Flying With A Large Dog

[Fangar]

Big ass dog Thursday night was a longer nosed dog, but since he was in the people cabin I don't suppose that mattered.
Good luck. Listing him as a service dog sounds like a good idea.

 

[Alicia karr]

To be a service dog you need a letter signed by an MD stating exactly how the dog helps you. My dog is a certified therapy dog and because I didn't have a doctors note they wouldn't accept her even with her certification papers. So if you go that route make sure you have the right letter. Best of luck!

 

[countingdays]

I actually just flew United with my 80lb dog from BsAs to Chicago (via Houston) a few months ago.

United is the strictest airline about kennel size and other requirements... honestly for anyone flying with a dog that doesn't touch the top of a size 500 kennel while standing I would recommend going with another airline. However, they are the only ones that will ship kennels larger than 500 - which you can definitely find in Argentina. I spent months waiting for a good deal on a used one, but if you don't mind spending a bit more something like this should work:

123x82x90cm:
http://articulo.merc...-82-x-90-cm-_JM

If you're shipping the dog cargo with United anyway then switching to a slightly larger kennel doesn't cost you very much more. Even though they will quote you a price in dollars you CAN pay the cargo company in pesos (based on the t/c reuters exchange rate, way lower than blue) so you can save a ton doing that.

I would contact DAF asap... ideally you'd confirm everything with them before buying a plane ticket, but at a month out you still have plenty of time to arrange everything. United provided me with contact info for the two cargo companies listed below, in my case DAF was more helpful and gave a slightly lower quote than the other.

Contact name: Rodolfo Galiardi
CRISTOFERSEN INTERNACIONAL S.A.
Tel: (+54.11) 4314-2336
[email protected]
www.cristofersen.com.ar
*************************************************************************
Contact name: Luis A. Gonzalez
Daf Cargo S.R.L.
Ph: (5411) 4295-6866
Cel: 155-302-8486
Cel intl: (54911)3834-7460
[email protected]
www.dafcargo.com


However even they weren't very informed about which connecting flights my dog would be allowed on - Chicago was the closest I could get to my destination despite them initially saying they'd fly him to other cities! So check if any United planes going to Atlanta would take him, maybe he could travel on one right before or after yours if your plane is too small. Large kennels are not allowed on Express flights or Boeing 737. I took a quick look at Atlanta flights and one like # UA1226 which is an Airbus A319 should work.

Your vet should know all about the forms you need (though the fact that he or she wasn't aware you can buy larger kennels isn't a great sign)... try to get them as early as allowed because sometimes there are delays. Check for holidays around your departure date - could mean trouble getting the forms (SENASA closes) or you could be charged almost double if you try to fly on a holiday or weekend.

Oh and I found attachable food dishes and water bottles (required) from Centropet downtown, small pet stores often don't carry them.

Hope this is helpful!

 

[citygirl]

To be a service dog you need a letter signed by an MD stating exactly how the dog helps you. My dog is a certified therapy dog and because I didn't have a doctors note they wouldn't accept her even with her certification papers. So if you go that route make sure you have the right letter. Best of luck!

In addition to the letter - your dog needs to meet the behavior requirements. IE - an excitable dog that jumps will not be allowed, even with a letter.

 

[BoxerArg]

I actually just flew United with my 80lb dog from BsAs to Chicago (via Houston) a few months ago.

United is the strictest airline about kennel size and other requirements... honestly for anyone flying with a dog that doesn't touch the top of a size 500 kennel while standing I would recommend going with another airline. However, they are the only ones that will ship kennels larger than 500 - which you can definitely find in Argentina. I spent months waiting for a good deal on a used one, but if you don't mind spending a bit more something like this should work:

123x82x90cm:
http://articulo.merc...-82-x-90-cm-_JM

If you're shipping the dog cargo with United anyway then switching to a slightly larger kennel doesn't cost you very much more. Even though they will quote you a price in dollars you CAN pay the cargo company in pesos (based on the t/c reuters exchange rate, way lower than blue) so you can save a ton doing that.

