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BPO Travel & Transport Forum => Transporting & Traveling With Dogs => : lilysmom October 20, 2005, 08:32:46 PM
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Hi Everyone,
Well, hubby just came down on orders for Germany. That's not the worst part. We leave in 8 weeks. I need to find airline approved crates for Lily and Raven so they can fly with us. Any suggestions? I've googled it, and I think I'm more cofused now. lol. In a sit Lily is 39" and Raven is a 32". So I need some crates with these heights. Length I need 42" for Lily and 34" for Raven. I need to either find these or have them made ASAP so any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks :)
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We've been there once already. I'm excited to go back. :)
As for the airline. Northwest KLM just gives the specs for the crates that we need. I'll try calling them and see if they have a name of a crate company they will accept.
And yes, I'll have computer access. I'll probably be offline for awhile, but I'll come back. I promise. :)
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Thanks, the 35" would be good for Raven at least. I'll keep looking for Lily. The airline didn't have any names. They just said it had to be airline approved. :)
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I'll put up lots of pics. If you ever get the chance, go there. It is so beautiful. Especially at Christmas.
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OK, I found this one and it says it's approved for international flying too. It's the one on the right side of the page at the top. At the bottom it says XL-great dane. Do you think this one would be good?
http://www.burnwoodspuppyshop.com/puppy/Crates_and_Carriers.html
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Lily,
We just purchased crates for shipping for moving. The brand Petmate is airline approved. The regulations for iternational travel are different than for domestic. From a sit position the dog needs 3" of clearance to the top or no go. You will need a giant size kennel, they are availble at Petsmart for $200. Some of the airlines do sell them. If I were you, I'd take the dog and the kennel to the airline and make certain you will clear. I've know individuals who were stuck because the dog/crate clearance was not acceptable. Also don't forget to purchase the signs, water food dishes, etc.
Good Luck!
Let us know how things are in Germany!
Deena
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I just read up on the height requirements and the federal regulation states that the dog does not have to have additional clearance in a sit and that the only requirement is that the dog be able to turn around in the crate and be able to lie down comfortably. It also says that individual airlines will try to enforce their own regulations, but that if you have proof with you of the federal regulation they can't refuse you. I'll find the link and post it.
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Yes Lily,
But this is for international flight, the airlines are not bound by Federal Regulations. The regs are different and are more stringent. You really need to check with each carrier the dogs will be on.
Our dogs will be on Delta and Continental. The requirements for international are as I specified. The regs for domestic are as you posted. Please do more checking. I do know of a dog who was refused because the dog/crate was not to INTERNATIONAL standards.
I do not want to see you in the situation where you can go, but one of your dogs cannot.
Deena
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I just found that out. I called the US air international cargo terminal. But the good news is, I can ship her with their crate for $657. I'm going to take her to petsmart and measure her against their 35" crate. Thank god she has natural ears. lol. :)
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Yes, Lily'smom, GoodHope has some really good points... I was also under the impression that all the dog had to do was be able to stand up, lay down, and turn around... but upon further investigation they had to be able to "stand with their head in a natural position and the head cannot be touching the roof of the crate." That is going to be one HUGE crate that a Dane can stand in like that! I'd be on the phone with airlines way in advance... the airline folks told me they have refused to ship dogs in a crate they considered too small, even though everything was booked and it was an hour before the flight!
I shipped a wonderful Pyr mix to Washington State on NW airlines, they were very helpful. Some planes cannot fit a large or extra large crate in cargo, so you have to make sure the flight you will be on has a big enough cargo door!!!
Please be careful! It can be done but it will take some real extra planning!!
:)
(WOW! Germany!)
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Northwest says they have a big enough cargo door for a size 700 which is the largest crate you can get . Upon closer measurements of Lily, in a natural sit she's coming in at 37". So we have to find out if that exta 2" will fit in the cargo door. I'm currently calling everywhere. But northwest and usair seem to be the most helpful.
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I've flown with both my dogs, and we got the crates at petsmart. MY only suggestion is make sure the plastic is really good and solid. Cuz one of our crates cracked in the front from the people lifting it. My brother got a really good one from walmart, it has the steel door in the front, and that is what he uses when he flys with his dane.
