Leema Posted December 29, 2010 Share Posted December 29, 2010 I'd fly. My bitch flew from Melbourne to Adelaide at 8 weeks and has had numerous flights since. I think flying at a young age is a good socialisation experience and bodes well for the rest of the dog's life. There will be plenty of opportunities to socialise driving from 8 weeks to 14 weeks, but when else is the pup going to get the opportunity to fly? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvsdogs Posted December 29, 2010 Share Posted December 29, 2010 We had a 6.5 hour drive to pick up Tilba but made a holiday of it & were away from home for 5 days. She was almost 12 weeks old & had already been well travelled in a dog trailer & slept the whole way home in her crate, only wakeing up the 3 times we stopped. I would be too nervous to think of a young pup flying & for us it is anything between an hour - hour 1/2 drive to & from the airport depending on the traffic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted December 29, 2010 Share Posted December 29, 2010 (edited) A reputable pet transport company will take every care . Flying would be my choice .. driving for hours in HOT HOT conditions, with an unsettled ,unknown puppy would NOT be my choice Doing such a long haul as 16 plus hours driving in Summer is also not really kind to your car, and you may suddenly find some weakness in the cooling system , miles from nowhere Edited December 29, 2010 by persephone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiggy Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 If you drive him remember you won't want to put him down to go to the toilet in case of parvo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OZ Grooming World Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 flight would be a better option, for you, for puppy and for the environment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joan of Arc Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 (edited) Its all about your preparedness to be inconvennienced. I didnt notice where in NSW you are but 8 hrs is a long drive for a pup, especially if they are not used to cars and are going with total strangers. But I also admit that when you live in rural areas your options are very limited. Our new show baby is arriving next Friday - 14 Jan - I wasnt prepared to drive from Sthn NSW to Brisbane in the heat of summer. Nor did I want a 9 week old baby changing planes in the heat - given that we often have 35+ days. So she is flying from Bris to Canb on a direct flight and we are driving to Canberra airport to collect her. We could have driven to Melb or Canberrra but we chose Canberra as its easier to get to in traffic. She is arriving on the first direct flight from Brisbane and we will be there to meet her. Fortunately we have a doggy friend in Canberra where she can go and be toileted in safety and then she will be crated in the back of the s/wagon in air con for the trip home. Having said that - I have flown puppies to Perth from Wagga Wagga with plane changes and they were fine - so many animals fly these days that the companies are very accustomed to dealing with them now. Edited January 6, 2011 by mercedes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toolz Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 im going to be another one for flying.. i have flown a cat from one end of nz to the other and she came out of her cage happy as a pig in mud at the other end.. imho flying is less stressful than driving that sort of distance at that age.. good luck with whatever option you choose.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bundyburger Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 We brought our lil dude home from Melbourne to Adelaide last week.We drove, didnt even consider flying him. He was very happy in the car, cuddled up and slept most of the way. Since then, we have found that when he gets restless in the car, that he prefers to sleep lying on our feet, and will settle immediately. Please, do NOT let your dog sleep on your feet in the car on a regular basis, it is very dangerous. We had our pup in the front of the car with us on our way home the first night (being a ute there wasn't much choice), and he slept on my feet. He stayed that way for a while whenever we went in the car. One night in June last year we went out but left our pup at home, and got into a severe car accident. If my pup had been at our feet as he normally was, he would be dead right now from the impact. I knew that being in the footwell wasn't safe for him but he wasn't a good ute traveller. Never again will I put a dog at my feet. Crated safely in the back if we have a ute, or harnessed in the back in a normal car, no excuses. It really isn't a lesson you want to learn the hard way. Flying is reasonably stress free... they just curl up adn go to sleep and come out bouncing at the other end. It's quicker, and will be cheaper than the tanks of petrol you chew through driving up and back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvsdogs Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 Its all about your preparedness to be inconvennienced. I didnt notice where in NSW you are but 8 hrs is a long drive for a pup, especially if they are not used to cars and are going with total strangers. But I also admit that when you live in rural areas your options are very limited.Our new show baby is arriving next Friday - 14 Jan - I wasnt prepared to drive from Sthn NSW to Brisbane in the heat of summer. Nor did I want a 9 week old baby changing planes in the heat - given that we often have 35+ days. So she is flying from Bris to Canb on a direct flight and we are driving to Canberra airport to collect her. We could have driven to Melb or Canberrra but we chose Canberra as its easier to get to in traffic. She is arriving on the first direct flight from Brisbane and we will be there to meet her. Fortunately we have a doggy friend in Canberra where she can go and be toileted in safety and then she will be crated in the back of the s/wagon in air con for the trip home. Having said that - I have flown puppies to Perth from Wagga Wagga with plane changes and they were fine - so many animals fly these days that the companies are very accustomed to dealing with them now. Were you able to get your pup considering the disaster of the floods in QLD? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dxenion Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 All of our furkids first trips home were in long car rides (Adelaide to Canberra, Adelaide to Melbourne) and we use the trips as a pseudo holiday and bonding time. We've found that the motion of the car settles them quickly and we can maintain a constant temperature. Our new baby's first trip will be the longest though - Sweden to Sydney and then after 30 days, a car ride home (rather than fly) to Perth with his new family. It will be interesting to see how he coped with the flights. I think Leema has a point in that if their first flight experience as a youngster is a positive one, all things being equal, other flights will be less stressful down the track. We've never had a problem and we've only ever experienced car sickness with one dog at teething time. They all adore the car and I guess old habits die hard as they still fall into a deep jellied body sleep within minutes of the car moving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gayle. Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 My girl arrived here by plane from SA, aged 8 weeks. She bounded out of her crate fresh as a daisy and happy as can be. Not scared, not stressed at all. No way I'd be doing a 16 hour round trip, which would entail an overnight stay somewhere, when it can all be accomplished with a short flight. My girl flew with Jetpets, the plane arrived a bit early so the driver went to the airport early and collected her so she wouldn't have to wait. They were brilliant and I would highly recommend them. BTW, even contemplating a 16 hr round trip in a day is extremely foolish and very dangerous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancinbcs Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 I had my first puppy flown Melbourne to Albury because a family health drama prevented my collecting him. When he arrived he had thrown up and pooped all over himself and was screaming the terminal down. Not a good start for him at all and really put me off flying babies. I have driven long distances with babies with never a problem and even drove Sydney to Gundagai to deliver a puppy to a buyer who drove up from Melbourne to meet me. I always travel puppies in a crate in the car and never have any issues, no matter how far the journey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joan of Arc Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 Its all about your preparedness to be inconvennienced. I didnt notice where in NSW you are but 8 hrs is a long drive for a pup, especially if they are not used to cars and are going with total strangers. But I also admit that when you live in rural areas your options are very limited.Our new show baby is arriving next Friday - 14 Jan - I wasnt prepared to drive from Sthn NSW to Brisbane in the heat of summer. Nor did I want a 9 week old baby changing planes in the heat - given that we often have 35+ days. So she is flying from Bris to Canb on a direct flight and we are driving to Canberra airport to collect her. We could have driven to Melb or Canberrra but we chose Canberra as its easier to get to in traffic. She is arriving on the first direct flight from Brisbane and we will be there to meet her. Fortunately we have a doggy friend in Canberra where she can go and be toileted in safety and then she will be crated in the back of the s/wagon in air con for the trip home. Having said that - I have flown puppies to Perth from Wagga Wagga with plane changes and they were fine - so many animals fly these days that the companies are very accustomed to dealing with them now. Were you able to get your pup considering the disaster of the floods in QLD? NO - I watched the news for two days and listened to the weather reports for this end and it wasnt promising. I spoke to the breeder and decided that it was too much to ask her to try and drive across Brisbane in all that disaster just to put a puppy on a plane. And with the weather predictions for Canberra and Sthn NSW I decided to wait. As it turns out she could have flown but I would rather wait and be safe than sorry. Now she will probably fly direct to Melbourne and a friend will collect her for me, then we will meet half way on the highway. Thank you for asking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toolz Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 good luck getting her to you.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joan of Arc Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 Thanks Toolz Well Murphy's Law again... Was convinced by dogtainers to fly her directly into Albury and there was no reason why it shouldnt have been ok. She left on an early flight, was to have a two hour lay over in Sydney and arrive here at 4:25 yesterday afternoon. BUT They lost her.... cut a long story short, AAE had the Dogtainers paperwork for Albury but appear to have put her in a crate marked HOBART. So she has spent the night in Hobart and will fly out this morning, via Sydney and arrive here at 3:10...someone will want to hope she is fit and healthy... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whiskedaway Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 Thanks ToolzWell Murphy's Law again... Was convinced by dogtainers to fly her directly into Albury and there was no reason why it shouldnt have been ok. She left on an early flight, was to have a two hour lay over in Sydney and arrive here at 4:25 yesterday afternoon. BUT They lost her.... cut a long story short, AAE had the Dogtainers paperwork for Albury but appear to have put her in a crate marked HOBART. So she has spent the night in Hobart and will fly out this morning, via Sydney and arrive here at 3:10...someone will want to hope she is fit and healthy... Oh no, what a nightmare! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 Thanks ToolzWell Murphy's Law again... Was convinced by dogtainers to fly her directly into Albury and there was no reason why it shouldnt have been ok. She left on an early flight, was to have a two hour lay over in Sydney and arrive here at 4:25 yesterday afternoon. BUT They lost her.... cut a long story short, AAE had the Dogtainers paperwork for Albury but appear to have put her in a crate marked HOBART. So she has spent the night in Hobart and will fly out this morning, via Sydney and arrive here at 3:10...someone will want to hope she is fit and healthy... Oh no, what a nightmare! Crap! Make sure you ask for the frequent flyer points she's accumulated. At least flying with Dogtainers you have someone in Hobart looking after her. Imagine if you didn't!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whiskedaway Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 Thanks ToolzWell Murphy's Law again... Was convinced by dogtainers to fly her directly into Albury and there was no reason why it shouldnt have been ok. She left on an early flight, was to have a two hour lay over in Sydney and arrive here at 4:25 yesterday afternoon. BUT They lost her.... cut a long story short, AAE had the Dogtainers paperwork for Albury but appear to have put her in a crate marked HOBART. So she has spent the night in Hobart and will fly out this morning, via Sydney and arrive here at 3:10...someone will want to hope she is fit and healthy... Oh no, what a nightmare! Crap! Make sure you ask for the frequent flyer points she's accumulated. At least flying with Dogtainers you have someone in Hobart looking after her. Imagine if you didn't!! Gah, this makes me worried about Halo flying in next week (assuming it's not too hot). I know it doesn't happen often, but still. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 Gah, this makes me worried about Halo flying in next week (assuming it's not too hot). I know it doesn't happen often, but still. Using a dog transport company is your insurance against this. I'm sure if there was a pup at any airport in Oz, a post here would get DOLers scrambling into cars to take care of it for the night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whiskedaway Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 Gah, this makes me worried about Halo flying in next week (assuming it's not too hot). I know it doesn't happen often, but still. Using a dog transport company is your insurance against this. I'm sure if there was a pup at any airport in Oz, a post here would get DOLers scrambling into cars to take care of it for the night. We are using a dog transport company, but then, so did Mercedes. And yep, I know I could count on people on here to help out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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