Keyarna Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 Hi all, My partner and I are going on holiday for a fortnight to Perth (we live near Gladstone, QLD). We had a GSP who is a bit over a year old now, a very friendly boy but has seperation anxiety. We can't decide what to do with him, I think he would find the plane a terrible experience if we were to take him, but then again I don't know how he'd cope being away from us for 2 weeks either. Has anyone else flown a very anxious dog? I'm going to miss him terribly if we board him, but I think he would be safer there as i'm not even sure what type of fence my partner's parents have. They do have another dog (lab) but there's no guarantee they'd get along, and then i'd be stressing every time we went out if he's going to try and jump the fence and escape, he has no road sense. So does anyone have any tips or advice, and could someone recommend a good boarding kennel we can check out around the Central Queensland area? If need be we will drive down to Brisbane to board him there, and just take the plane from Brisbane -> Perth. We'd prefer somewhere near Gladstone though so incase anything happens my parents are nearby, plus then we don't have to drive 6 hours down to Brisbane, then 6 hours again when we fly back. Any help would be much appreciated! Keyarna Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 We run kennels & i will be the first to admit GSP can be hard to board but not impossible. Generally the insecure ones are fine for a week & then start to drop weight quite quickly. You need a kennel where they spend ALOT of outside time & things to amuse there mind,even swapping outside yards for different smells is enough to give them time out from there thoughts. One of the obvious pitfalls of a stress dog & a breed predisposed to Bloat is they are at higher risk although we haven't had one bloat here but the kennel you pick should be very offay with the signs of bloat . If the dog iisn't crate trained then certainly the stress level will be high before the dog has started & i would never sedate it . The same risks of bloat will still apply even if the dog is with you as higher stress situations increase the risk. Does the breeder of your dog now anyone who is good with GSP,some breeders take there own dogs back . If it was me i would go with suggestion A & board close to parents Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lollipup Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 Could a friend or relative dogsit? I know of a couple of good boarding kennels such as Isis Pet Motel between Bundaberg and Childers, or Sunshine Coast Pet Resort at Caloundra, but still can be so stressful for them. I have never used these kennels personaly but I have spent a week at the Sunshine Coast one and the Isis one has been recommended to me as the best in the Bundaberg area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyarna Posted January 28, 2011 Author Share Posted January 28, 2011 (edited) So it might be better to bring him with us then? We would drive down to Brisbane with him in the car, and meet Dogtainers at Brisbane aiport then straight to Perth - I think it's a 6 or 7 hour flight from there. I have no doubt he will whinge and whine for a while, but I think (hope) after a bit he would calm down and perhaps nap for a while. He is relatively crate trained, he sleeps in one all night but we never lock him in it during the day. Sigh just so stressed about him, if he was fine away from us I wouldn't have a problem boarding him for 2 weeks. There's noone close by that would be willing to have him either. We went on a weeks holiday back in December and we boarded him at Iveragh Kennels, they did seem like very nice people but when we picked him up he had lost a fair bit of weight and had lost his voice aswell - no doubt probably due to him stressing on not anything on their end I hope. Also they wouldn't let us feed him his own food and we had to agree to let them feed their homemade meals - is this usual for a kennel? Thanks for the suggestions so far. Edited January 28, 2011 by Keyarna Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyarna Posted January 29, 2011 Author Share Posted January 29, 2011 (edited) Just got a quote back from Dogtainers - $1500. Is that normal? Thats just for crate hire, and the 'standard' airline fees? We are dropping him off and picking him up from the airport aswell so there isn't even the cost of a home pickup? I'm not sure if it would be cheaper to organise ourselves, it's just we are stuck with the crate as obviously we can't use one of the standard collapable crates, and i'm worried we'll buy one that isn't airlined approved. EDIT: On a positive note, we just got back from a walk and it's one of the first times he's been really well behaved and not pulling so wildly! We are using a Black Dog halter, in conjunction with training and treating still - hopefully he gets the idea stuck in his brain so we can go back to just a choker! Edited January 29, 2011 by Keyarna Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 Did you tell them he was travelling with you & you just wanted to hire a crate. Unless prices have changed dramatically i would say that so not right(well i hope not because i fly large dogs yearly) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayrod Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 As Showdog has mentioned, travelling with you on either Qantas or Virgin Blue Airlines. Note: If you are travelling with Jetstar and Tiger Airways they do not transport pets. (from Virgin Blue website) (Qantas rates should be somewhat similar) Australian Domestic Flights The pet and container will be weighed and the fee charged according to the combined weight of each pet and cage. Fees are non-refundable, and payable: Per sector (a formal connection is classed as a single sector). Per container. On check-in of your pet. Size Weight Fee (AUD) *GST Inclusive (Includes pet weight and crate weight) Small Pet 0 - 10 kgs $55.00 Medium Pet 11 - 20 kgs $75.00 Large Pet 21 - 30 kgs $100.00 Extra Large Pet 31+ kgs $100.00 + $4.00 for every kilogram over 30 kgs So the only thing extra would be crate hire each way which depending on the company that you hire from would be approx $55-$80 each way. A lot cheaper than air freight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyarna Posted January 29, 2011 Author Share Posted January 29, 2011 Phew! Maybe they misunderstood, I did mention he would be travelling with us as extra luggage - I will have to contact them again I really have no idea how transporting pets work - do Dogtainers even do what we require ie just the crate hire etc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GSD FAN Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 I was very nervous flying my timid GSD over from Adelaide to Melbourne. I think she did okay but I didn't. I fretted about her the whole time. I was so relieved to see her the other end. She did end up losing weight for the time that we were away (10 days) and was a little clingy but was fine when we got back home. I probably wouldnt do it again though unless necessary, for my nerves Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crisovar Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 Phew! Maybe they misunderstood, I did mention he would be travelling with us as extra luggage - I will have to contact them againI really have no idea how transporting pets work - do Dogtainers even do what we require ie just the crate hire etc? Yes, You can Hire or Purchase crates form Dogtainers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyarna Posted January 29, 2011 Author Share Posted January 29, 2011 Thanks Crisovar, and yes GSD Fan I think that will be the case for me to, I will probably be stressing more than he will be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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