Nina
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Hi Everyone,
Well, hubby just came down on orders for Germany. That's not the worst part. We leave in 8 weeks. I need to find airline approved crates for Lily and Raven so they can fly with us. Any suggestions? I've googled it, and I think I'm more cofused now. lol. In a sit Lily is 39" and Raven is a 32". So I need some crates with these heights. Length I need 42" for Lily and 34" for Raven. I need to either find these or have them made ASAP so any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks :)
One other thing to consider if things don't work out with the airlines is that Federal Express will ship horses; if the airlines can't take your dogs, I'm sure you could ship them also. It is probably prohibitively expensive though. Mother mentioned this because she personally knows a trainer that shipped their horses from Germany via FedEx.
Sofia
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I say sneak them on as seeing eye dogs. 8)
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Fed Ex sounds like it would be a years salary to ship her, lol. Actually after calling like a gajillion places I found out some useful info. I just wanted to post it here so if it ever comes up again it's here.
Any airline that will ship a pet internationall y will ship an extra large pet in a modified 700 crate not to exceed 47" in height. If they tell you different, ask to speak to a manager. That's what I finally did. Try to get a direct flight, if you can't, find an airline with a pet sitting service included. I just found an unbelievably good deal with northwest klm. Everyone else was not willing to work with me. But here is what I got. Service from BWI to Detroit with a 5 hour layover. During the layover a pet sitter picks up Lily and walks her and plays with her. Then they put her back on the plane and ship her direct to Frankfurt Germany. They will allow the modified 700 crate which gives me the ability to have a crate with an extension that will reach 42" in height. All for the unbelievable price of $800. United quoted me $2600. This was not fun, believe me. But I learned a lot and now I know without a doubt that Lily will be joining us on our move to Germany. Makes me feel really good about the move. :)
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I say sneak them on as seeing eye dogs.  8)
Sneaky Sneaky :D :D
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Fed Ex sounds like it would be a years salary to ship her, lol. Actually after calling like a gajillion places I found out some useful info. I just wanted to post it here so if it ever comes up again it's here.
Any airline that will ship a pet internationall y will ship an extra large pet in a modified 700 crate not to exceed 47" in height. If they tell you different, ask to speak to a manager. That's what I finally did. Try to get a direct flight, if you can't, find an airline with a pet sitting service included. I just found an unbelievably good deal with northwest klm. Everyone else was not willing to work with me. But here is what I got. Service from BWI to Detroit with a 5 hour layover. During the layover a pet sitter picks up Lily and walks her and plays with her. Then they put her back on the plane and ship her direct to Frankfurt Germany. They will allow the modified 700 crate which gives me the ability to have a crate with an extension that will reach 42" in height. All for the unbelievable price of $800. United quoted me $2600. This was not fun, believe me. But I learned a lot and now I know without a doubt that Lily will be joining us on our move to Germany. Makes me feel really good about the move. :)
Are Lily and Raven both moving to Germany with you? If so I have lots of experiance with 2 dogs in an airport. I can give you some tips ;D
Nina
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Raven will be coming on our flight because she's smaller and I can check her as baggage. My friend will be bringing Lily to the airport the next day or if we can schedule the flights the same day we'll do it that way. What should I expect? I'm afraid of the answer, lol. :)
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Are there animal quaranteens in Germany? I know there are for cats but not sure on dogs. Each country is different. ???
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Not for dogs, thank goodness. I just have to have them microchipped. I was planning on doing that anyway. :)
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Hi there,
i may have missed up, but can you give me a URL or details of where to get this 700 Crate, as Day-z will need one in March.
Cheers
Jill
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LOL the fun of having all your baggage and 2 huge crates in an airport. We were lucky cuz we got to check in our 2 dogs as baggage too before they changed the rules. (that is with Air Canada) now any dog that is over 70 LBS has to fly cargo. So we won't be flying Air Canada anymore. And they changed the price for animals from $80 per dog round trip to 200 on way!
Anyway enough ranting about that... Ok I find what works best is no food or water past midnight, so that they won't mess in there crates. Also have a blanket in the crate for padding and to catch any mess if they happen to have an accident. Also ask what the temperature is going to be, like if traveling in the summer, you don't need a thick blanket but if in the winter you would need a thicker blanket to keep them warm. ( I have traveled in both summer and winter and both my pups were fine) It is easier to take the crate into the airport and then put Lily and Raven in there crates, then you can get everything settled for them. Also I recommed if it is going to be a really long flight, get one of those travel water bottles that attach to the crate(and the whole thing on the inside of the crate, or it will break off, happened to my brother when he traveled with his dane) If your friend is bringing Lily the next day I would suggest she has someone help her. It is alot to carry a crate and then go back and get Lily and put her in the crate ect. makes it easier if there is 2 people. Also I think I mentioned this but try and get a crate with steel doors and one that locks, we had to use plastic zip tie things to make sure they couldn't get out. Harley can get out of those dens that don't have the steel doors.
