New puppy comin' - need advice!

[Dogmama]

Some might remember that I lost my dear, sweet Kati (German Shepherd) at 14 years old. After several weeks of intense grieving, my DH said "When we are supposed to get a new dog, it will appear."

The next day at work, a friend told me about some 2 week old pups that her sister-in-law's dog bred. I looked into them - EXACTLY WHAT I WANT. Both parents Czech imports with German obedience titles and previous pups that went to law enforcement and therapy dog organizations (read: stable temperment.) Expensive, but worth it. They are three weeks old & I can get my sweetie in five more weeks (counting...counting...counting...) My second love (after riding) is showing in obedience and agility.

Here is the issue. I'm in Tucson & the pup is in North Carolina. He/She (I get pick of the litter, but they're too young to temperment test, so we don't know yet) will be too big to fly inside of the airplane. So - they go as cargo or, if I fly to NC & back, they go as baggage. The difference is:

Cargo gets processed differently and the time-in-cage could extend out to one hour longer, potentially 8-9 hours in the cage, with a 1 hour layover.

If I fly back, I would try to get an airline with a straight through flight (United - but I would not ship cargo on United for several reasons) and take Baby back as luggage. Flight: 4.5 hours, probably 5.5 in the cage, no layover. Cost: $400 each (DH would go), plus rental car & hotel.

Am I over the top? I'm thinking that airline people might treat the pup a little better if they know that they're being shipped as "baggage" which means that the owner is on the plane. It might be less traumatic for the pup to have a 4.5 hour straight through flight (think: dark room, humming engines = sleep) rather than a 8-9 hour flight, with a layover.

MY DH thinks I'm a tad nuts - but he supports whatever I do (one in a million!). What do you ladies think? Am I being ridiculous?

[Veronica]

If you can afford it, fly out! This is your baby.


V.

[Trek420]

Could you fly out, pick a pup, rent a car and drive back? You get bonding time with pup. I'd be hesitant to have my mutt in the luggage bin. It's dark and noisey ....

[KnottedYet]

We've heard of some pretty traumatic doggie experiences with flights.

I like Trek's idea. If that won't work, then I like the idea of you flying out there so it's only a 4.5 hour event for the pup.

[Veronica]

The driving idea is nice, but isn't it like a three day drive or more from NC to AZ? Is that how you want to use your vacation time?

Then there is the whole hassle of finding places to sleep that are pup friendly.

I wonder if you could do a return trip first class and buy an extra ticket for the pup.

V.

[DDH]

I like the driving back idea, and the seeing if you can let them know the pup is service pup in training and see if they will allow it to fly with you.
If nothing else then the shortest flight possible is best if you can afford it.
It is very traumatic for a pup when it is first taken from it's mom and sibblings, so I would want to make the trip home the least stressful as possible.

I can't wait to see pictures of it. I love GS pups, they are my favorite.

[KnottedYet]

Man, I always underestimate driving times! Must mean I need to take some more road trips (with the bike, of course!).

When I drove cross-country with my dog I had no problems with hotels.

Somewhere there was a list of hotels that are dog friendly, and most just wanted $10 extra. One hotel chain (La Quinta?) even offered to make advance reservations for the dog and I for the hotel nearest our next night-stop. That was very convenient.

Dog and I got the "smoking" rooms, but that was fine.

Is the pup going to be a service dog? (do you have the paperwork, etc?) ADA laws cover service dogs, but dogs-in-training can be refused access. Though that doesn't happen much.

[Nashville Mish]

Hi,

Just wanted to post my two cents worth. I had to fly my two dogs from Honolulu to Los Angeles last year. I have a Japanese Spitz female, and an American Eskimo/Japanses Spitz mix male. Both weigh roughly 30 lbs. I tried to post a pic but it would not upload..arhhh. The flight and ground time was roughly 5 hours in the cage for them, and they had to fly as cargo in the aircraft. I made sure to tell the stewardess and to have her tell the captain about their special cargo. They let me know as soon as they were on board and safe. I was a wreck the entire flight. As soon as we landed I rushed to baggage claim. My babies did fine but once they saw me the demanded to be let out of their cages. They did well, but from Los Angeles I decided to drive to New Olreans, our ultimate destination. I'm giving BIG kudos to La Quinta hotel. They accept pets and are located in very convenient areas. They also were life savers to us when Hurricane Katrina came along and the three of us had to evacuate. Once again La Qunita came through and we ended up safe and sound in Birmingham during the storm. So if you decide to take a nice leisurely drive home with your new baby look into staying at La Quinta and enjoy the new baby. Good Luck.

