Whether leaving on a jet plane, catching a train, boat, or car ride with your new puppy, or hiring a professional to bring him or her to your doorstep, choosing your transportation needs to be done quickly and arranged well before the pick up date chosen by the breeder. Breeders chose a date or weekend for their puppies to go home, generally anytime at or after the pups reach 8 wks old. In many states, 8 wks is the minimum age that a breeder can send puppies to their new homes, so please- if your breeder is planning on a sooner date, check with not only the breeders state laws, but yours too if you live in a different state. Please be courteous and do everything in your power to make the date earmarked for pickup. Breeders have families too, and for the last 4 months or more raising this litter they have sacrificed family time, dates, weddings, reunions, vacations, and holidays. So even though they may be a bit sad to see their puppies leave, they are REALLY looking forward to getting a break from the constant clean up, responsibility of having a bunch of puppies in their house. Should you know right away that the date chosen will be impossible to work around due to prior commitments, let the breeder know ASAP so that a date can be setup with plenty of notice. Please note: this does not mean that after agreeing to the pick up date that you can suddenly change your mind because you got invited to a party. So make sure you let your significant other the date and go over your calendars together so that there are no misunderstandings. Depending on the distance of travel, time of year/weather, and how much time you have for traveling, and expense, you have several options for getting your new puppy from point A to point B safe, sound, and as quickly as possible. Regardless, these plans should be started as soon as the birth of the pups is announced and pick up date is given, and set in stone no later than 2 wks prior to pickup. 1. Driving and meeting the breeder, the mother and possibly the sire of the litter, as well as any litter mates is usually the preferred method. Of course time and distance are a factor, along with cost of gas, food, and any hotel if needed. I highly recommend this mode of travel if you are within 8 hrs one way. I tell my clients to try to arrive Friday evening, stay over night in town, and come by to pick up their puppy at around 8-9am the next day. This gives them time to spend with the litter and the breeder without rushing, and also gives them the entire day for travel home. Sunday then gets to be spent at home all day acclimating the puppy to its new home. 2. Flying in/out with puppy in carrier in cabin of plane. This option is great for people with airline miles and rental car points or the really lucky few with access to private planes that can fly into smaller airports. The only caveat of course is finding the nearest airport with as few connections as possible to avoid layovers. Also, you have to make sure that you are picking the puppy up as close to 8 wks of age as possible because they quickly grow and there is a size and weight restriction due to carrier size having to fit under the seat, even if you move it to your lap once you are in the air. This option works great for those traveling during winter weather if you have to cross over mountains that would otherwise be next to impossible. You still have to keep terrible weather in mind, but at least you and the puppy will be stranded in a hotel together! 3. Professional pet transporter. This could be either a pet air nanny that flies in/out with your puppy or a ground transporter that has a modified vehicle for safely transporting pets long distances. Either way. Make sure that any company that you hire is licensed, bonded, insured, and DOT regulated. Really dig into their references, their websites and social media pages for comments, complaints, and any red flags that might otherwise be not be caught before committing to using them, they will have complete control and responsibility over you puppy once it leaves the breeders premises so make sure that you are putting its life and your trust in the right hands. This is often a "you get what you pay for" scenario and saving a hundred dollars can literally be a matter of life or death to a young puppy where dehydration, stress, over heating, or catching a disease while on the road either from other dogs being transported or from dirty equipment/crates, or surroundings while stopping to air dogs in route to your home. I generally give new owners a list of transporters that I trust and I know have a great reputation for treating their charges well. The ultimate responsibility for hiring the transporter is up to the new owner, with payment directly to them. You should be booking your transport as soon as the pups are born and you know when the pick up date is chosen by the breeder. Most transporters run a "route" picking up and dropping off dogs along the way so the breeder needs to know ASAP when the transporter will be able to pickup your puppy, as it likely will be a different date and during the work week. 4. Some breeders may offer shipping the puppy via air cargo. This is usually done if the puppy/dog is traveling overseas. It used to happen frequently for those flying large distances within the continental U.S. before covid, but since then airlines are much less reliable and many are refusing to ship live animals via cargo without owner also flying same flight. Many animals are getting "bumped" off of flights, without new owners or the breeder being contacted- until the new owner arrives at the airport looking for their puppy only to find out the somewhere along the way it missed it's flight. For that reason (it happened too many times to us PRE-covid!) we do not offer that option. We also live 3+ hours from nearest large international airport and transports via cargo are recommended for flights leaving first thing in the morning- which is generally before 7 am, and having to have the puppy there minimum of 2 hrs before loading, that would mean that I would have to leave my house in the middle of the night and not making it back until mid morning. Something that, as I have gotten older, refuse to do. Again, I cannot reiterate how important it is to have your transport plans made well in advance and all plan communicated with the breeder. Also note that special requests for a different pick up date will either be met with a NO from the breeder OR there will likely be a boarding fee assessed if you are asking them to hold onto the puppy longer than a day or two past assigned date. Generally the puppy must be paid for in full prior to any shipping method that does not involve actually meeting the owner face to face. We ask that if using a transport company that the full price of the puppy be paid for electronically 3 days prior to puppy leaving, and if by check, then it must have cleared the bank before the puppy leaves the premises. This includes any additional fees associated with any health certificate and vet visit for shipping, any boarding fees and vet visits with vaccines and worming to keep updated, etc...
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