# Flying with a GSD Pup?



## Konotashi (Jan 11, 2010)

I was just curious about an alternative to having a puppy shipped. 

There's a breeder I like in Washington. If I were to get a pup from there, my options are to have the pup shipped for around $400 or take a road trip up there, which would take about a day (if not longer) one way. Round trip would cost about the same as shipping, though. 

I know some airlines allow pets in-cabin, as long as they can fit under your seat as carry-on. I was looking at prices for round trip flights, and it's less than $200. (Not including the $75 one-way fee to have the pup on board). The flight would be just under 3 hours. Rental car would be roughly $100, so the total would be under $400, and I would get to meet the breeder, see the facility, see the dam (maybe the sire), etc. 

My questions are:
1. Would an 8 week old pup fit in a carrier that can fit in a space 19"L x 19"W x 8.25"H?
2. Will a GSD pup be okay in that sized crate for 3 hours for a flight?


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## Konotashi (Jan 11, 2010)

EDIT: The flight would be around $330 round trip. (I was looking at one-way. Oops). So that would bring the total to about $525.


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## brembo (Jun 30, 2009)

I would just drive, way less stressful in almost every conceivable way. Going thru security with a new pup and all the assorted bits and bobbles needed to travel with a dog would be a nightmare unto itself. With a car trip any emergency is handled by pulling over and taking your time to do things right. Imagine diarrhea on a flight, it would be awful. On a car trip it's not fun but something you can deal with at a rest stop or the like. You could even use the ride as a socialization exercise, take the scenic route and hit up some places you have always wanted to see WITH THE NEW DOG!


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## sddeadeye (Apr 5, 2011)

I agree with Brembo on the drive. My border collie came from a breeder in Kansas. Originally I was going to have him flown in, but the weather was too cold to fly pups so I decided to drive down there to get him instead. I would do it again in a heartbeat and my next dog I will be driving to WI to pick up. WA is a lot farther of a trip for you than either of mine, and depending on time of the year and weather it may not be an option. But, it is still something I would consider.

I have never flown with a dog or had a dog flown in so I cannot offer specific experiences for either of those options.


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## Konotashi (Jan 11, 2010)

A few reasons I was considering flying over driving is that flying is faster, driving for an entire day would be difficult and I would definitely need to stop and rest twice (either sleep in the car or find a hotel), and after driving for such a long period of time, I'd be super sore. Also, driving that long would make me super tired by the time I got home. New pup would probably have to spend more time in the crate if I need to take a nap. :/ I'd be willing to drive (would definitely be better if I could convince someone to come along), but it seems much more difficult. Plus if I brought someone, I don't think they'd be willing to sleep in the car. lol

Flight - fly for three hours, get home, let pup explore and spend time with pup.

Edit: Just looked up how much it would (approximately) cost to drive up there. With fluctuating gas prices, it makes it difficult. The other day it said just a bit over $200, now it's saying over $400. (One way). So that would be another factor, if gas prices climb back up, which they always do....


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## sddeadeye (Apr 5, 2011)

When I drove to get my pup, I stopped and spent a night at a hotel on the way back. That way pup would get a break out of the car (slept in a crate) and I could get a nap. Of course, he was also older than 8 weeks.


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## Konotashi (Jan 11, 2010)

sddeadeye said:


> When I drove to get my pup, I stopped and spent a night at a hotel on the way back. That way pup would get a break out of the car (slept in a crate) and I could get a nap. Of course, he was also older than 8 weeks.


If you don't mind me asking, how much did the trip cost altogether, roughly? Where were you coming/going from?


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## brembo (Jun 30, 2009)

Remember a 3 hour in-air flight works out to about 7 or 8 hours of dealing with the airlines and being under their rule. Six hours minimum. I'd research the rules airlines impose for animals very carefully. Some airlines might be laid back, but my gut tells me to expect draconian rules and regs.


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## Konotashi (Jan 11, 2010)

Here's Southwest's FAQ on flying with pets. (We always use Southwest if they're flying to where we're going). The only thing I saw that would really take longer than normal would be buying the ticket, since you can't get them online. You have to make a reservation then pick up the ticket at the counter. That, and letting puppy relive himself before boarding. 

Pets


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## sddeadeye (Apr 5, 2011)

I don't mind at all! I drove from Fargo, ND to Manhattan, KS. It was winter so I took my pickup just in case (small Ford Ranger) so it wasn't the best on gas. If I were to do it in warmer weather I would have taken my Toyota Corolla and saved lots on gas. I believe it was about a 600 mile drive. This was 4 years ago and I'm not sure what gas cost then, but I probably filled up twice on the way there and back. So, figuring about $50 for gas at each stop, that would run about $200. The hotel was a cheap Super 8, but they allowed my pup and gave me a room by an exit to take him out. The room was around $60. So, grand total for gas, food, and hotel was about $260. Again, this was several years ago, but it is a close average.


