Has anyone brought their pets into the U.S.? Just curious about your experiences. I've been told by the US Embassy in Bern that I only need a "good health certificate". Has anyone gotten one of these from their vet in Zurich? Any recommendations for vets also would be helpful!

Thanks much - Kristin

I have traveled with my dog from CH to the US. It's no problem at all. When I got to US customs they asked me I had any food products. I said, "no, but I have a dog", "did you bring food for the dog" ... They didn't even want to see the dog nor the dog certificate.

The "certificate" is part of the pet passport. One of the pages lists health certificate or some such thing. My regular vet stamped, dated & signed the relevant page.

Questions about bringing the dog.
1 - did the dog go in baggage or is he/she small enough to have flown in the cabin
2 - if as baggage, how do you judge he/she tolerated it?
3 - how long was the flight?
4 - any recommendations?
5 - are dogs still generally banned from resturants in the US?

Thanks in advance

Buzz

First, see the following:

APHIS:

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_wel...t_travel.shtml

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/NCIE/pet-info.html

The CDC website:

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dq/animal.htm

You could also contact the veterinary authority in the state you are moving to, in case there are further state requirements:

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/sregs/

(Bear in mind that Hawaii has special quarantine rules.)

Some airlines require a 'fitness to fly' certificate from your vet, or other form of liability waiver. Contact your airline for exact requirements/restrictions. Also bear in mind, some airlines/airports suspend animal travel during the summer months because it is too dangerous in the heat.

Some airlines have a limited number of pet spaces per flight, or restrictions on how far in advance you can book the pet's travel.

Generally, dogs under 6kg (including the container weight) might be allowed to fly in the cabin, larger dogs usually will have to go in the cargo hold. Airline requirements for the travel crate vary, check your airline's policy in advance.

And it is best to fly your pets on direct flights whenever possible.

MusicOfNote, my dogs have flown around the world several times, always in the cargo area. It's not something I would ever consider doing for a short vacation, but they survived the flights surprisingly well.

The first time, I was lucky enough to have a few weeks notice before moving so I had time to acclimate the dogs to their travel crates and teach them to drink from the drip bottle - this is very important. I put something of mine in the crate - usually a used t-shirt - and a favorite toy so that there is something to comfort them during the trip. (Note - I know of one case where the owner was not allowed to put any stuffed toys or padded bedding in the crate because US customs was concerned that such things were used for drug smuggling - but I've never had any trouble doing so. Of course if your dog chews or destroys toys do not put one in, as the dog could accidentally choke.) I fit the crates out with a drip bottle over door mounted bowl - freeze the bottle - as the water melts during the trip the dog has enough to drink, and less chance of spillage.

I want my dogs to travel together in adjoining crate spaces so that usually means booking well ahead. One of my dogs is insane around cats, so I try to book on flights where no cats are traveling.

The longest flight leg my dogs have done was about 11 hours. If longer than that, I have to stop midway in order to give their poor kidneys a break - but you should plan very carefully when you do something other than a direct flight.

I prefer to use an animal shipping expert to plan and co-ordinate my mutts' travel. Well worth the added expense, IME.

For a list of IPATA members, see:

http://ipata.com/

Are you asking me?
My dog traveled in the cabin with me. She traveled under the seat in front of me. Well, except on the way back where she actually stayed under the seat of the three year old behind me as his feet didn't touch the ground!

I made the reservation at the time of booking the flight as there are only 2 dogs allowed per flight. So I had to check that the flight I wanted to take had room for the dog. She was considered excess baggage & I paid per kilo. I can't remember how much I paid, though. It's on the Swiss website. I only every fly Swiss. I should have mentioned that so I don't know about other airlines & she only ever flies in the cabin with me. I never put her in the hold. You must check the regulations per airline as they vary. They also vary per destination (i.e. No dogs in the cabin to UK and no dogs at all on EasyJet).

She slept the whole way and didn't make a sound. She seemed quite Ok and was bright & happy when she arrived. Much happier & brighter than I was! The flight was 8 hours to & 7 hr back.

Yes, dog are generally banned from restaurants except outside cafe's usually allow them. Since she stays in her bag, I did bring her to a couple of restaurants and just didn't mention it... No one ever notices her. (Yes, I know I shouldn't do this.... ) When they did notice her they all wanted to see her out of the bag. After all these regs are not made by the restaurant, but by the law.

Recommendations: the travel case can not exceed a certain size (this will be given by the airline). The problem with this is that they don't tell you which direction measurements must be. Thus the bag I took was under the size limit, but didn't fit under certain seats & I had to change seats to have a seat without legs or other metal peices in the way. You can't really avoid this as they don't know which seats have legs or whatever under them... Also, your dog should be used to staying in the case/bag. My dog is quite used to this so she doesn't get upset when she's closed in the bag. They do not let you take the dog out of the bag & it really isn't safe for the dog to be out anyway.

If you have more questions don't hesitate to ask.

Hi Kristin
I have exported 2 Jack Russells stud dogs to the States.
for dogs under 3 months was this afforded:
EU Passport
ISO ID-chip
basic vaccinations
Health Certificate in english with special terms
concerning no diseas dangerous for animal or humans

for dogs over 3 months:
EU Passport
ISO ID-chip
basic vaccination
Rabies vaccination
Health Certificate in english with special terms look above

It also make sens to look over the flight companies rules as well.
British airways one example have changed their pet policy and just bring
dogs as Cargo since last year and it´s rather expensive.
Some air companies have special conditions so be out in time
when booking the flight/ticket for your dog.

Regards Susan
new at the Forum

I just flew my 32lb cocker spaniel in cargo from Chicago to Zurich with a 7 hour layover in Poland. The total time he was in the crate was almost 18 hours - while this does not in anyway sound ideal (it wasn't) - he did extremely well! He was happy to see us though
We tried to see him in Poland but we were unable to.
I was really nervous about this - but I will be much less worried next time We put a familiar blanket in his crate and then topped it with doggy pads. He also wore a doggy diaper - the people who inspected his crate commented that we were like 1/100 that did that and they couldn't believe that people didn't.
We put a water bottle (a bigger version of a hamster water bottle) outside of his crate with a dish attached beneath it to catch the dripping water. this ended up overflowing anyway with the vibrations, but i think it helped?

Hi,
Just to add to the discussion, I have flown several times with our terrier to the US. From what I have been told, they no longer need a 'fit to fly' certificate, so maybe check. They do not even need a current rabies vaccine coming from Switzerland, as Switzerland is considered rabies free (though they need it coming into Switzerland). I have given the customs people the pet passport, which they did not even look at and just walked thru. Very easy.

As our dog is just over the weight limit, we put him in cargo. When he was a puppy, I once brought him on the plane, but it was maybe more difficult as they would not let him out of the cage under the seat, so he was a bit stressed looking at us the whole time (though in warm weather it would probably be safer...). In cargo, I did not drug him and he seemed fine. On Swiss they charge you by if the dog cage takes up one 'flat' or two, depending on the size of the cage. Just make sure you have confirmed a space for the dog when booking the flights. I have also heard to avoid transfers, or travelling in warm weather (some US airlines won't even take them in warm weather), as that is when problems can occur.

hope that helps!