Most airlines and international pet couriers reject brachycephalic dogs and cats as a flight risk.  For 50years we have been known as the only international pet transporters in NZ that can safely get your brachycephalic pets into the UK, Europe, Asia, USA, UAE, Africa, India, and Australia! We love your brachycephalic cats and dogs as much you do!  

Airlines avoid flying snubnosed dogs and cats due to their reduced ability to regulate body temperatures and propensity for respiratory distress.  In our 50years of international pet travel experience, we know snubnosed pets require greater ventilation in their travel crates to compensate for their broadhead / shortnose skull structure. We assist you with crate training to reduce anxiety induced respiratory distress. 

There are other safety measures to ensure successful delivery of your brachycephalic pet to your end destination, without qarantine. We plan the most direct routes possible that offer minimal temperature and humidity changes for your snubnosed pet on brachycephalic breed friendly airline carriers.  To date, the most brachycephalic friendly direct route to UK or Europe was with United Airlines who will cease operations here mid April until October 30

Whilst every airline has their own list of brachycephalic dogs and cats, which they change and update regularly. Here is a comprehensive list of brachycephalic dogs and dog breeds with brachycephalic tendencies from Air New Zealand:

As the most brachycephalic friendly airline, United Airline will shortly cease operations in New Zealand, extra planning and attention to detail will be need to fly snubnosed breeds overseas from NZ.  Different flight routes will need to be planned and prices may vary depending on your destination.  It will still be possible to move your snubnosed pets internationally but it will require more time. Ask us how we can help fly your brachycephalic pets overseas today to start planning your future move now.

Because Asia is one of our most popular pet transport destinations, we have a dedicated multi-lingual Asian Travel Consultant whom we affectionately call Mr. Asia.  Mr. Asia's real name is Michael Yong and he fluently speaks, Mandarin, Cantonese, Taiwanese, Malay, and can converse confidently in most other Asian languages within the ASEAN region.  This means he easily communicate with Asian airlines, Asian customs, Asian vets and Asian government officials throughout Asia on your behalf.  Nothing gets lost in translation!  Which makes booking your pet's travel to Asia a breeze.

One of our most senior consultants, another advantage of working with Mr Asia to get your precious pets from New Zealand to Asia, is his long standing relationships with most of the Asian airlines.  He helped establish many of the viable routes available to pets travelling the NZ to Asia routes which helped open up the region to pet transporters from down under. In a nut shell, you get mates rates and discounts that other international pet couriers can not provide.

The biggest and best advantage in using Mr. Asia is Michael's long-standing friendships with Asian customs brokers, airport officials, landing agents and government vets.  His ability to ensure your pets wellbeing and safety in transit is built on years and years of experience and trust building on the ground.  You can't replicate his in-depth understanding of local processes or first name knowledge of all the head honchos throughout the Asian Pacific and UAE region.  Both in NZ and Asia, Michael is regarded as the go-to-guy for all things pet transport related.

Whether you move your dog to Japan, cat to Taipei, kittens to Vietnam, puppies to Vietnam, litter to Thailand, farm dogs to Malaysia or show cats to China, there really is only one man for the job. Michael is supported by our team of logistics, admin, customs brokers and landing agents both here in New Zealand and on the ground in Asia to make sure your pet has happy and safe transport experience.  If you are from Asia and returning home with your pet, you can discuss your need in your native tongue - just remember to ask for Mr. Yong! He is waiting for your call on 09 256 0999

We had heard of such things as the SPCA scam and pet movers or pet transport colleagues in Australia being targeted by phishing emails and other fraudulent tactics to receive credit card details. Sadly now too, scammers are attempting to leverage our good name for bad.  Luckily our clients are pretty switched on and have notified us immediately! Here's an example of one such scam sent to us:

Some things to bear in mind for online safety when receiving any requests for payment online:

1. Company Letterhead / Logo: all our quotes have our address for service and NZ contact numbers.
2. Official Supporting Documentation: invoices, receipts, banknotes, links to official social sites etc.
3. Company Consultant: Pet Transport NZ consultants provide full name, email and contact number.
4. Prior Notification: any payment requests should come directly by phone call or email first.
5. Post Confirmation: any payments requests sent should be followed up by confirmation email or call.
6. Specific Amounts: each quote is unique as is your booking deposit and final balance - check the amount requested against the quote provided to you by your consultant
7. If In Doubt - Ask!: our consultants are just phone call or email away.  If you receive an unsolicited payment request for any amount of money that does not come direct from your designated consultant, not from a pettransport.co.nz email address, for a booking you haven't made or for pets you don't actually own - please notify us immediately!

