A lot of people ask why does it cost so much to ship a puppy and why do different breeders charge different prices for shipping???? Marion Shiller of Meadow Springs Kennel in TX has written the following article in hopes to clear up some issues about the process of shipping.

     When breeders are asked to ship a puppy and they explain there will be a shipping and handling charge and what the cost is might differ from one breeder to another.  For one thing it depends on their expenses to get the puppy to the Airport.

     There is much more in shipping a puppy than just simply getting it to the Airport. Many factors come into play. Once someone has decided on a puppy, the first thing to do is find the closet airport that will work for the new owner. Most of the time that will take several hours plus emails or several phone calls getting everything worked out. First, it takes a lot of patience waiting on the phone line with the airport  trying to get a real person to speak with to make the actual flight booking, then you must call the people purchasing the pup and see if this time is acceptable. Remember, time zones change and what may be good for one person may not be good for the other during rush hour etc etc. This booking has to be done 7 days in advance of shipping.  Ok, the flight has now been scheduled but there is still a lot more to do.

     The next step will be taking the puppy to the vet for the health certificate and certificate of acclimation in some instances. These documents are only good for 7-10 days depending on what state you live in. Health certificates also vary greatly from state to state. Some as cheep as 10.00 up to 45.00.  Yup hard to believe but it’s really true. So the vet visit has taken up half a day for some breeders like me, plus mileage to the vet clinic and back plus the price of the heath certificate.

     Now you must supply a transport crate for the pup. If you are lucky and already have a crate on hand you won’t use up another half day going to buy one. If you’re really lucky the crate will come with the two food cups that MUST be in the crate with the pup. If not, then you need to also go and buy some of those.

     Next thing is to get the new shipping crate ready with all the papers and information for the new owners. I make crate pads and put baby blankets and soft toys with the other puppies scent plus chew toys. Other breeders use different things in the crate but regardless there must be absorbent material on the bottom and mandatory water cup and food cup attached. Some breeders freeze the cup with water the night before and place it frozen in the crate. This way the pup can lick the ice if thirsty while is slowly melts making less of a spill mess. Food must be attached to the crate in some fashion. Usually several rolls of tape eventually make the bag stick on the crate!!!!

     Last but not least is making the 100 mile one way to the airport, most times getting up before daylight or fighting the morning work traffic. That takes another full day plus cost of fuel and up keep on your automobile and usually having to spend money on two meals. Some breeders are local to airports so this part of the trip is not as trying. Oh and don’t forget the plastic bag, paper towels and some cleaning solution along with fresh material for the bottom of the crate should the pup have to relieve himself before he reaches the airport. Quite the diaper bag to say the least!!

     And I can promise you that any breeder that has ever shipped a puppy will agree how much stress this is on a breeder. Every breeder has anxiety when letting go of there pups hoping that the trip is a good one for the pup. Most times they are fairly long flights to extremely long flights for the little darlings that they so carefully raised.

     So now the breeder gets home but it’s not over yet. Now we need to call the people and give them the airway bill number so that they can track the pup in transit. By now all you really want to do is go to bed. You then watch the clock as the time passes wondering how the pup is doing until he arrives at his final destination.

     The time has now come for the new owners to pick up there pup at the other end. They anxiously await there new warm fuzzy puppy and gleefully waltz to the terminal to pick the new bundle of joy up. They zip in, pick up there new friend and take a nice trip home. They say, oh how easy that was!!!!!

     Now the breeder waits for that phone call, is the pup alright, did he have a good flight, was it on time……..shipping is not easy for the breeder.