Bringing a dog to Buenos Aires

[dkiefner]

We are moving from the US to Buenos Aires in March and our 75lb Golden Retriever is joining us. He is really easy going, but he has never flown, so we're a bit concerned about the whole process. We understand we must have his rabies shot updated at least 30 days prior to departure and must obtain a health certificate within 10(?) days of our departure.

1) Does anyone have (up to date) advice on traveling with a dog?
2) Are there any additional certifications we need?
3) Do you have any recommendations on how to circumvent the bureaucracy once we arrive in EZE?
4) Do you recommend a specific crate for travel?
5) Is it difficult to get dogs back to the US? Or will we just need his rabies shot up to date?

 

[cruizes]

They need to be micro chipped. No problems getting them back info USA. Just don't bring back any dog food with you. No red tape entering BA. Officials from Senasa will great you and gladly take the fees away from you.

 

[steveinbsas]

1) Does anyone have (up to date) advice on traveling with a dog?
2) Are there any additional certifications we need?
3) Do you have any recommendations on how to circumvent the bureaucracy once we arrive in EZE?
4) Do you recommend a specific crate for travel?
5) Is it difficult to get dogs back to the US? Or will we just need his rabies shot up to date?


1. Check with the airlines about shipping your "big dog" as cargo (an awful thing to do) and I advise against it...for the sake of the dog.

2. You will need an international certificate of heath from your US vet. It should not be more than 30 days old and the dogs shots should be at least 30 days old. The regs says it must be certified by the Argenitne consulate in the US but I don't think this is really necessary.

3. Pay whatever they ask (in my case $100 U$D).

4. A big one for abig dog (has to be able to stand up and turn).

5. I have no experience with this one. The dog I brought with me in 2006 is burried near my house. She had a microchip so she could go to with me to Paris, but it wasn't required in Argentina then.

6. I have a beautiful place for you to burry your dog if necessary.

Fortunately, Stephen King doesn't know about it.

 

[bebero]

5. I have no experience with this one. The dog I brought with me in 2006 is burried near my house. She had a microchip so she could go to with me to Paris, but it wasn't required in Argentina then.

6. I have a beautiful place for you to burry your dog if necessary.

why would you even say that to her?

 

[zapatosgoma]

Lots of great advise. Although not originally asked, I would add that is better to get the crate well in advance the travel date, and get the dog used to getting and staying inside it for some periods of time.

 

[NYKate]

http://movingtoargentina.typepad.com/my_weblog/2006/07/cats_and_dogs_f.html

http://www.ehow.com/how_5411540_travel-argentina-pet.html

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/travel-pets/982085-dog-entering-argentina-eze.html

I found some info there. Also be sure to contact your airline. The dog needs to have a tag on the outside of the container that says LIVE ANIMAL also you need to have either a bowl attached or some way for the dog to get liquids.
Talk to your vet about giving your dog sedatives. I have to do it here due to the pyrotechnic displays over the holidays (and random nights between).
They sell Pedigree dog food in the supermarkets however I find that Royal Canine is healthier - they usually sell it at the vet's offices or pet stores.
Dog parks here are rare as everyone pretty much lets their dogs run around the park off leash.
The quality of dog collars is kind of cheap here - I bought mine from Target when I was visiting.

Suerte!!
PS If your dog would like a playmate we have a 2yr old dalmation mix who loves to play.

 

[g_c]

we brought our 55-60 lb boxer when we showed up here in july...
the forms are the easy part if you follow the instructions. go to your vet first to get the vaccinations and paperwork and then to the USDA vet to get the international certificate within 10 days of your flight. make sure the rabies vaccine is valid but your vet should be aware if it's not.

do not give your dog sedatives... most airlines won't fly your dog if he's sedated. we flew united/continental from houston to ezeiza and they stated clearly that this was not allowed. call the airline to make the dog's reservation since they will have their own check-in and fees.

