Transportation Options
Getting your pup to you
Just a quick side note. Many airlines don't handle live animals on Sundays and we also try to keep that day for us too, so we're happy to work out the schedules of the other 6 days.
- Pick up your pup from us - Road trip!!! $$ included with the pup.
This is a great option for people who live close by or who are able to travel here. There are several great hotels within a short drive from us and you can pick up your pup from us early in the morning and get a head start on your drive home. We are willing to meet you locally (at your hotel etc) to save you a little time on the trail. There is no additional cost for this.
- Have us drive to meet you part way - $$ cost varies
We are willing to drive a few hours or so (one way) to meet you part way in order to keep you from having to spend a night on the road. We do charge 50 cents per mile. So if we drive 125 miles to meet you and it's a 250 mile round trip for us, then we would charge $125 for our time/travel.
- You can fly here and then fly back home with your pup as a "carry on. - roughly $250 plus your ticket.
We recommend using American, Alaska, Southwest or Jet Blue since they will allow an 8 week old pup to fly. Delta requires the pup to be 10 weeks or older and United is 16 weeks or older. We feel like the older pups don't fit near as well in the required size of carrier and we don't recommend flying with older pups much older than 11-12 weeks. You would bring your travel carrier with you. It needs to be approx 17 x 11 x 7.5 inches in order to fit under the seat in front of you in the cabin of the plane. Please contact your airline to get the most updated ticket prices for pups, and their info and requirements as you consider this option.
We are willing to drive to the airport and deliver your pup for you to fly home with. The Cincinnati (CVG) airport is our closest int'l airport. It's about a 250 mile round trip drive and we charge $125 to meet you at that airport and carry on prices are roughly $125 depending on the carrier. And then don't forget to factor the cost of your ticket.
Things you need to bring with you. 1- Soft sided travel carrier 2- potty pads 3- A few paper towels and wet wipes (just in case) 4- a collapsible water bowl (doubles as a food bowl) 5- some soft fuzzy toys, and some hard plastic chew toys. 6- some treats. We will give you a gallon ziplock of kibble.
We do several things to help prepare the pup for the flight. First we give them a good amount of exercise prior to leaving here. We also give them plenty of chances to go potty here before we hit the road. Then we also give them a potty break along the way there. We also plan a little time for some exercise prior to your flight. Our goal is to have the pup kinda tired and fairly "empty" before you embark. We also pare down their food a little the day of the trip so that they aren't a "loaded" for the long ride. We recommend you bring a couple of chew toys that will keep their mouth busy during the ride. If you have a layover along the way, that is great. You can find a "family" restroom that is just one room. Put some potty pads down on the floor and let the pup run around a bit until they go to the bathroom. Just clean up the floor and you'll be set for the next leg of your flight.
Here are the links to the airlines for you to look into flying with your pup as a carry on.
1-800-433-7300 https://www.aa.com/i18n/travel-info/special-assistance/pets.jsp
1-800-252-7522 https://www.alaskaair.com/content/travel-info/policies/pets-traveling-with-pets
1-800-435-9792 https://www.southwest.com/html/customer-service/traveling-with-animals/pets/index-pol.html
1-800-538-2583 https://www.jetblue.com/traveling-together/traveling-with-pets
1-800-221-1212 https://www.delta.com/us/en/pet-travel/overview
1-800-864-8331 https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly/travel/animals/in-cabin.html
- We can fly your pup to you - roughly $650
We have had real good success with this option too. We book the flight and send you the pup. They ride in a special cargo section that is climate controlled the same as the cabin. The cost is generally about $650 for the flight. The airline ticket runs about $450 and then we charge $200 for the cost of the extra Vet certification required by the airline that deems the pup "fit to fly," and their medium crate (28 x 21 x 20), and our time/travel to the airport ( 5hrs). This crate will last them quite a while until they grow out of it. It also fits in most car's rear seats and SUV cargo in the rear.
