r/FlyWithYourPets

Hey everyone — just wanted to share something helpful for anyone planning to travel or move to Europe with their dog.

My wife and I recently relocated from the U.S. to Europe with our dog, and when we first looked into it, the process was honestly overwhelming. Every website, airline, and vet seemed to say something different. USDA rules, APHIS endorsements, the 10-day timing window, microchip sequencing, crate requirements… it’s a lot.

We were quoted $4,000–$6,000 by pet relocation companies, which wasn’t realistic for us. So we decided to handle the entire process ourselves. It took a ton of research, multiple phone calls, and trial and error — but it actually went very smoothly once we understood the exact order of steps.

Here are a few things we wish we knew earlier:

• The USDA 10-day endorsement window is strict
• Your vet MUST be USDA-accredited
• The microchip date has to be before the rabies vaccine
• Airlines all claim to follow IATA, but their crate rules differ
• Some EU countries require a tapeworm treatment (others don’t)
• The official EU health certificate must match the specific country of entry
• The airport process is easier when your documents are organized correctly

While going through everything, I wrote down every step we took — the timeline, the forms, the requirements, and the exact sequence so nothing gets missed. I turned it into a complete step-by-step guide so other people don’t have to dig through 20 different websites the way we did.

If anyone wants the guide or has questions about their specific situation or airline, feel free to comment or DM me — happy to share what we learned.

This whole thing can feel stressful, and if our experience helps someone else avoid the chaos (or the huge relocation fees), I’m glad to help!

Been to Italy many times. Wife and I are planning a three-month stay in 2027, where we would rent an apartment. Small town, not sure where, probably in the south but that's under consideration. Anyway we'd like to bring our dogs this time. I'm nervous about flying the dogs over though. It's pretty awful to be a human stuck in a seat for 12 hours; how awful is it for a dog? Do the carriers provide a special long-trip crate that allows the dog to pee without getting itself wet or dirty? Do you have to buy your own crate and if so what do you do with it afterwards? Do you have a particular carrier to recommend?

p.s. We're flying from Texas to Italy (and eventually, back).

We brought a small dog to Italy from the United States. We wanted to leave him with family but couldn't , so we took him. He has been with us for three weeks and although I can't really ask him how it has been for him...I do believe we have managed to take good care of him, even in this insane heat, and he has not seemed anxious except in Milan, mostly because my wife and I got lost.

Italians by far have either been at least neutral or all the way up to excited and welcoming when they see him. A really funny moment happened today, a boat captain of ferry in Cinque Torre kept petting and talking to him in Italian in a loving way. We have a ventilated bag that he sits in under the table at restaurants, and we don't take him at all into churches or museums. We have been checking the pavement for heat too. In the Dolomites he hiked a lot with us and he has been with us in hotels, on ferries, taxis, and trains: alll allowed. I had a lot of worries, but it has worked out, If you are thinking of doing it..Italy is a good place. One warning: start the paperwork early, it is a lot.

My husband and I are moving to Italy from the US and I’m trying to get as much information as I can from people who have actually done it.

What is the process like for moving with a dog to Italy from the states? How early should you start the process? How did you get your dog there and would you recommend doing that?

I’m hoping to avoid putting her in cargo from horror stories I have heard but am open to anything to get her there safe, comfortable and as stress free as possible.

Hey everyone! I’m taking my small dog (8 lbs) to Italy for ~1month and want to confirm I have the process right, and also ask about the export certificate I keep reading about. 

To enter Italy from the U.S., sounds like I just need to get an EU Health Certificate within 10 days before departure, then have it USDA-endorsed. (Microchip and rabies vaccine are good to go.)

I am reading that Italy may require a Pet Export Certificate from ASL when leaving the country? Is this required even if we’re just returning to the U.S. after our stay in Italy? Do you have to get this every time you leave Italy (whether for the U.S. or another country)?

Would love to hear from anyone with experience. Thanks!

Hi all,

Can someone advise if in Italy it’s a quick process of obtaining the Pet Passport?

The situation:

We live in Switzerland and want to buy a cat in Milan. The cat is 10 weeks old. It has some vaccinations but not rabies. No chip and no passport. Can the owner (Italian resident) go to the vet, do the microchip and rabies vaccine if required (by Swiss rules cats before 12 weeks can be imported without the rabies vaccination) in order to obtain the EU Pet Passport?

The main question is: even if the owner does the rabies vaccine today can they get the EU passport today or within a few days or we will have to wait 21 days to get the passport?

Thank you!