senesa, the organization that will sign off on your dog if the papers are all set once you get here, was a pain in the ass for us since our flight was delayed and once we landed there was no one here to authorize our dog's release so she stayed in the aduana section overnight. i was pretty mad but there wasn't anything we could do about it. the guys working in that area had no problems with us feeding her and taking her out for walks while she stayed there and they gave her water throughout the night. the next morning we showed up and took care of the paperwork. be prepared to make a few stops to finish the process once you've landed. talk to your airline first to see where their office is once you are here at the airport since they will have to review some paperwork first, you pay there, then a few (2, i think) more rounds of go here pay there and you'll have your dog out. just show up knowing it isn't a 5 minute process and you and you dog shoud be fine.

we rented a van at the airport since we had our bags and this huge crate. this helped out tremendously since we were there longer than expected and had the van to come back to the airport with the next morning.

no problems since we've been here with her. we found a house call vet, the right food and live near green spaces/parks so she's doing just fine.

that was the process for united/continental and i believe it might differ for other airlines. we chose continental and their houston hub due to their petsafe program. it worked for us but it meant driving to houston... we don't mind roadtrips.

 

[g_c]

and for the crate:
we found a large size due to the height requirements and it is huge. our dog looks tiny in this thing. it wasn't perfect since it didn't have the ventilation on all sides but i took care of that with a drill and a circular bit and we did not have any problems.

we're headed to uruguay soon and we're getting the international health certificate done for this trip. it doesn't appear to be much more difficult than the documentation needed to bring her here which makes me think that taking her back to the US wouldn't be that bad. the only thing that has changed here is that the 10 day allowance is now 5 days, but i think that is just for once you are here and going somewhere else from here.

 

[Fabe]

i brought my cat to this country in 2008.
Previously i made it a point to have all the ts crossed and Is dotted.
I went to the senasa website while in USA . I CALLED senasa from USA.
After I collected all they required, I called again and asked them if it was ok .
They requiire a form , issued by the USDA . ( senasa does).
The rabies shots must fall into the criteria of no earlier than , no later than .
With all that , I went to continental cargo . here they charged me someting like 200 300 dollars to transport my cat on the same flight.
They assured me there would be no more charges.
I was to get off the plane , go to the continental cargo office at eze and they were to hand me a form that i was to present at he customs depot in the eze airport omplex.
That is where the problems began.
The juanita at the desk told me that the form costs 200 dollars.
I promptly told her that she could have that money after she ate the peanuts out of my shit and asked to speak to the manager.
Of course , he was nowhere in sight.
I spoke to the guy on the fone after waiting there an hour.
He said she was mistaken , and it was only 100 , that she was new and didnt know .
I protested the 100 dollars claiming he couldnt charge me , and less in dollars.
I called a cop in while i was on the fone with him , and he relented when i told him i was in the process of making a denuncia.
Got my form and went to the depot
After some passes issued to get into the place. I started the process of getting my cat out.
Second nightmare.
The very nicely dressed ambulating clerk exuding her " Argentina , un pais con buena gente "appearance" Advised me that her mother authorised her to accept a "gratuity" From me .
Bewildered I asked her to explain to me about this tip.
Her facial expression turned from angelical to deminic and she stated " Se lo explico porque me parece que ud se esta haciendo el pelotudo "
" If you dont lay 500 dollars , yourcat goes to quarrantine , and cats dont really suvive more than a few hours in quarrantine."
I whipped out a judges contact card , and asked her where the nearest fone was.
Again her facial expresion turned , and she came out from behind the counter and ushered me thru he entire process , office to office as my personal escort.
Be forwarned. This , or something like this is what you have to expect. Dont make this country worse by accepting to be extorted by some scumbag in the guise of a "Buen argentino"

 

[candrews]

We just brought our lab to Buenos Aires. No problem at the airport in Buenos Aires. Very straight forward and about USD 100. We had the papers and vaccination papers from our vet which were certified by the USDA office. I would suggest you go on-line and order the papers for Argentina from a web based service for travelling with pets. For a modest fee they emailed all of the papers for Argentina that we had to fill out. One hassle was at Dulles airport when we checked our dog in. The box had airholes on three sides only; the airline (United) required air holes on all four sides. The UA webpage which explains this is next to impossible to find. We had to buy a new box from UA (USD130) so the dog could fly. One other thing, last year we took the dog to Ecuador. What a hassle that was. It cost almost US$ 500 to get her out of customs in "extra" fees.

Have a great time here with your dog.

Craig