Luckily, this is the first instance of being targeted that we are aware of - we know this is a frequent occurance for many other pet couriers.  We wanted you to be aware so we can focus on doing what we do best - safely transporting your beloved pets to wherever they need to go in the world.  Look our for more furry cuties travelling your way this weekend!

When you fly your pet overseas from New Zealand with us, we professionally fit your pet with the correct sized IATA compliant cage or custom-build your travel crate to spec.  If you are unable to come to our stock rooms at Auckland Airport with your cats or dogs, we can explain travel cage sizing over the phone and will send IATA measuring diagrams guide you with instructions by email.  This week on Facebook and Instagram we started sharing our top 5 tips for travel crate training success with a little help from Rosie the Border Collie.

Step 1: Park your professionally sized & fitted #IATA approved #travelcrates in your living room. You want your pets to be really comfortable with their new #crate in your home before you start introducing play inside. No drama, no stress. Just let the crate become part of the living room furniture. A little curiosity, sniffing around or pawing at the door indicates they are ready to proceed to the next step

Step 2: Start introducing play in and around the crate to get your pet comfortable with the crate. Don't be shy with the treats or praise! Use them to reward exploring behind the door and staying inside with the door open.  No need to push your pets to go in and stay in but reluctant pets maybe encouraged by placing a favourite toy or blanket inside, or some dirty clothes from your laundry basket.  Familiar comforts and rewards are key here!

Step 3: Closing the door is almost the final stage. By now, your pet's travel #crate is fun and cozy place they sit or sleep in by choice. Your #pet needs to be #calm and comfortable inside the cage when the door closes. This will be their "home away from home" whilst #travelling. If they seem distressed, open the door immediately and let them out - you do not want their #travelcrate to ever be a scary place.  If things start to come unstuck at this stage, don't hesitate to give us a call on 09 256 0999

Step 4: This final stage is really only necessary for pets flying long haul, however it never hurts to see your pet's crate training all the way through to completion.  If your pet is quite happy inside their travel cage with the door closed, start making it part of your evening routine with bedtime inside the crate with the door closed.  You can even start this early in the piece with the door open and don't hesitate to move the crate to your bedroom if that is where they usually sleep.  You want your pet to make their crate their home, their safe space and a personal retreat in the same way they will identity their pet bed or favourite chair in the house as theirs.

Smelly socks, used nighties, freshly worn gym gear and underwear are among pets favourite smells and do let them use these items to mark their crate with your smells.  You can always remove them later when they are chill with the crate.  Heaps of our clients hold onto the crate even after travel and use it as an indoor kennel or pet bed - yep, eventually cats and dogs really grow to love their lovely travel crates!  Continued use of the crate well after your international journey will only smooth the way for further adventures together in future. 

If you would like an IATA measurement guide, further information about our drug-free crate-training program or need help at any stage of the game, don't hesitate to contact us.  We want every pet to fly safe, calm and happy.  There are no stupid questions and we love helping travellers with pets - do get in touch with one of our consultants! Did we miss something?  Let us know in the comments below!

Pet Transport has had a sudden rush of cats flying long haul from New Zealand! These travelling cats all moved to Europe, with the exception of Betty the ragdoll who flew to Vancouver in Canada.  All stunning breeds and mixes, bengal, ragdoll and persian cats made an appearance in the last week!

This photo tells a thousand words about international pet transport.  No MPI vet wants to fail a travelling pet on their final pre-flight certification!  Poor Luna was feeling a bit nervous in the MPI office the lovely Dr. Phillipa picked her up and gave her cuddles during her whole appointment!  Luna's travel cat companion Hugo (below) was totally cool and calm about moving to London from Auckland.

Harley is a silver traveller!  This senior ragdoll was 15 years young on the day of his departure for Manchester.  He took it all in his stride.  As did Hugo and Luna who were perfect travellers on the day. These two kiwi cats look picture perfect below settling into their new English home

Do you have a cat's tale to tell about moving overseas?  We'd love to hear about your plans to explore the world together!  Get in touch with one of our pet transport consultants today to discuss your relocation dreams.  They can help you budget, crate train your pets and what you need to do to prepare for the big move.  If you never heard of flying cats before, talk to us - we see them every day!

We love sharing pics of the pets we move overseas from New Zealand on social media.  We have a lovely tight-knit community of past and present pets and humans we have relocated on Facebook. On our Facebook page we stay current with daily posts or updates on NZ pets we have moved that day.