My husband, dog and I are planning to move to Italy from the US and I’m overwhelmed. This isn’t the first big move we have done (we move from North Carolina to Hawaii then to Kansas within a few years) but the thought of our dog making the flight there is stressing me out. She is not a fan of flying and gets very overwhelmed at airports. The longest flight she has done was 6 hours because we got lucky to have layovers on our flights to and from hawaii. I don’t want to have her in cargo or be separated from her and the idea of her being stuck on a plane for more than 8 hours destroys me. I don’t know what to do. I should add she gets frequent utis and won’t go to the bathroom on anything but real grass It hasn’t been an issue yet but I imagine the possibility is higher with such a long flight. Any advice on what to do or how to make this easier would be appreciated.

TLDR: My dog hates flying how do I get her to Italy comfortably?

Hi,

I will be living in Italy temporarily (at least 3 months) in the fall/winter, and I'm wondering what the process to bring my dog is like. I have researched a lot but there's conflicting information out there. I know that Italy is very dog friendly, and I know the basic requirements regarding vaccines etc., but I'm still uncertain about some things. Do I just need to get a vet checkup before I go, or will I need to do one once I arrive in Italy too? Are Canadian pet passports valid in Italy? Are EU pet passports valid in Canada? What are the costs like? I have seen everything from $200 to several thousand (both for cargo) so I don't know what to believe. My dog is still a puppy but she should mature at around 60 lbs, so I imagine she would have to travel cargo. She's a high-content lab (75%) labradoodle. Speaking of flying cargo, any tips for ensuring safety? I've heard horror stories about dogs in cargo but also lots of examples of it being just fine and the dogs being well cared for, so I want to do everything I can to ensure the latter outcome.

I know a lot of people will think its unreasonable to bring the dog with me. I can leave her with my mom if I absolutely have to, but she's an emotional support animal (officially documented and deemed important to have by medical professionals) so I really want/would benefit from having her with me. There's also a chance I might immigrate to Italy permanently in the future, so even if she doesn't come for this stay I would still like to have the information on hand.

Please don't post about why I should not take her; I will make that decision at a later date, and I promise to do so carefully. Right now I'm just looking for facts and technicalities.

Thank you.

hi everyone

I’m hoping to get some help navigating the process of relocating to italy with my psychiatric service dog.

I’ve trained my dog myself (mainly for Deep Pressure Therapy) and I’m now looking to get him certified/documented properly as a PSD for air travel. We’re flying United Airlines to Rome. He’s small (\~22 lbs), well-behaved, and has already flown as a pet before without any issues.

I’ve looked into several companies but I’m not sure which ones are truly recognized for international travel, especially to Europe/Italy. I know I’ll need the DOT forms, but I’m wondering:

* Has anyone successfully used one of these companies to fly internationally with a PSD (especially to the EU)?

* Did United Airlines accept your paperwork?

* What additional documents did you need for entry into Italy? (Health certificates? Rabies proof? Something else?)

Any firsthand experiences or advice would be really appreciated!

Hi there! I am planning to travel to the states from Florence (I am a resident here) with my cat. I got all of his vaccines up to date and microchip at the vet, but they told me I need to get the pet passport elsewhere. They were really unclear and I can’t seem to find any information online. Any advice please!? 🙏🙏

Has anybody tried bringing a pet playpen with them for air travel and was able to use it during layovers? Have you seen anybody do that or know if its allowed? It'd be such a good way to give food, litter box etc. During transit.

I'm really struggling to work our travel logistics within Europe for myself and my two small dogs, and I'm hoping someone can help with a professional service or individual reference.

I'm planning an extended European trip later this year. Getting to Europe with my dogs is feasible, if expensive, since United allows for a passenger to fly with two pets so long as they buy two tickets and pay the fees. I'll be staying in Lisbon for a couple of months. But I need to transition out of the Schengen zone eventually to not run afoul of the 90/180 day tourist visa rule. Larnaka, Cyprus or Bar, Montenegro seem to be the best options at the moment for this. But finding transit options so far has been very difficult. As far as I can tell, no airline within the EU allows one passenger to fly with two pets in cabin, unless they fit into a single carrier, which my dogs do not. I can't bring myself to put them in the hold as they aren't used to traveling and they are older. There aren't any other options to travel to Larnaka besides flying. Getting to Bar, Montenegro is at least possible by train/ferry but the trip feels way to long for two dogs to be in carriers over the course of several days.

