Shipping Dogs Across Country: How Much Does It Cost?

You need to relocate internationally for business purposes but you are worried about your pet dog. In such cases, most owners plan to move their pets with them across the country/overseas. While they are excited about the move, it’s difficult not to ponder on the expenses involved in shipping dogs across country.

Well, answering this question is complicated. This is because of the series of costs involved throughout the shipping process. As a result, these individual items add up to the final price tag of your pet relocation. To help you get a better idea of pet relocation, here’s a guide that states all the add-ons and estimates to ship dogs internationally. By the end of the blog, we hope our guide can help you create an estimate/budget for your international pet travel.

Note:

➢    All the numbers included in the blog are just estimates. Contact your service provider/a professional to get a clear quote.

➢    Adding more services/conditions to your relocation will make the listed prices vary.

International Dog Shipping Expenses

Travel Crate

Now, irrespective of how your pet is traveling (In-cabin/cargo hold), you need to buy a kennel that caters to the airline regulations. Make sure you check in with all the travel crate costs prior to shipping. In addition, don’t skip purchasing two water bowls to attach to the door.

●     Example Estimate: A dog kennel can cost you anywhere between $50USD and $400USD. The cost however depends on your dog size. You can also go for custom crates if your dog is of a larger breed. Roughly, a custom crate begins at a rate of $1,000.

Veterinary Visits

Right from casual vaccinations to health checks and blood tests, shipping dogs across country will need one vet visit. Note that you need to visit a government-approved or accredited veterinarian for an international relocation.

●       Example Estimate: A vet visit and health certificate can widely range from 75 USD up to USD 250. Try visiting multiple vets and choose the one that fits your budget.

Airline Fees And Ticket

Clearly, most of your dog move budget will come under the airfare costs. In addition, because pets need extra attention and care, airlines charge a higher price depending on the dog breed and intensity of care. In fact, these charges are much costlier than a passenger’s ticket price

Moreover, you need to determine if your dog would need a layover. Layovers for pets generally come with an additional cost. However, this ensures that your pet will be well-looked at a pet hotel unless they board on to the next flight.

●    Example Estimate: Shipping a small dog via cargo will cost around $275 USD to $300 USD. Shipping large dogs will cost more than $1000 USD. Note that these are domestic move charges. International flights cost 3x times more than this amount depending on the location.

Any Other Transport Services?

Yes! Let’s have a look.

Ground Transportation 

Let’s get straight to the estimate. The cost of ground transportation generally depends on the duration and length of the journey. Roughly, ground transportation rates might begin at $2200 – $2400 for a 10-hour drive and $6000 – $6400 for shipping dogs across country.

Pet Taxis

Now, hiring a pet taxi can be expensive. Considering the climate-controlled vehicle, other costs that add on to the cost of shipping include the fuel costs, traffic, duration, distances traveled, etc.

●       Example Estimate: As discussed above, costs vary under a variety of factors including the number of pets, distance from the airport, city, etc. Ideally, transporting a dog within the US for 10 miles will cost you around $275 USD. International taxis will cost much more.

Costs Adding Up To Shipping Dogs Internationally

Government Endorsements Or Approvals

Considering your move, you need to carry the veterinary paperwork with you to attain a government endorsement or approval before traveling. Several countries ask for multiple endorsements like USDA endorsement or a Consular. Make sure you check in with the rules and regulations of importing dogs to your destination country.

●       Example Estimate: You can find accurate USDA endorsement fees on their website. For a dog with no blood tests, the fees may charge up to $38 USD.

Import Permits

Many countries allow a permit to enter their boundaries only if you have a pet import permit at hand. It is quite obvious that obtaining formal approval from the government to import your pet overseas can cost a high price.

●       Example Estimate: Obtaining an import permit for relocating to Australia from the US can cost you around $480 AUD. Note that this is the permit fee of shipping one dog.

Custom Clearance

When your dog arrives in the destination country, note that several clearance steps include a fee. These involve taxes, brokers, tariffs, and country fees. Upon clearing, your dog will be released to you.

●       Example Estimate: Speaking of New Zealand, the country custom clearance will cost you around $28.19 NZD (fixed) to $186.30 NZD (hourly).

What’s The Take On Shipping Dogs Across Country At COVID-19 Times?

Well, the answer to this is, quarantine. Countries like Malaysia and New Zealand call for a quarantine period fee. Owners need to pay a fee to keep their pets in the quarantine facility. Bear in mind that these are not regular quarantine centers but they provide more than accommodation for your fur friend. They offer outdoor time, food, walks, and medical care just in case.

●       Example Estimate: Let’s consider Singapore. Pets Owners moving to Singapore will need to pay at least $336.50 SGD for allowing their dog to stay in quarantine for 10 days.

To Sum Up

Now that you know the variations in costs for shipping dogs across country, know that the costs do not end here. There are still small costs involved that add up to the overall final cost of shipping your dog internationally. Managing pet relocation costs is highly stressful and complex. Hence, make sure you connect with a pet relocation company that deals in providing all-in-one service to avoid cost breakup. By the end of the blog, we would like to quote that it might be expensive to manage your pet throughout the shipping process by hiring a professional but one thing that you can rest assured is that your pets are safe.