Questions about shipping 2 small dogs to the UK

I've been going through the posts and the web and am getting conflicted info.  We have 2 small dogs that need to fly from Washington Dulles to Glasgow.  One is a shih tzu and the other a 23 lb mixed breed dog. 

It sounds like they cannot ride in the cabin with you if you fly into the UK?  I am concerned about the shih tzu not being in the cabin.  I read that people fly through Paris and then take a train?  I also read in one place that you have to wait 6 months after getting the rabies test but somewhere else said 30 days.  Which is correct?  Can someone give me estimates of the cost of all this? If they fly in the cabin vs. shipping directly to Glasgow.  How much more expensive is using a pet shipping company vs. doing everything yourself.

The rules changed in 2012, so ignore anything before then.  No longer a 6 month wait.  30 days is correct.

Yes, you can fly in the cabin (at least the shitzsu could) but only into Paris or Amsterdam.  You'd then need to find your way to the UK - no pets on the trains.  Those that have taken this option have had someone pick them up in Europe and drive them back.

Pets flying into the UK must fly in cargo.  No way around that.  And it's pricey.  But worth it!

I used Air Animal when I transported my kitties.  I would highly recommend them.  They could provide you with an accurate quote (my actual costs came in lower than the quote).  A lot of airlines will only deal directly with pet shippers.

We used a company called Pet Relocation and they were great helping us, and talking us through the complex paperwork and timing. We moved 2 miniature dachshunds, one is 14 and has Cushings syndrome, ( neither I or our vet thought she would make it through the flight, she is very frail) the other is 6 and has bowel/ bladder problems after back surgery. Moving them was absolutely the most stressful part of a very big move (sold our house, 2 cars, stored stuff, shipped stuff-a real nightmare-but completely worth it!)

You no longer need a rabies titer. They must be chipped first, with a certain type of chip that the U.K. Is able to read, then rabies shot. Then vet certificate within 10 days of travel, which then must be certified by the USDA. Then they had to be wormed within 48 hours of their travel, and travel within 7 days of myself. Moved in August and the airlines had embargos on animals multiple times due to the heat. I lost a lot of weight!

Total cost? 5,000 usd, just for the flight, crates and service! Does not include vet exams, shots, working, or anything else. BUT Pet rely picked them up in Philly, took them to Newark and waited with them (on a very hot August day) They then met them in Glasgow, got them through customs and delivered them to our flat. I flew out of Philly and arrived within minutes of them,  but was not allowed to see them at the airport.

I am happy to report that they arrived safe and sound, clean and happy, and are thriving!

I am sure there are other ways to do it. Reliving that gave me PTSD! The more I read, the more confused I got!
But the cost of their travel was written into husbands emplotment/ relo package. They were out of my sight for < 18 hours.


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PS, the rabies shot needs to be up to date and the timing is at least 30 days, not 6 months


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PS, the rabies shot needs to be up to date and the timing is at least 30 days, not 6 months


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PPS, Pet rely also supplied the shipping envelopes for the paperwork to go to the USDA and back to my vet. They were also on the phone with my vet talking him through filling out the mountains of paperwork, If I recall, he had to use blue ink, or automatic reject. The vet you use must also be USDA certified and they can charge a lot for the exam. Luckily we had a longstanding relationship with our vet, and our 2 sick babies so he took that onto consideration


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PPS, Pet rely also supplied the shipping envelopes for the paperwork to go to the USDA and back to my vet. They were also on the phone with my vet talking him through filling out the mountains of paperwork, If I recall, he had to use blue ink, or automatic reject. The vet you use must also be USDA certified and they can charge a lot for the exam. Luckily we had a longstanding relationship with our vet, and our 2 sick babies so he took that onto consideration


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QEII is another option, but they were booked too far out.


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And here they are 2 months later

They're so cute!  Do you have to use a Pet relocation service?  Our vet is USDA approved and my dogs already have microchips but I need to check if they are the correct kind.  I'm a little confused if the cargo area the the dogs ride in is pressurized why do Shih tzu's have problems - isn't it the same as riding in the cabin?

Certain airlines have special holds for pets.  Air Animal (the relocation service I used) knew which airlines and flights were best.  They are pressurised (have to be for our pets to arrive alive!) and heated.  Nice and dark with the hum of the engines to soothe them to sleep.   

I think it's liability with the snub nosed breeds.

I'm told that the cargo bins where they ride are pressurized and climate controlled. We used Petrelocation.com for our two disabled dogs.


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Ps, your vet should be able to tell you if they have the correct chips. A vet told me that she had worked with people who had done it on their own ( she turned out to not be credible about other things though- there was initially some confusion on wether our own vet was certified-he was, but somehow my husband thought he told him he wasn't-my husband, another story in itself) I didn't want to chance them getting quarantined upon arrival to Glasgow if there was one detail missing, and there are many details. It can take hours for them to get through customs, on both ends, you would wait with them. I believe Pet Relo made sure that Glasgow had an agent available for their arriving flight.


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Following this thread. I'll be doing this in a few months I think. $5000 scares me a bit--is it less expensive to just fly with them on your personal ticket in cargo on an approved route?

Also does anyone know what the list of approved microchips are? Ours are Avid from about 12-13 years ago.

Following this thread. I'll be doing this in a few months I think. $5000 scares me a bit--is it less expensive to just fly with them on your personal ticket in cargo on an approved route?

Also does anyone know what the list of approved microchips are? Ours are Avid from about 12-13 years ago.

You can call around to get quotes from a variety of places, but $1500-2000 per pet is a minimum I'd expect after following these forums. The chips need to be ISO compliant, if they're 15 years old they might not be. For avid's ISO compliant chip, it should be 15 numbers with no letters starting with 977. http://www.datamars.com/wp-content/uploads/PetLink-Microchip-Guide_USA.pdf

Thank you @margo!

Darn. I guess ours are non compliant. They are Set up like

123*123*123

and of course I just vaccinated them so I'll have to do it again. Sigh.

I was hopeful we could do this for less--I called United as they have an approved route into Glasgow and for my pets' size it was $674 + tax each. Of course a human ticket for when we need is $1400+ one way so that may not do much to save money.

Call the Animal Reception Centre at the airport that will be receiving your animals.  They'll confirm if they need to be rechipped or not.