on the plane I removed the martingale, and attached it to the top of their crate (I put it inside a large zip lock bag and used duct tape to secure it to their crate). The soft collar holding their ID remained on them at all times.

Their ID tags consisted of two lightweight plastic key tags with removable paper inserts. Both tags had their flight details and my contact number on one side. In addition to that one tag had the address they had come from in the UK, and a UK contact no (of someone who I knew would be available for the entire day that we were travelling). The other tag had the same information for their destination.

The day we flew

I took the dogs for a walk and made sure they all had plenty of time to do what they needed to do.

On returning from our walk I offered the dogs water, but no food (they had also eaten a slightly smaller dinner than usual the night before).

Once everyone had finished going to the loo and having a drink, I dosed them all with Bach Rescue Remedy (myself included) and we left for the airport. My sister and her husband accompanied me to the airport. This left me free to focus on the dogs, my sister transported the crates in one at a time, and my brother in law double parked right by the entrance where we needed to be and waited with the van to ensure we were not causing an obstruction.

On arriving at the airport I unloaded the dogs and left them all with my sister outside, while I went inside to check my suitcase in, and inform customer services that we had arrived. The dogs were checked in at the customer services desk.

Before entering the airport, Buttons (my big spook) was loaded into his crate and wheeled in on a trolley. I walked the other three in on their leads, and we settled in a quiet place at the side of the customer services counter. My sister then continued to bring the crates in one at a time on a trolley, and we used them to create a circle. I took bedding out of the crates and put it on the floor so the dogs would have a place to settle, and my sister assisted in holding the dogs.

In my hand luggage (my suitcase had already been checked in) I had:

• dog treats
• poo bags
• wet wipes (useful for wiping the floor of the departure area after your dog has relieved himself!)
• a stack of leaflets on greyhound adoption
• pens
• paper
• zip lock bags (to put the collars in that will be attached to the top of the crates)
• duct tape
• bungee cords (for securing the crate doors one the dogs are inside)
• paperwork for the dogs and myself
• a bottle of water
• Bach rescue remedy
• a spare slip collar and lead
• a muzzle
• chocolates for the staff at the customer service desk
• cash for tipping the porters who took the dogs off to catch the plane
• a camera
• a small album with a couple of pictures of each of the dogs in a more normal environment
• my mobile phone
• local currency for porters/tips at our destination

When the airline labels were printed for the crates (the same labels they attach round the handles of your suitcase) I checked all the details were correct.

Airline regulations state that animals must be offered food and water very 12 hours while in transit. Because of the short duration of our flight this was not an issue for us. To comply with airline regulations I did attach a small plastic bowl to the inside of each of the cage doors, but I did not fill this with water, as I did not want it spilling all over their bedding. On a longer flight a good way to offer water is to freeze a bowl full beforehand, and this will slowly defrost during the flight. On a longer flight an airline may also insist that food is available incase of delays. In this instance I would tape a sample bag of dry food to the top of the crate (most vets will give you sample bags for free).

Our flight was delayed, but I made it clear to the customer services manager (the wonderfully helpful Graham West) that I wanted to keep the dogs with me for as long as possible. He was very accommodating of this request, and the dogs were finally taken away less than 40 minutes before the flight. They remained out of their crates the entire time, and were only put in at the last minute.

As I put each dog in their crate I removed their martingale collar and lead, put them into a large plastic zip lock bag, and taped the bag with the collar and lead to the top of the crate with duct tape. If one of the dogs had to be removed from their crate in an emergency I wanted the staff to have a secure means of controlling them.

After the dogs were put in their crates and the doors were shut, I then stretched a bungee cord around the front of each crate just to be certain there was no way the door could ‘accidentally’ open.

When the handlers came to collect the dogs, they all got a tip to buy themselves a drink later.

Once the dogs were taken away I then raced to get through security so I could see them being loaded onto the plane. Usually live cargo will be loaded on the front right hand side of the aircraft.

Although the flight was now boarding I spoke to a very sympathetic gentleman at the boarding gate, and asked if it were possible for me to stand somewhere so I could watch my dogs being loaded on to the plane. He could not have been more helpful, and arranged for me to be accompanied through to a controlled area with a wonderful view of the entire plane. Several members of Swiss airline staff joined me, including one man with a radio so he was able to communicate with the staff on the ground. The staff were also quite happy for me to take pictures of the crates being loaded.

I was fortunate in that my experience was very good, but whatever happened there was no way I was getting onto the plane until I knew that my dogs were also on board. No matter what the staff may try and say to get you to board, there is no way the plane can take off without your dogs, so you are not holding anyone up by asking to watch. This is important, as I could not have relaxed if I hadn’t been able to verify for myself that all four of the crates were safely loaded.

As soon as the crates were inside the plane I went and boarded the flight. I was the last person on, and as per my request I had a seat nearest the front of the plane so I could be one of the first to disembark. As I got on the plane I handed a letter to one of the cabin crew and asked that it be passed onto the Captain. Click here to see a copy of the letter I gave to the captain.

Once the plane landed I was the first person off, and immediately positioned myself by a window in the airport so I could see the front right hand side of the plane. I waited there until I saw the crates were unloaded and safely on the tarmac, and then headed towards passport control.

Once in the baggage claim area I checked with the staff where the dogs were likely to appear, and also where I could find a porter to help me with the crates. I collected my suitcase from the luggage carousel and went to wait by the door where the dogs would be bought out. When they did arrive they were being pulled on an enormous wheeled cart, and were all calmly lying in their crates.

Even though I then could have managed the crates by myself I asked the porter to accompany me. He assisted me by guiding me to the correct customs area, where I was asked to show the dog's vaccination certificates. I immediately dumped a sheaf of papers on the customs desk, and at this point the security man realised that I was not a smuggler, but a fairly hysterical pet owner. I think he checked two vaccination certificates, asked me a couple of questions about the dogs (ages, how long had I owned them) and waved us through.

Once we were cleared customs Nigel was waiting for us with the hire cars. We offered all the dogs a drink by pouring a little water into the plastic bowls attached to the inside of their crates and they remained in their crates and on the trolley until we were outside by the hire cars. We unloaded the dogs one at a time and gave them a chance to have a pee. Thankfully Jack will actually pee on command, so by taking him to an appropriate place first, all the other dogs were then happy to follow suit. They were all put in the car while Nigel and I took the crates apart and loaded them in the back of his car. We then drove in convoy to our new house.

All in all the 6^th March 2002 was a very long and stressful day for me. It was the culmination of months of careful planning, and could not have gone more smoothly. This was due to planning, excellent advice, the wonderful staff at Swiss Air, and without a doubt some old fashioned good luck.

I did not have to fly the dogs to Switzerland, as we could have driven instead (approx. 20 hours continuous driving) which would have taken me nearly three days on my own. It also would have involved a lot more paperwork and hassle as we would have had to cross at least three countries on our way. Although I did consider this option for a while as I had heard such horror stories about flying with dogs, in the long run flying was definitely the best option for us. It also proved the least stressful for the dogs, which at the end of the day was the most important consideration.

Note: Much of this information could actually be applied to any animal. Indeed, I followed a similar procedure for our three pet rabbits who also flew with us to our new home in Switzerland.

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