[Bad JuJu]

Jeez, I hate to think of an 8-week pup alone in a crate for that long, whether it's 5 hours or 9 hours. Have you explored all the possibilities of taking baby in the cabin with you? Failing that, I'd give serious consideration to the road-trip-home idea. There are several hotel chains now that accept dogs in their rooms, and as Trek420 said, it would be a great opportunity to bond with your new best friend.

[Trek420]

Veronica "Then there is the whole hassle of finding places to sleep that are pup friendly."

That's not hard to do at all.

Mae the wonder dog and my ex (back in the day when she wasn't and ex) I did a trip in the Southwest, I took 3 books and it was very serendiptious.

We'd pick a town to head for I would call right from the road and check their "dog policy".

I have the books at home and I can even send them to you though they might not be up to date. One I got for free simply by calling AAA, ordered the other two.

There was even one hotel that we called, they said it was ok, we arrived and they said "oh, you talked to so and so, he's new, we don't take dogs" I was headed back to the car when the manager followed me out, saw Mae-the-wonder dog and changed her mind when she saw the cute shelter-mutt. And this was before she'd been obedience trained.

So if you want a road trip with the pup, very do-able.

[Pedal Wench]

Since the pup comes from a long line of service dogs, could you get a waiver that indicates that he/she's a service pup in training so he/she could fly in the cabin with you? And, are you sure he/she would be too big to fly in the cabin? My little mastiff was still a little peanut when I got her at six weeks. She grew up to be about 175 lbs

[KSH]

Am I over the top? I'm thinking that airline people might treat the pup a little better if they know that they're being shipped as "baggage" which means that the owner is on the plane. It might be less traumatic for the pup to have a 4.5 hour straight through flight (think: dark room, humming engines = sleep) rather than a 8-9 hour flight, with a layover.

You are NOT over the top!

There are too many stories of dogs dying due to being shipped from one state to another as cargo in planes.

Go get your baby and ensure that your doggie is taken care of. Also, pick the shortest flight you can... so there is less trama to the dog.

Congratulations!

[colby]

I'm so excited for you, dogmama (and jealous!).

Like Salsa, I was thinking there might be some rescue/transport groups you could explore that would safely and happily transport your new family member without using airplanes. You're trusting strangers, but it's not nearly as scary as flying would be for the poor thing.

On my most recent flight from Seattle to San Diego, there was a woman with a service dog in training. It looked like he was pretty young, and not well-trained yet (wandered a little), but he did get to fly in the cabin. Might be another option, as some have mentioned. Anything to get your baby home safe!!

[CyclChyk]

How big is the puppy? Should be small enough to fit in a carrier? Some airlines will allow a carrier that can fit under the seat to be under the seat. Alot of people with small dogs, chi's; yorkshire's, etc, utilize this option. That way your baby never touches cargo/baggage and never leaves your sight.

I think all you need to do to utilize this option is buy a ticket for the pet. Not sure of the going rate tho.

[massbikebabe]

Dogmama;

I am sorry I did not read thru all the other posts but I just wanted to shed some light on my mom's recent travels with a pooch. Mom has a pup a Havenese, a sweet laid back little 8 pounder who she wanted to take to my sisters because she was going for a month and did not want to have to arrange puppy care for a month. She flew US Air from Boston to Cinci with her baby. I think it cost her an extra 100 dollars. IF the dog is small (which I am guessing yours may be because of it's age) you are allowed to fly with the dog under your seat providing it is in an appropriate carrier. Petco directed mom to what she needed to carry the pup on board, and our vet gave her some type of antihistamine to keep the dog settled. When mom flew both ways she said the crew was wonderful to her and the dog, allowing her to hold the carrier in her lap after take-off and landing, they brought the dog water, and they even took the dog out of the bag to see her because none of the crew knew what a Havenese dog was. Her fellow passengers were more than nice, she fortunately sat with dog lovers both ways. Mom said it was a wonderful experience and has nothing but good things to say about how she and the dog were handled. This was Mom's first time travelin "alone" since my fathers death and she was very nervous.

I hope things work out for you and your new baby. I just love my dog, she never complains and eats the same thing every night!!!

karen