When we started sharing photos of our NZ cats and dogs on Instagram, we were surprised at how popular our posts were!  Within a few short months, we started connecting with a whole new community of pet lovers and international pets looking for transporters or families moving overseas. 

From instagram we have discovered some of our Pet Transport NZ clients are actually pet celebrities!  We have also reconnected with well-travelled pets we helped relocate years ago.  It is now part of our sales funnel, helping new families find us for sending their fur-babies overseas from New Zealand.

You can imagine our surprise and delight when a reporter from the Huffington Post contacted us for an interview!  They were writing a human interest article on instagram pets and stumbled across our feed!  They loved our "pets first" policy and the happiness radiating from pics of pets we fly from NZ.

International pet transport is full of surprises. Our consistent focus on pet welfare and safety has given our family business longevity - 50years in the making!  But we never expected notoriety.  We would like to thank all of our clients for supporting us and our pets for being such wonderful flyers.  

It is an amazing feeling to love what you do for a job.  It feels even better to help others through your work!  If we can help you or a family member move your pets overseas, or if you have some upcoming travel in 2017 and you want to take your pets with you, please contact us today - we'd love to help!

From the outside, Pet Transport NZ looks like cute puppies and fluffy kittens all day long. And it is! But that doesn't cover the complexity of international pet transport.  We are proud to be the official pet transporter for the New Zealand Sheep Dog Trial Association and the Paw Blacks.  Both champion dog teams are international title holders. Every year we fly their prize-winning trial dogs with their handlers from New Zealand to Australia for their agility competitions.   ​

​We also arrange their return pet transport to NZ.  Return pet flights are unique to Pet Transport NZ. We are the only pet courier providing round-trips from New Zealand.  This is because pet transport, from any country in the world, is actually pet export.  The government of the country the pet is leaving must approve the pet is fit to fly and a local pet transporter must oversee this process. We have agents operating in the UK, Europe, USA, Asia and Australia that allows us to provide return services.

​Working dogs like these are highly trained to respond to specific command words.  Say the wrong thing to the wrong dog and you might have a pre-flight situation at the airport! For this reason, working dogs must be accompanied by their human handlers at all times. Every vet visit, airline and MPI requires the attendance of the human they are trained to respond to.

Moving dogs to Australia is similar for the NZ Police. These working dogs are also trained for particular command words and need to remain with their handlers at all times.  When they travel to Australia for specialised training, we assist with their return trips from New Zealand.  Flying guide dogs for the Blind Foundation requires human attendance as well

Pet Transport NZ sent 2 husky dogs and a chihuahua from Auckland Airport to London Heathrow this week.  Sending 3 dogs together often makes international pet travel go much smoother than sending pets overseas separately. These darling dogs were lots of fun to send to the UK from New Zealand!

The husky dog with brown fur is Bungle and chihuahua pup pictured below is Bryn.  The last picture , taken at Cargo Central of Auckland Airport moments before we handed them in, is of Rudy.  These 3 dogs were such a pleasure to send to UK from New Zealand - they seemed excited for their flights!

When you are sending dogs to UK, it is really important to let them stretch their legs before flying.  The last walk in New Zealand before any international pet transport is a really key part of our service.  We pride ourselves on making your dog's last moments on Auckland soil really enjoyable.

Dogs flying to UK from New Zealand need exercise and a toilet opportunity before they leave.  We also top up their water and slide them a few sneaky treats before flying to London.  If you are moving to the UK with pets, get in touch with us today and ask how we can make your move easier!  We'll explain which vaccines are required and how to crate train your dogs or cats for the big move!

Pet Transport NZ couriered this supercute German Shepherd puppy from Auckland to  Honolulu this week.  Heeni was a total pre-flight delight, completely relaxed in her pet travel crate.  Our international pet transport team take your dog's international travel experience personally.  All our travelling pets enjoy walkies, play, fresh water, cuddles and treats before boarding their flight.

This darling dog enjoyed her playtime and an organic pig's ear treat before boarding her doggy flight from NZ to USA.  Shipping dogs from New Zealand to Hawaii is a pretty regular event for Pet Transport NZ. You might be surprised how many kiwi dogs and cats are relocating to USA every day!

If you are moving to USA or Hawaii with pets, please call one of our expert pet travel consultants for a free, no-obligation quote..  Our expert pet transport team can explain the vaccinations, and pet export requirements for sending your pets from New Zealand to Hawaii, USA, safely and on time.