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## Konotashi (Jan 11, 2010)

I Google Map'd your to/from and it was 587 miles. I wouldn't mind driving that at all. If I found a breeder up in Northern California, Utah, Colorado, or basically anywhere where it would take about 10 hours or less to drive to, I wouldn't consider flying or shipping. 
From here to where the other breeder is, is roughly 1,439 miles.... :crazy:


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## sddeadeye (Apr 5, 2011)

Yeah, that is considerably farther. I personally hate flying and much prefer to drive, but 1500 miles one way would be pushing it even for me. I was considering getting my pup from a breeder in KY and ended up finding the one in WI that was much closer. The KY breeder would have been 1100 miles away and I was still considering making a road trip down there to pick up the pup. The other breeder is half that. 

Sometimes I forget how big the western states really are. I was just discussing a vacation to Kalispell, MT next summer with my husband up in NW Montana and that is over 1000 miles just in itself to make it across ND and MT.


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## Anastasia (Oct 7, 2011)

I just drove last Saturday from South Jersey to upstate PA to pick up my pup. The ride was supposed to be a 4.5 hour trip but because of highway construction it was 6 hours up and 7 coming home. Thankfully we did go up the day before and stayed in a hotel. 
On the ride home Jack got car sick about 45 minutes into the trip, he vomited three times total and would not go potty for the first 5 hours of the trip. We stopped about every 30 / 45 min because I was either worried he had to empty his bladder or he was throwing up! 
With all of that in mind I would do it again because I don't think an 8 week old GSD will fit in the under the seat crate so he would have to go with baggage. I don't think I want to put my pup in with baggage, but I tend to be a bit of a worry wart.


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## BlackPuppy (Mar 29, 2007)

If you have the time, the maybe drive? I would drive up to 8 hours, maybe 10, one way. But you'll be making a lot of stops.  

I flew my DS puppy home from the Netherlands under the seat. DS are a smaller breed, and I got him at 8 weeks and 3 days old. He fit under the seat fine and traveled like a pro. Slept all the time. We had a system for going potty in the airport bathrooms. Put down the pee-pad first. Place puppy on pee pad. Only failed once. He slept most of the 8 hour flight, but had to go potty once, so we used the same routine in the airplane lav.

587 miles would be within my driving range. And driving out west is much more pleasant than it is here in the east.


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## Packen (Sep 14, 2008)

I flew from Dallas to Indianapolis when Gnash's litter was 7 weeks. Ended up selecting Gnash from the litter and flew him back with me. No problems at all. American Airlines charged about $100 to carry the pup with me.


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## Konotashi (Jan 11, 2010)

If the drive took about 10 hours, I'd be fine driving that. Drive up there, either spend the night at a hotel and go to the breeder's the next day and drive home; or drive up, go to the breeder's, stay at a hotel, and drive home in the morning. 

I was looking at carriers that would fit under the seat, and most say that they'll fit a dog between 20-25 lbs. GSDs weigh less than that when they're wee puppies, don't they? 

Whether I fly or drive, I will try to wear the puppy out before heading home so the pup will hopefully sleep the entire time. 
And Carole, 587 was someone else's drive - mine would be almost 1,500. 

I wonder if Southwest would let me take the pup out to potty. I don't know if a pup would HAVE to go potty in 3 hours, but just in case.... On the page, it says the pets must stay in the crate, but I wonder if risking the pup to sit it its own waste and have other passengers be forced to smell it would allow the pup to come out for potty breaks....


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

Mine were 9lbs and 12lbs when I got them, now normal sized males.

I'd probably do the flying thing if driving means going alone, but I don't like to dawdle when I have a new pup. We drove to get Pan b/c it was only about 4.5 hours and we weren't there long, long enough to let him tire himself out and then as soon as he squatted and pooped, we were on our way.


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## pyratemom (Jan 10, 2011)

The time difference from driving and flying seems better but you have to factor in the stress of waiting in lines, making sure the carrier is allowed inside the cabin, the possibility they may change their mind at the last minute and say the crate or carrier must go in with shipping not passengers. I would drive, take an extra day, and enjoy the time alone with the new pup. You can stop whenever you want for potty breaks etc and the pup will be less stressed. When I got Raina from Germany she had been in her crate for a minimum of 15 hours. We still had two hours to get home so we got her out of the crate in a grassy spot and played for a while before heading home. We also had to clean the crate because after all that time it was full of puppy pee. Then we we got her home it was bath first before anything as she smelled so badly. Driving in a car would avoid all this and you would get to meet the breeder.


