I mainly use Delta Airlines. Included in the shipping price is the airline fee, insurance, and taxes, the crate w/attached food and water dishes the puppy is shipped in, veterinary health certificate, a collar and leash, and a rug from home to bed the crate. The airline requires that puppies not be fed for 3-4 hours prior to shipping to avoid air-sickness, so you will want to feed and water your puppy as soon as you get him/her home. A bag of food is taped to the kennel in case of delays during the flight. Puppies cannot be shipped before they are 8 weeks old. I also include a stuffed toy for the puppies I ship. Most are on the plane for 4 to 8 hours and may change planes as many as 3 times during shipping, depending on their destination. I've found that the stuffed toy makes the trip more comfortable for the puppies. The airlines only ship live animals to major airports, so you will need to provide me with the name and city of the major airport nearest to you, your name, address and telephone number, and the name of the person who will be picking up the puppy if it is someone other than the buyer. The airline will ask for a picture ID before they will turn it over to the person picking it up. The above information is required by the airline for me to make the reservation for the flight. Most destinations will have 2 or 3 flights available at different times daily. Delta is the only one I've found that will ship on weekends. I set up the reservations online and forward the flight schedule to the buyer. The buyer's name, address and telephone number are also required to get the health certificate for shipping.
**$100.00 higher for Doberman pups over 12 weeks of age.
*On rare occasions I use Northwest Airlines if Delta doesn't have an available airport connection. The only available flights on NW leave here at 6 AM and only Monday through Friday.
The puppies are shipped in crates like the one pictured above, or another similar brand. The food is in a zip lock bag taped on top. The pink paper on the side is the health certificate and also contains flight information paperwork. The sticker on the top front has the name, address, phone number, and signature of the shipper. The name, address and phone number of the buyer and the last time the puppy was fed and watered before shipping and the time limitation of when it should be fed and watered again in case of flight delays. The leash is tied to the handle of the carrier. (My thanks to Tanya for providing me pictures of Nemesis's shipping crate :)
