Flying our Staffies into Canada

My partner and I are currently teaching in England and are looking to move back to Canada when our jobs finish in July. Since being here we adopted 2 staffies and would like to import them back to Canada with us.

Any advice on airlines that are accommodating to staffies?
I've also heard there are restrictions on flying dogs between June 20th and September 10th due to higher temperatures. Does anyone have information on that as well?

Thanks so much
Lauren

Hi Lauren

There should be no difficulty in flying them to Canada.
I highly recommend airpaws.com to help you

Hi Lauren, I've no experience of flying dogs across continents but would have thought that any live animal being flown would be in a pressurised temperature controlled hold area on the plane.

Below is a useful link from Heathrow's animal welfare site that gives some info. There is another link on the page about animal shipping agents which might also be useful (it's on the left hand side)
http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/services/port-health-and-animal-health/animal-health/heathrow-animal-reception-centre/importing-your-dog-cat-or-ferret/Pages/container-regulations.aspx the other thing to check on is the import of your two into Canada as they might have to be quarantined for a set time on arrival.

When you get a min, pop along here and say Hi. We would love to know how you get on with this and your experience could well help others:-
https://staffy-bull-terrier.niceboard.com/f7-new-member-introductions

Do you think flying the dogs on my own is an option?
The quotes I've been getting from some of the pet travel sites have been around 1000 pounds each dog, where as having the pups as extra baggage is just 100. What accounts for such a big difference?

I would imagine that the pet transporters will arrange everything from the crate to the import the other side and all inbetween hence the extra cost, but to charge 1k for each seems high, I would have thought that transporting 2 wouldn't be that much higher than one.

Looking at the site I posted earlier, it does mention that some airlines won't take animals unless you have used a specialised company. If your keen on doing it independently I would contact the airlines that you are considering using as they might have specific requirements.

This will be an interesting read.. I too am looking into relocating to Canada (Toronto, specifically) but I do know that they have the whole 'Bull terrier' breed on their 'banned' list.. so how would you go around that?

[rtl]Contact the airline directly and contact DEFRA to make sure you have everything needed :basically passport+vaccinations but [/rtl]

[rtl]changes from country to country c[/rtl]

goldie87 wrote:This will be an interesting read.. I too am looking into relocating to Canada (Toronto, specifically) but I do know that they have the whole 'Bull terrier' breed on their 'banned' list.. so how would you go around that?

We were originally hoping for Toronto, but because of the ban we will have to relocate. I do know of people who have had vets change their papers to say they're either older (any dog born before 2005 is fine) or a different breed (an american bulldog mix is usually the go to).

I think my one dog Spot just looks too much like a staffie to pull it off and couldn't risk it. I think if you're caught they give you a month to relocate though, so you could always try!

Do stick around here and let us know how you get on. Think your right, spot looks more classic Staff whereas Toffee could well be called a cross.

Is it a country wide ban on bull breeds in Canada or just regional ?

Just Ontario, so 1 of the 13 provinces/territories of Canada. Then one city has them banned in Manitoba, but the rest of Canada loves them as much as we do