We also made sure that we got to the airport extra early, as it takes a long time to check in animals, forms to fill out ect, and where yours is international flight it might even take longer than normal. hmm that is all that I can think of for now, hope it helps
Nina.
Oh I'll see if I can find a pic of that water bottle. (what my brother did was fill up 1/2 of it with water and froze it and before he left he filled the rest up so that she would have cold water the whole flight, oh and if you do get one, this may sould silly but test it to make sure they know how to use it, it took my brother an hour before she figured out what it was. LOL )
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Thanks for that. Now at least I know what to expect. I heard about the freezing the water thing before.
Now one more question. I need a custom crate built. I got info from one pet shipping place that said you can get crate extensions to raise the height, but I can't find them anywhere. Somebody PLEASE help me find someone to either build a crate or somewhere to get the extensions.
Thanks. :)
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here are the pics I was talking about the first one is the crates I have and Harley can get out of those ones, she uses her nose and pushes the door open.( she is one abnormally strong pooch) The other one is the door that I recommed that you get, (steel door) and the 3rd is the water bottle that i was talking about.
And how tall is Lily? My brother got a crate from walmart and it fits his dane she is 29 inches at the shoulder. And his crate has the steel door.
Nina
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She's 31 at the shoulder, 37 in a natural sit and they said I have to have at least 3 inches clearance above her head. I'm at a loss here. I don't know where to get a crate to fit her.
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Try petsmart they have some big ones there, the ones that I have aren't the biggest ones they have. And they are good crates. I don't know how Harley can open it with her nose, I can't pull open that door when it is closed. She is just one strong dog. Also try Walmart the one that my brother has is bigger that mine and he said that they had one that is even bigger the only reason he didn't get it was cus they didn't have one in. And I am sure if they don't have one they can order one in for you. I would try that route first as getting one made will cost you a lot more. ( i think anyway)
Here is what I got from the petsmart website:
http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_list.jsp?ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302023689&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302035811&PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441780731&bmUID=1129927265425
Nina
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I need a 40" and the largest they have is 35". Believe me when I say I've looked everywhere. I've been on the computer now for 12 hours straight minus potty breaks and putting the kiddies down for a nap. I know....I'm a bad mommy. But this is really stressing me. I finally find the airline and now I have nothing to ship her in. :'(
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Are they really that stickler on the 3 inches abover her head. Dilberts head touches the top of the crate ( when we first bought it, it was way too big for him, now by the " air line standards" it is too small for him) That being said, he still fits in it, he can stand in it, turn around and lay down. I have never has anyone say anything to us, when we were checking him in. My brother had someone say that his crate is to small for Athena but they still let her fly anyway.
So I would ask to see how strict they are and see how that 35 inch crate is for her. Usually at petsmart they'll have them built and you can put her in it and see how it looks.
Nina
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I think I'm going to try that. I called our local petsmart and they don't have one in stock, but Walmart does. I'll just buy it and if it's not good, I'll take it back. Thanks for all your help Nina.
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No prob I know how stressful it can be to travel with your pets :) And you must be really stress trying to get all this together, and with the move too. Let me know if you need any other help.
Nina
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I will ;)
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I was thinking tonight Nina. My three year old was standing near Lily and she's 37 1/2 inches as of last week. So I stand the two of them side by side and my daughter looks like she is about an inch taller. I think the 35" might work. I found one in stock at Petco that I could take Lily to try out tomorrow. I'll let you know how it works out.
Don't mind how bad this pic is, lol. But it kind of shows the height.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v114/mbingham/lilyathome.jpg)
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Does anyone know where you can get the height extender bars for the crates ?
Thanks
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I also need a crate for my mastiff. He is 250lbs and 51.5 inches long. Hubby is navy and up for orders and they are trying to send us overseas so need to be prepared. Anything that big. I just found a crate on petaroo that was 41.5 x 29.25 x 31. That is not big enough after measuring my dog. Anyone know of any crates that big?
Deb
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Well....
I investigated this very thoroughly and in the end got a custom crate made in the UK (from wood) and flew it out to Miami and brought day-z back in that.
There are no off the shelf crates available for our big babies, so it is a case of find someone who can make it to IATA spec.
Is possible though, and they are much more comfortable for the dog.
Good luck
Jill