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## BlackPuppy (Mar 29, 2007)

Konotashi said:


> And Carole, 587 was someone else's drive - mine would be almost 1,500.


1,500 is pretty long. 



> I wonder if Southwest would let me take the pup out to potty. I don't know if a pup would HAVE to go potty in 3 hours, but just in case.... On the page, it says the pets must stay in the crate, but I wonder if risking the pup to sit it its own waste and have other passengers be forced to smell it would allow the pup to come out for potty breaks....


You cannot take the puppy out of the bag, but three hours will be fine. Boaz held it for almost 7 hours. Just potty in the bathroom in the airport before boarding and don't give any water until after you get off the flight. 

I bought some Dry Fur,just in case. But no accidents happened in my Sherpa bag. Pet Carrier Pads for Crates and Carriers - Pet Travel Store

Poor Boaz was so hungry by the time we landed!


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

Also keep in mind that other passingers might be ready to do you serious bodily harm if they have to listen to a screaming puppy for more than 3 hours!!!!!!! No matter how tired you try to get it, it might still scream bloody murder part of, or ALL of the way there.

I if didn't want to have a puppy shipped, I would drive.

I would also keep in mind that meeting the breeder and dam for the first time when you are picking up the pup is basically TOO LATE. Meaning they will already have your money so what happens if you get there and don't like something? If you want to meet the breeder and dam, I would fly up BEFORE you give them any money. (Which means before the litter is born.)


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## Chris Wild (Dec 14, 2001)

I would fly the pup. It is going to be far less stressful than that long of a car trip.

It is unlikely that the pup would be able to fly as carry-on. FAA regulations on kennel size require that the dog be able to sit, stand, turn around and lie down in the kennel and no kennel that will fit that requirement for a GSD pup is going to fit under a seat. International regulations are more lax in that regard which is how people get away with it brining pups into the US, but it's not going to happen on a US flight unless the airline crew is willing to blatantly ignore the regulations.

So the options for flying would be to go get the pup and fly him back as checked baggage, or have him shipped as cargo. We've both sent and recieved pups shipped via airline and never had any problems whatsoever.


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## blehmannwa (Jan 11, 2011)

At 8 weeks, I flew Havoc in the cabin in a soft sided sherpa bag (provided by the breeder) from Newark to Seattle. It was fine, he slept the entire way. I however did not do so well as I was so stressed about every thing that could go wrong that I was unable to sleep for 48 hours. This was in the midst of the snow storms and airports were shutting down all over the country.


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## LARHAGE (Jul 24, 2006)

I had Gavin shipped to me in Southern California from Michigan, it was super easy, he arrived at 10:30 in the morning, I went directly to cargo holding and signed him out, he was happy and bounced out of the kennel all snuggly and wanted to play tug first thing, I got home in 30 minutes and spent the whold day, no way would I have driven to Michigan and back, I never met Julie in person prior to that, but had talked to her a lot and was already more than satisfied with my choice of breeder and puppy, so there was never a worry on my end.


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## Rerun (Feb 27, 2006)

Yeah I agree with the OP that said flying will still probably take longer. By the time you actually get to the airport, to your gate 9our airport is like a city in and of itself, I don't know about yours), through security, on the plane, actually IN the air, and god forbid there be something that keeps you stuck in the plan on the tarmac (sp?) on either end (it happens, trust me). 

I would absolutely drive hands down no question.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

How can flying AZ to WA and back take longer than driving? I drive about the same distance once a year and it's 18 hours *one* way.


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## Rerun (Feb 27, 2006)

I guess I missed something. OP said it was a one day drive. 18 hrs isn't what I would consider a 1 day drive, especially with one driver.

I'd just have the pup shipped. If it's a breeder you trust, why the need to see the facility and meet the pups parents? I can see how that would be *nice* but it wouldn't make it worth it to me to fly there. If the pup can't fit under the seat (I always wondered about that myself) then no sense in your flying only to have the pup shipped cargo.


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## BlackPuppy (Mar 29, 2007)

Liesje said:


> How can flying AZ to WA and back take longer than driving? I drive about the same distance once a year and it's 18 hours *one* way.


I don't think it is in this case. 

Once I had to fly to NYC for training in the winter. The 1.5 hour flight turned into an 8 hour wait. I could have driven quicker.


