Taking My Dog To New Zealand

[Hokit]

I am taking my dog with me to auckland (NZ). Any company or expert recommend? My dog is a 2 years old. She is Bichon frise. She is about 4-5 kg. My best quote is 2400 including all clearance.

[Scottsmum]

Hi I did this last year - Sydney to wellington.

If you PM me I will share some quotes and experiences

[Dogsfevr]

Thats a good price .

[Hokit]

Anyone has good price? I have seen some best quote from the forum is around 1800

[Scottsmum]

I've responded to Hokit - but thought I'd add a shorter, general comment here - for future researchers.

I've gone through my emails and it looks like I've deleted some of the information I had gathered (most stuff I didn't directly use).

I was sydney based and got quotes from Jet pets, sky pets, dogtainers, pet carriers international and Mooreholme park (DOLer Wayrod)

Scottie was right on 10 kilo when we were in the process of moving. He's a tall fox terrier.

I was quoted between 2300 and 3915 for him - based on my description & weight - no other measurements.

The high quote was revised down, with no explanation, when I asked why it was so much higher than all the others. They revised down to 2350 - but by then they'd lost my custom (I actually think it was the removal company adding a bit of cream to the pot - but regardless - no deal).

In the end I picked the company I did for a really silly reason - but there just wasn't enough difference in cost or customer service at the quoting stage to make a choice. So I picked my company because they have a facebook page and they were regularly posting pics of happy dogs and cats coming and going from their offices. Dumb reason I know - but that's how I picked them.

All my quotes broke down into freight, vet visit #2, NZ customs. You'll be expected to pay for vet visit #1 - with a quarantine vet - which is unlikely to be your regular vet- your shipping company will give you the name of an allowed vet + your schedule -. My vet was lovely - its a really straight forward process. A check up along the lines of an annual / vaccination check. Blood test for heart worm, they check your vaccination records and do a general physical + test for a thing... which sounds like babesia (not how you spell it)

While my dog arrived healthy and happy (ONLY important thing) I had some complaints;

I sent meds with him which were not given as instructed

I was contacted directly by NZ quarantine, via Qantas and asked to complete paperwork and pay a fee - which I really objected to as I assumed my company would do all of that for me. I thought I was employing them / contracting them to do the paperwork. And, what appeared to be a large amount of amount of money (to me) should have been all inclusive. Of course this was during my last week at work when I was frantically trying to get wrapped up and finalize the house move too. It was the MPI NZL form. It also required an airway number - when I called *my company* to get it they were surprised I had to do this - so its possible it was a new process - but I was pissed off they were not across it. They supplied the airway number - they didn't offer to help do the form! I also completed the NZ Customs processing form and sent that off to another contact at NZQ. I then had to call NZ and pay via credit card!

When we arrived we also had to pay another fee (can't remember what or how much) at the counter before I could get him from the airport. We didn't actually go above the quoted price at any stage (I don't think - its a bit fuzzy) but I was really shitty about that! Never followed it up - I really should have! Again - just another surprise - it would have been fine if it had been mentioned.

The other thing worth mentioning was that I thought I was hiring the crate he was shipped in - but we actually purchased it. When I went to leave it at the terminal I was told I could but it would have to be destroyed and that most people took theirs and sold them to re-coup some money. I'm glad we kept ours - it has come in handy - but the car I was picked up in was tiny and full to the brim with me, the driver, things for the house for my fist night + 3 huge bags - so it was a moment of panic to try and fit a huge crate in too!

So basically I paid for someone to collect my dog from my house, one night board in sydney, drop off at airport + one vet visit. I didn't need "plane to door" at the other end so no idea if that was included or not.

We never got a post on facebook - ha ha ha - I guess he wasn't cute enough for them. One last whiny thing - we didn't get any form of follow up. Not a single email or call to see how he got on - which I thought was extremely poor considering the cost & stress of flying a much loved pet. I think a call would have helped with a lot of the grumpiness I have expressed here.

Bascically, the thought crossed my mind a number of times that it would have been easier to do it myself - but I dont think it would have been.

Remember when i said he was tall? He was also bumped up into the next crate size at no extra cost to me. Which I appreciate and I wasn't faffing about with him at the airport while trying to calm my own nerves and saying good bye to my parents

So while I wouldn't enthusiastically endorse them - they were fine. Adequate. As I said - he got here safe and well and that's all that matters to me.

Just be vigilant about hidden costs. Your lowest quote seems very low for a flight from WA - its possible its just 'freight' and you'll be expected to pay other things along the way.

Other things:

Factor in the cost of local dog rego fees (about 130 per year in my council area - could be more in Auk. It's paid annually and you get a small discount / you pay a pro-rata amount - but they've just been renewed for the year so you'll have to pay close to the full amount). This is compulsory.

It costs about $15 to have your dogs microchip added to the NZ register too. I don't think this is 100% required - but it makes sense.

[brightstar123]

About 6wks ago I shipped my Lab and four cats to NZ with Dogtainers. Friendly customer service but the main thing to be aware of is that some companies offer an all-inclusive service eg Jetpets, where as some are more just freight companies. So companies like Dogtainers don't include the first lot of vet treatments, the MPI fee, handling fees etc. Even still, there was a significant price difference for me between different companies so shop around and get quotes from different vets for the pre-export treatments too. You can provide your own Nexgard and Milbemax at some vets.

I was happy to organise/pay for the treatments, fees etc, but I did have to stay on top of things and it was stressful at times making sure everything was done correctly. It would have been nice to have someone else handle everything but it was so much more expensive.

Dogtainers were very flexible with crate sizes and they were happy to ship two adult cats together in one large crate, which was great for us. I didn't think they did that. All up it cost me about $4700 total for the cats and the dog and I was pretty happy with that. Next time though, I'll probably just organise it myself as it kind of felt like I almost did that anyway. And yes, be very aware of all the hidden extra fees you have to pay on pick up at the airport, for me it was around an extra $400-500 (on top of the MPI fee I had paid earlier).

The AQIS vet that did the treatments for me strongly recommended Sky Pets, I don't know much about them but I'd definitely look into it next time.

[OSoSwift]

From WA call Sherae Petlink for a quote as well.

[Kiri]

I am interested in taking my Cocker Spaniel to New Zealand for 4 months and am aware of the general costs and procedures but am interested in the experiences of others and their preferred carriers.

[Scottsmum]

I am interested in taking my Cocker Spaniel to New Zealand for 4 months and am aware of the general costs and procedures but am interested in the experiences of others and their preferred carriers.

My comments are above & detailed.

You're welcome to private message if you'd like me to name them.

[angelsun]

contact Mooreholme Pet transport. I'm using them at the moment for domestic travel mostly but they handled everything for a recent import and all at a very fair price. They usually can come under most for quotes.

[Kiri]

contact Mooreholme Pet transport. I'm using them at the moment for domestic travel mostly but they handled everything for a recent import and all at a very fair price. They usually can come under most for quotes.

Thanks