Korean Job Discussion Forums

[eui.yun]

Does anyone have any experience with this? I'm planning to go back home in September. I have a chubby Yorkie that will probably have to go in cargo and I'm just wondering if there are any issues I should prepare to deal with...

She already has her rabies shots and I'm good friends with the vets so I know it won't be any problem getting papers.

Also... my dog freaks out anytime she's in enclosed spaces. What can I do to make her feel more comfortable in the pet carrier? Gah... stress

[sineface]

Hey. First of all, if you haven't already done so, go to www.pettravel.com
because they have answers to all questions you could ever have. If your yorkie is too heavy( 11lbs total, including carrier) then he will indeed have to go cargo, and the best thing to do is get him used the to cage asap. If he's crate trained already, this will help lots. Otherwise, start crate training him now That should help with the anxiety. I've also read that if you put a dirty tshirt or blanket that smells of you in with the dog when they fly, it helps to calm them to a certain extent. I take it 'home' isn't the UK or NZ, right? Then you'd have a whole new bundle of hassle to deal with. Anyway, check our pet travel, and check out www.animalrescuekorea.org as they have forums where people talk about this very subject all the time.

Good luck.

[Jove]

We used Asiana on a return flight from the U.S. Our dog was small enough (under 10 lbs) with the soft carrying case to fit under the seat. It was a long rough flight for her and she was sick from stress for a few weeks after. Going back to North America wasn't as bad. If I were to do it again, I would put her in her hard case and put her under the plane. More room to move around and find comfortable positions.

You do need to get some special paperwork to give to a animal safety department at Incheon airport (so arrive earlier than usual and you need the paperwork before checking in.) and you will need to show that paperwork to the immigration officials when arriving in the U.S. Both the Itaewon animal hospital and Chunghwa animal hospitals in Itaewon will do this for you.

Should you come back to Korea, you will need the paperwork from here, as well as paperwork from a Vet and the USDA in the U.S. which you have to show at check-in.

As for getting you pup ready for the trip, get a travel kennel soon and start leaving your dog in there for increasingly longer times during the day. You might also try closing your dog in at nights when you are sleeping. It can be rough at first, but until we recently adopted a kitten, our pup was sleeping in her kennel every night. It became her safe place.

[eui.yun]

thanks for the tips! i will look into everything asap