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## robinhuerta (Apr 21, 2007)

I would absolutely ship the puppy. A long car ride can easily become more stressful that a few hours in flight.
Also...I can't remeber the last time that I had 8 week old puppies that weighed under 14+ lbs.....I would consider them too large for "in cabin" or "under seat" carriage.
The 8 1/2 week old puppy flying tomorrow is over 17+ lbs...he is flying in an intermediate kennel. (yes...it's a bigger kennel for comfort...but not too big for him).


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

BlackPuppy said:


> I don't think it is in this case.
> 
> Once I had to fly to NYC for training in the winter. The 1.5 hour flight turned into an 8 hour wait. I could have driven quicker.



But she's talking 1500+ miles each way. Cincinnati to NYC is less than 1/4 that. Depending on how long one can drive, if she's going alone that might mean stopping over both ways, so potentially a 3 day car trip.

I would have the pup shipped, or fly out and fly back if the pup can be carried on. If not, then definitely shipped, I wouldn't want to mess with checked baggage especially when the dog is the checked baggage.


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

If it were me, I'd get the puppy shipped. Assuming that the puppy doesn't have any temperament/nerve issues, it should have no problem with a 3 hour flight.

Someone mentioned it earlier in the thread, but I would not fly with the pup in cabin with the other passengers for the simple fact that I wouldn't want to put the other passengers through a whining puppy for an entire flight. Ever been next to a crying baby on a flight before... it's really no fun.

And as mentioned earlier, I'd think a 3 hour flight would be much less stressful than a 24 hour drive. You think the puppy knows the difference if it's sitting in the cabin of a plane vs the back of your car in it's crate? I'm sure it doesn't so why put it through an extra 20 hours of travel time?


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## Rerun (Feb 27, 2006)

Liesje said:


> But she's talking 1500+ miles each way. Cincinnati to NYC is less than 1/4 that. Depending on how long one can drive, if she's going alone that might mean stopping over both ways, so potentially a 3 day car trip.
> 
> I would have the pup shipped, or fly out and fly back if the pup can be carried on. If not, then definitely shipped, I wouldn't want to mess with checked baggage especially when the dog is the checked baggage.


I'm going to repeat myself here, but OP said it was a one day car drive. I think that's why everyone is referring to a SHORT one day trip. Obviously, 18 hrs one way is not a one day drive, even if it was 18 hrs there and back.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

One day AZ to WA and back? I want what she's driving!

Maybe she can clarify, I read about 1500 miles each way....maybe there are different breeder choices?


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## Konotashi (Jan 11, 2010)

Here's a map of the to and from. One way is roughly 1,500 miles. The 'one day' on Google Maps = 24 hours. (Should have clarified earlier). I can go with my mom to Arkansas and we get there in about 18 hours and we are completely and utterly exhausted when we arrive, so I highly doubt I could drive 24 hours one way by myself. 

Google Maps


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## SitUbuSit (Aug 1, 2011)

I would have the puppy shipped. There is no guarantee that he will fit under your seat, in which case he'd have to be shipped as cargo anyway on the same flight (assuming that the carrier allows live cargo), which will be an extra $200 plus the cost of a crate. 

If the carrier doesn't allow live cargo, or if the flight has already reached its maximum allowable number of live cargo crates, then you'd have to find another flight for the puppy, which, at the last minute, could get very pricey.

Best case, he fits under your seat without a problem, but it's risky because you're at the mercy of the ticket agent and/or gate attendant to make the judgment. 8 week GSDs are big for puppies. I think Batman was around 12 lbs at that age and I don't know if he would have made the cut-off. I would not take the risk. 

Shipping is not necessarily less traumatic for the pup than flying in cabin (there could be crying babies, bright lights, rude passengers, etc in cabin), especially if the process causes a lot of stress because he will pick up on your energy.


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## shell nyc (Jul 19, 2010)

While not direct GSD puppy experience, I have 2 observations to contribute:
1) I travelled extensively with a 10-16wk old pup, in-cabin in a Sherpa (difficult to impossible to board a pup that young). The pup did great with in-transit trips outside (if at all possible) or on a wee-pad in the airport restroom if necessary.

2) All grown up now the same pup is ~20lbs and fits in the same bag. It’s a snug but comfortable fit. Only once has an agent questioned his size (on now defunct NW)...I unzipped the bag, called the dog out, told him to go back in, and zipped it shut. The dog loved the bag (because it meant going somewhere, anywhere!) so had no hesitation.
YMMV of course, and as others have said shipping (in cargo) may be perfectly fine, but if you want to pick the pup up here are a few data points for your consideration.


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