LONG DISTANCE DELIVERY OPTIONS SUCH AS AIRLINES OR COURIER SERVICES:

Many people are skeptical about shipping a young puppy on an airline. However, we would like to clear up some misconceptions to help you decide if long distance shipping by airlines or courier is right for you.

The most common misconception is where the puppy rides on the aircraft. Some have heard that the puppy rides in the luggage bay in the bottom of the aircraft where it is dark, cold, scary and frankly, unsafe. However, this misconception is completely false. All live animals ride in a temperature controlled, pressurized part of the main cabin. Smaller aircraft that do not have pressurization or a temperature controlled interior cannot accept live animals on board by FAA regulation. Puppies never ride in the overhead bin of the passenger seating area. You may have heard this did happen once back in 2018 because of a STUPID flight attendant that instructed the customer who was traveling with their dog to place it in the overhead bin. That airline employee was terminated immediately. This never happened before and hasn't happened since. It was just a matter of one poorly trained employee and frankly, a passenger that wasn't thinking straight or using common sense.

We have shipped close to a hundred puppies by airline over the past two decades without a single incident. Our customers have always reported back to us that their puppy was in a great and cheerful spirit upon arrival, and did not experience any kind of stress. This is extremely important to us, otherwise we wouldn't allow it. We cannot speak to the suitability of airline travel of other breeds of dogs, but Golden Retrievers do quite well.

If you live quite a distance from us and you are thinking to have your puppy shipped by airlines, here are some very important considerations before placing a deposit and getting on one of our waiting lists:

1. Live animal shipments are highly regulated by the airline industry for safety, humaneness, and liability. Outside temperatures at the originating airport, transfer or stopover airports, and final destinations cannot be higher than 85F degrees or lower than 20F degrees at the time when the aircraft takes off or lands. This is not because the animal is forced to stay outside in extreme temperatures for long periods of time, but rather for just a short period of time to get it to the next aircraft or inside a building where temperatures are suitable for the animal.

This being the case, if one of our puppy litters is born between April and July, or between September and January, it is highly unlikely that the puppy will be able to fly two months later when it is old enough to travel. This is because of the higher temps from June thru September or lower temps from November thru March in many areas of the U.S. There are exceptions to this depending on how far north or how far south you live and the average temperatures during those times. The usual cost to ship a puppy by airlines is between $450 and $500 and includes an airlines approved travel crate. Keep in mind that if airline shipment is a must for you due to distance, please consider these restrictions and additional costs before making a decision to purchase one of our puppies. Temperatures will determine whether the puppy is ultimately shipped.

ALTERNATIVELY,

2. Temperature restrictions do not come into play when a courier service is used. A courier service is where the puppy travels with a human escort and the puppy buyer usually meets the escort at the airport to receive the puppy in person. The cost of a courier service is usually between $500 and $1200 depending on things like: is an overnight stay is required, how far in advance is the travel booked, the flight season, non-refundable ticketing restrictions, and the airline used.

There are some advantages with a courier service and also some disadvantages. The most obvious advantage being you get to meet with us or our representative, receive the puppy directly from the escort (regardless of how hot or cold it is where you live), and the paperwork is handled on the spot. However, payment for the puppy and courier service is required when the travel is booked. In addition, if something comes up that prevents the puppy buyer from taking delivery of their puppy, refunds are minimal and possibly none. Not that we are trying to be unfair, but involving a courier service while trying to keep the costs to a minimum is very difficult to un-wind without major costs. If you’ve ever booked your own travel, you know that when you choose unrestricted booking that allows one to cancel for any reason, prices go up quite a bit and makes a courier service cost prohibitive for the buyer in most cases. Therefore to keep costs down, unrestricted bookings that allow changes and/or cancellations are usually not purchased.

If a courier service is of interest to you, possibly because driving out to our facility or temperature restrictions would make it impossible for you to get a puppy from us, please feel free to call us and we can discuss this in more detail.

We hope this helps you make the best decisions for your situation and clears up any misconceptions about long distance puppy travel.