As with flying as a carry on, we do several things to help prepare the pup for the flight. First we give them a good amount of exercise prior to leaving here. We also give them plenty of chances to go potty here before we hit the road. Then we also give them a potty break along the way there. We also plan a little time for some exercise prior to the flight. Our goal is to have the pup kinda tired and fairly "empty" before the board the plane. We also pare down their food a little the day of the trip so that they aren't a "loaded gun" for the long ride.
We try very hard to find a direct flight to your nearest airport. One thing to consider is that the airlines will not board a puppy if the forecast temps are too hot (roughly 80*F to 85*F depending on the airline). So we may try to find an airport that could be a bit of a drive for you in order to find the most comfortable weather for the pup. The airlines all use weather.gov for their purposes and will not go off of the local news station weather forecasts. They won't budge at all either. The airlines do a final check of the weather forecast the moment we are at the airport and booking the pup. Sometimes we have had to turn around and go home and try for the next day due to weather. So we ask you to roll with us on that part. We try to check the weather before we leave home and won't charge for an additional trip to the airport if this delay happens.
Pups from us have done really well with flights. Of course they are a bit anxious after being a way from momma and their litter mates for so long with no one else around. They seem to have bonded fast with their new families since you will become their "hero" for saving them from a long day of travel. Take it easy on training/disciplining the pup for the first day or so as they blend in with your family, so they can truly bond to you after their cross country journey and things should go fine for the future.
What's the best choice for you?
We know there are several options for you to consider. Honestly, the safety thing is kind of a toss up. About 500k pets fly per year on airlines and there are always a news worthy story or two every year about that. Then there are always the risks of car accidents too (that don't make the news) and we all know that cars were not designed for four legged passengers and any accident will likely cause a problem for your pup. We will just do our best to make any journey you choose the most comfortable that we can.
Regardless of how you get your pup from us.....
We will provide
The health records from the Vet with your pup's immunization history.
A health certificate from the Vet here showing the baseline info about your pup so you have a head start on your first visit to your Vet.
A gallon zip lock bag of kibble that your pup is accustomed to eating. Plenty for your drive home (or the airline to use) and for several days after for you to mix 50/50 into whatever food you choose to use.
The AKC information for registering your pup
Micro chip and info for that. We do the micro chip here before your pup travels, but you still need to "activate" your info in the system after getting your pup.
Here's a few more notes about driving to get your pup.
We have a size of crate that we like to use for pups that are 8 weeks and older until they out grow it. It's just right for them and fits in most cars, both in the front seats and back seats. At one time we were doing a lot of daily driving and had a Honda Civic. This size of crate worked great for it and has worked for us to use in the other seats with kids sitting by them. The size is 23" L x 15.2" W x 11.8" H. The class size is considered "small." We now have huge vehicles with tons of cargo space and still find ourselves using this size of crate quite often for trips to the airports. If you'll be driving without anyone else to help with the pup, then a crate is a must. If you have extra passengers, then generally we have the extra person hold the pup and play with it during the drive, unless it gets to be too much of a handful, at which time they would be crated for a while. You can get some fluffy bath towels and put in the crate for some bedding. Have a couple extra bath towels if you can. A good dog bed might get munched on. You can always try using the absorbent pads if you want. Some little chew toys and stuffed animals would be good too, so long as you can see if they are not choking on something. Some paper towels and wet wipes, just in case. And of course a little water bowl. Please note: You may want to consider where you'd like your pup to ride in case of an accident. With anything in life, it's a roll of the dice. The only thing 100% sure is that none of us are getting out of here alive, so we just have to decide how we want to handle potential issues. We all know cars are not designed with dog passengers in mind. Your pup is likely going to be injured IF there's an accident, depending on where the impact takes place. A front or side airbag going off is going to be bad on a crate. A rear impact is going to be bad on a crate. Some companies have designed "seat belts" for dogs. But we don't have any experience with those, and especially not puppies. Here's a link to a dog seat belt option. We just don't know how a high energy puppy is going to put up with being in this kind of restraint. An unrestrained object in a car is going to be bad news for other passengers in the case of a roll over.