We are taking our service dog, Abby, to Germany in August for 3 weeks via Lufthansa business class - Phoenix to Frankfurt (via Chicago). She is a 70 lb yellow lab and is 21 months old. The airline has been informed. Upon arrival in Germany, she will be carrying my wife's O2 bottles (rented from Germany supplier) in a back pack. She has never been on a flight, but is well-trained to ignore most anything, travels in our car constantly, very disciplined with bowels and urine for long periods, and we have used a local airlines training fuselage to get her accustomed to what a passenger compartment looks and smells like.

I want to know if others have traveled with a service dog on a long trans atlantic flight and can provide tips or suggestions either for training or the actual event.

Thanks in advance!

You're allowed to take a 70lb dog in the cabin? She doesn't have to fly cargo? Where does she sit?

She will sit/lie at our feet. Service dogs travel with the owner.

She doesn't have to be crated? And I guess she's not tranquilized for the flight since you're getting her ready.

Sorry I can't help with your request for info but I am curious and appreciate your answers.

Just a quick question --and I'm sure you've addressed this but just in case . . .

Have you completed all the paperwork required to take your dog into Germany? It isn't just the flight and TSA - but German authorities need to clear it.

Also--from my recollection from an acquaintance several years ago -- not all disabilities/conditions that merit having a service animal in the States are recognized in some European countries

Adrienne - no crating as she is a service dog, not a pet that we are traveling with. No tranquilizers either.

Janis - I believe that since the flight originates in the states, that Lufthansa is required to follow ADA rules (Americans with Disabilities Act) regarding recognizing our service dogs. Good point on "paperwork", but my recollection (my wife has done the research) is that because the dog is a service dog they are exempt from normal inter-country travel restrictions/quarantines. Thanks for the reminder and i will double check.

Germany is one of the looser countries anyway wrt dog quarantines (vs England). They are a very dog centric nation.

This is interesting to read. We met a couple in Italy that were traveling with their service dog (the husband had a vision impairment) and hadn't had too many problems - but had done a LOT of work to make sure everyone was informed ahead of time they had a dog with them (theirs was a yellow lab - about 4 years old and probably 70 lbs). They had only run into problems in one or two places - one being the Pitti Palace in Florence. They did find that Italy did not seem to have the equivalent of ADA - so not everyone was as accepting as we are in the US.

All of Abby's shots/vaccines must be up to date and verifiable at the time of the flight.

I imagine you still ned the dog passport with vaccination dates and records.. and the specified time limit between travel and latest rabies shot.

You are correct that there is a minimal time requirement (don't recall off the top of my head) between rabies shot and travel. Thank you!

BTW, regarding Illnative's comment about thorough communications about inbound service dog, we are staying on our friend's farm and they are well aware of our dog accompanying us. They also have a yellow Lab.

It isn't just current vaccinations - the record must be notarized. And I assume the dog is micro chipped.

My point wasn't about the flight -- at all. ADA is <u>Americans</u>DA. Flying out of the States will be fine.

It is after you land that issues may arise. They have their own rules after you get off the plane since 'ADA' doesn't apply. European countries generally have pretty liberal disability/handicap support. But its different

You need to understand that while the flight from the US to Germany will follow the US ADA act the flight from europe back to the US is not required to follow the same rules. I hope you have contacted the airline about that flight and understand all of the rules and regulations.

Separately, I know I know service animals are trained in certain ways I would definitely consider buying a seat for a dog that large - since there really isn;t room on the floor for one in front of just two seats.

As an international flight attendant ,I have had service dogs on my flights through the years. The airline will probably give you bulkhead seats so that your lab will have room to stretch out. Ask the flight attendants for a bottle of water so that your service animal is hydrated during the flight.Try and exercise him/her during your stopover in Chicago.During the flight from ORD to Germany,make sure that your animal is not sitting the whole time as they can get DVT's too -you probably won't be allowed to walk the dog around the plane but at least make sure that he changes positions periodically. Also have some treats that he can have when the flight attendants are serving the meals.

Besides the specific question re. air travel, which IMO dutyfree has now answered, I would also suggest (if you don't have already) to find info on what other legal requirements exist.
For example, service dogs for blind people need to carry specific clearly visible badges for insurance purposes - so the person they guide is exempt from liability if something happens. That kind of nitty, gritty small print bureaucracy.
Insurance for the dog is another issue.

Phoenix, via ORD, to getting out of Frankfurt airport after collecting bags must be at least 12 hours.

The Flannerpooch currently holds the world record for not peeing. But even he will be struggling after 10 hours - especially if he's been drinking during a flight.

Even if you can get out of the building at ORD, it's still 10 hrs from going through security at ORD to leaving the building at Frankfurt.

I'm fascinated. How can you be sure the Griffithpooch can cope, if he's never experienced things like low air pressure, ears popping, the floor moving up and down and the underfloor vibration as wheels go up and down?

Though he's a seasoned (and addicted) train traveller, the Flannerpooch has an urge to pee after only two hours in a train.

Hello,

This is Lori, here. The Griffithpooch, Abbey, is my service dog. She carries my oxygen for me. We have had her since she was 8 weeks old. She is now 18 months old. We got her from a breeder who raises and trains service dogs and evaluated the puppies to determine which would be most appropriate to carry the load at maturity. We have taken her everywhere with us since we got her, carrying her until 16 weeks at which time she could be "paws down" in public. She is well known and loved throughout the Phoenix area

Having her carry the O2 tanks significantly enhances my independence because carrying the O2 myself (or pulling the "portable" concentrator which I must use on the plane) is difficult for me. ["Portable" only applies to people who don't actually NEED oxygen and can carry a backpack themselves.] At 18 months, developmentally, she can now carry the weight. So we have begun introducing the tanks, though she's been wearing the harness for a while.

Abbey, has a bladder the size of the Pacific Ocean! We have never had a dog, let alone a pup that can go soooo long without peeing. It may be a challenge to get her to potty at ORD though. We will have to accomplish that. We've been working on it. She doesn't like to pee if she has her harness on so you have to take it off. When she was younger, if we took her to a patch of grass while we were out, she just did summersaults!

We are traveling to Germany this summer...with Abbey, for the first time. We have traveled there nearly every year since our sons were 4 and 6. They are now 20 and 22 and still want to go on vacation with us! But this is the first time since I've been on oxygen.

Abbey is a rather large dog, 70+ pounds, so we are traveling business class. When we took her on the training fuselage at a regional airport it was amusing to see her try to get in the seating area in coach. If we were traveling coach, we would have to buy a seat for her, because she takes up all the floor area in front of all three seats!

We are not anticipating the movement of the aircraft to be a problem (I say that hopefully!) as she has made many trips four-wheeling in the desert in a Pinzgauer (a Swiss army truck).

We have many strategies to help Abbey get thru the flight, but she's great and we expect few issues. We have a few contingency plans! Hopefully, enough.

If anyone has suggestions, please respond.

Sorry this was sooooo long!

When people from the US move to Germany and bring their dog, the dog must have a micro chip and have a European pet passport. I realize your dog is an exception, but it may be another thing to check.
I hope everything goes well. I hope you will take the time to write a trip report.

Correction: My husband said Abbey is 21 months old and I said 18...she's actually 19.5...!

Abbey does have a chip. I don't know if service dogs are exempt from that requirement.

Thank you for the good wishes! We will certainly let you know how it goes!

The couple we met also had their dog chipped and were carrying a chip reader - they said no one had asked them to use it...