I would contact DAF asap... ideally you'd confirm everything with them before buying a plane ticket, but at a month out you still have plenty of time to arrange everything. United provided me with contact info for the two cargo companies listed below, in my case DAF was more helpful and gave a slightly lower quote than the other.

Contact name: Rodolfo Galiardi
CRISTOFERSEN INTERNACIONAL S.A.
Tel: (+54.11) 4314-2336
[email protected]
www.cristofersen.com.ar
*************************************************************************
Contact name: Luis A. Gonzalez
Daf Cargo S.R.L.
Ph: (5411) 4295-6866
Cel: 155-302-8486
Cel intl: (54911)3834-7460
[email protected]
www.dafcargo.com


However even they weren't very informed about which connecting flights my dog would be allowed on - Chicago was the closest I could get to my destination despite them initially saying they'd fly him to other cities! So check if any United planes going to Atlanta would take him, maybe he could travel on one right before or after yours if your plane is too small. Large kennels are not allowed on Express flights or Boeing 737. I took a quick look at Atlanta flights and one like # UA1226 which is an Airbus A319 should work.

Your vet should know all about the forms you need (though the fact that he or she wasn't aware you can buy larger kennels isn't a great sign)... try to get them as early as allowed because sometimes there are delays. Check for holidays around your departure date - could mean trouble getting the forms (SENASA closes) or you could be charged almost double if you try to fly on a holiday or weekend.

Oh and I found attachable food dishes and water bottles (required) from Centropet downtown, small pet stores often don't carry them.

Hope this is helpful!

Thank you so much for this information! It was very helpful!

 

[StuckLikeGlue]

We had a similar issue leaving Buenos Aires as we have a German Shepherd and her ears touched the top of the crate and was deemed too small by the cargo people at Ezeiza. We had to pay to have her size 500 crate lifted a few inches, they basically just added some wood attachments and screwed them into her crate that brought it up a few inches. I don't have the information anymore of the company who did it for us but you could even do it yourself - it is allowed by the airline. It looked like this. Adding the extensions was the only way they would let us fly her out of Buenos Aires back to the States... a pain in the ass and the whole thing cost a ton but you have to do what you have to do! Hope this helps.

 

[BoxerArg]

We had a similar issue leaving Buenos Aires as we have a German Shepherd and her ears touched the top of the crate and was deemed too small by the cargo people at Ezeiza. We had to pay to have her size 500 crate lifted a few inches, they basically just added some wood attachments and screwed them into her crate that brought it up a few inches. I don't have the information anymore of the company who did it for us but you could even do it yourself - it is allowed by the airline. It looked like this. Adding the extensions was the only way they would let us fly her out of Buenos Aires back to the States... a pain in the ass and the whole thing cost a ton but you have to do what you have to do! Hope this helps.

This is what we ended up doing! DAF is going to do the same for us. They say they have done this with many other kennels. According to them, most of the 500 size kennels are actually a few centimeters smaller than they should be. Thanks so much for responding - it was nice to get a confimation from someone else that this method is accepted by the airlines. Which airline did you fly? Were there connections within the U.S.? If so, were there any issues with the expansion within the U.S.?

 

[StuckLikeGlue]

This is what we ended up doing! DAF is going to do the same for us. They say they have done this with many other kennels. According to them, most of the 500 size kennels are actually a few centimeters smaller than they should be. Thanks so much for responding - it was nice to get a confimation from someone else that this method is accepted by the airlines. Which airline did you fly? Were there connections within the U.S.? If so, were there any issues with the expansion within the U.S.?

I know how stressful of a process it is! I can't remember exactly which cargo company we used but they all seem to do a pretty good job of taking care of pets between the time you drop them off and your flight. We had to drop her off like 5 hours prior and they made sure she had water and was walked before being loaded up on the plane. We flew with United but it was a direct flight so I can't say about connections, but they did make the process very easy for getting her checked in and picked up when we arrived!