The only other option I can think of is to pay someone to accompany me on the flights. Has anyone used a company or individual service provider in Europe for such a service? I see a few options online that might be able to help, but I haven't found any options that specifically advertises what I'm looking for and I've never used a company for something like this, so I'm a little lost. Likely the trip from Lisbon to either Larnaka or Bar would happen in December or January, with travel back to Lisbon likely in February or March. Dates are still being worked out.

Folks,
Sharing my experience here to spread the goodwill that I received from someone when I needed.

I recently relocated from Los Angeles to Chennai, India and had to relocate my GSP who’s on the bigger side of sizing. Sharing my experience so folks can through this mind bending stage which rather ended up quiet simpler.

Case: Large GSP from LAX to India.

1. So measure the pet correctly, references are available. Very important to get the height, nose to base of tail and leg length, correct. This would be checked again by the pet shipper or cargo folks. So you don’t want to end up on the wrong side.

2. Pay special attention to the additional space/gap requirements lengthwise and height wise.

In my case, I was hoping to get the large pet kennel but it was borderline undersized for him. You might think that you’d be able to persuade the agents to let the pet travel but I would advise against that. Go with the next best option instead of too close or undersize.

I had to cough up PP100 that automatically moved me into cargo territory. I was hoping that I could get away with additional cargo but my dog had other plans.

3. My dog had the rabies shot well ahead of time ( before a month of travel) and another shot, the year before. But one shot was done before microchipping.so I decided to have an add it so shot of rabies recorded in the microchip before the travel month.

This also allowed me to request CDC form for importing him back into the States from the latest rabies shot date instead of Jan. So this kind of gave me extra room to bring him back.

4. USDA certification is real and needs proper attention. Contact your vet if the can do this or refer to another hospital who does this. Mine did not and sent me to another one. Pick the one who eagerly communicate and available for calls or spooky Mets freely as you’d need them towards the traveler date.

We setup a main checkup during the last month but an additional quick checkup in the 10 days window to satisfy guidelines.

OUR USDA cert came in 7 days and CDC same timeline.

5. Since we used cargo, IAG British Airways let shipper, I connected with them throughout the process.

Main points here are: crate dimensions and volume and max weight.

Some airports have weight limitations that would prevent you from flying your pet out.

Ex/ LAX has 64/65 kgs limit (Pet plus Crate weight) and if it exceeds, I will have to send my pet out from SFO. Totally unplanned but luckily my pet and crate came to 60.

6. Ask the cargo folks to confirm airway bill details draft with shipper and sender name accurately, pet name, breed, weight, microchip number, date of birth, sex. Your Indian agent s would ideally help you out with what info you need to be have on AWB, USDACertificaiton. It’s important to have this right for a smooth customs process in India.

I decided to take care of the document prepping process myself in the US. I outsourced only the India Import agent part.

7. I used Furry Flyers and can’t thank them enough for amazing support all the way from start to end.

They supported the information needed fork USDA, Airway bill, other docs, vaccination certificates check and everything you would need.

Their in the ground support was even more amazing. Only had to go to the pickup spot in the cargo office with my passport. They took care of everything and took care of my pet like theirs. Sent in regular updates about whereabouts, their local folks contacted me the day before pet’s arrival to share all the info. I couldn’t be happier and thank the Gods for stumbling upon them in my search for Import support into India.

8. On the day of flight, have the same documents- 1. Rabies, DHTP, USDA, Airway bill draft and India NOC draft (your agent would share them befor flying). We took these to LAX loading hub and they they took my pet in 30-60
   Mins of paper signing work, same stuff as in the airway bill and payments. Nothing new.

Be wary if let drop off cut off time as we barely made it on time. Our flights were on the same time as my pett’s and got too close. They check the papers, measure the pet and crate and done.

9. Diffferent countries had different layover rules about the minimum hours pets need before boarding the next flight. UK had 4 hours minimum so we weren’t able to get him on to the connecting flight the same day. The cargo team in UK did Ana amazing job in caring for my dog during the day layover before getting him on to the next day flight. I was able to call them and knowboout his welfare. They shared pic updates too.

10. On the day of arrival, I already was contacted by my FurryFlyer/Anvis team about where and when to be. It’s roughly 2 hours after landing and they’ll require you to come with your passport and collect.
    In my case, they even helped to arrange a bigger van for my big dog and his crate.

After landing, in a day or two, they shared the final NOC from Indian government that ended the prt import process. Successfully.

Happy to share further snd answer Qs if you PM me. I only know of US to India import but can potentially help others with any from my experience.

#dogtravelUSAtoIndia #pettraveltoIndia #GSPUSAtoIndia