Ours were too big to be in the cabin, had nothing to do with the number in the cabin.

"I think the dog would be OK once they are IN Europe. "

Absolutely right. And, once you've got the paperwork and pet passport forgetting them into Europe sorted, even getting them into the UK is effortless.

I can't really advise on the complications of getting them here. But once here (by which I mean mainland Europe), you'll generally find it surprisingly easy to live a normal life.

In Switzerland, no-one seems surprised to see a dog in a pharmacy or supermarket. In France, Italy (except, bizarrely, in Val d'Aosta) and most of Germany, restaurants are just astonished if you ask them whether it's OK for your dog to stay at your table. <i> Ma certo</i>

The exception, in my experience is Spain.

I've seen proper restaurants in Rome (and their perfectly sane customers) not blink in providing doggie platters of real food (artichokes, ground chicken or scraps of organic veal) as if the mutts were human babies.

Well thank you flanneruk.

All the dogs who live in Europe seem to like it fine ;-)

We had a pet relocation service move our two cats and four cockatiels from the US to the EU. Worth every penny.

In the UK we used a service called Paws on planes pet travel Services. They made sure there were no snafus. sparkchaser, did they fly your dog in a cabin or cargo?

So much good advice...thank you! I just remembered that we know a family who managed to move from Philadelphia to Heidelberg with their Great Dane a number of years ago. I'll also reach out to see how they did it given the size of the pup.

They used the biggest crate they sell, that's how they did it.

<< I just remembered that we know a family who managed to move from Philadelphia to Heidelberg with their Great Dane a number of years ago.>>

The whole plane was the crate.

Yeah, dogs travel better than cats - cats' equilibrium gets completely screwy in vehicles.

And no one said life as a dog is bad in Europe. Just ask the Parisian dogs to whom all the world is a WC . . .

>>We brought our two dogs to the UK when we moved over and would never put them through the stress again. Ever. Certainly never for just a few months.<<

Me too. When I moved to the UK my parents adopted my dog (Norwegian Elkhound) and two cats. When I moved back to the States I had a Scottie and cat and brought them home (both were in the hold) . . . NEVER again. They were seriously traumatized. Both recovered eventually - the cat before the dog. But I would never EVER put pets through that for a mere vacation -- even a looooong vacation.

True -- on the ground in Europe there would be no issues really. But if you want to do this . . . travel by ship!!!!! Just too much can go wrong otherwise.

I had two different friends one w/ a seriously large Irish Wolfhound, and one who had 5 shelties . . . they both brought their 'kids' back to the states by ship.

Who said the dog couldn't live well in Europe? The issue is getting him there and then moving with him from place to place as a tourist.

Based on experiences of two friends who did cross country flights with a dog I would never put a dog into the hold (and i'm not talking about the one that escaped on the tarmac).

Both had to go straight to a vet, one with a broken leg and the other due to uncontrollable panic.

If you really want to do this I would look at the freighters that take a small number of passengers - to see if any of them allow pets. Might not be glamorous but at least you are with the dog all the time. A friend of mine took a ship to Marseilles and said it wasn't too uncomfortable.

When I moved from NY to New Mexico I had to bring my 70# Golden Retriever.

The airline [United] had many rules and stipulations - a non-stop flight; it had to be 1st flight of the day to avoid heat, had to have food in a baggies attached to outside of crate and water too in case there was some delay.

I had no idea if the area where the pets go is lit the whole trip or dark. I knew it was pressurized of course, and I am pretty sure the temp was regulated as well. I cannot imagine the noise in there.

I had spent a long time getting him used to the crate before we flew. That helps for about a minute. We got to the cargo area, with him on a leash and the crate needing to be assembled. I remember his face as he got in and they wheeled him away, he was so scared.

No drama and we got him in Denver. He was a nervous wreck and in the car lost tons of fur, like a super shed. That lasted for a week.

He eventually settled down but I vowed I would never do that again. A small pet in an under seat carrier would be a maybe...in the hold, NO WAY.

A friend asked me to take his Labrador to France by plane a few years ago. An otherwise calm, friendly animal was a hot mess at the end of the trip.

Flights can be delayed, so things might take much longer than you imagined. During that time, the animal might not receive the proper care - the dog I was responsible for was not given food or water during the entire 16 hour trip.

You will have to find taxis which will have room for your two dogs while in their crates. Many drivers refuse to accept animals, period.

You will have to find a vet who will certify that your dogs are not sick - usually within 30 days of when you plan to return home.

I took the Labrador to Paris, but similar regulations apply throughout Europe:
Problems on the ground range from the fact that animals are often not allowed in public parks, or are severely restricted to a small area.
Most cafes will allow your pets to sit under the table, many restaurants will not.
Animals are not allowed in stores which sell food, and not allowed in most other stores.
If you are staying in pet-friendly apartments, some will require you to keep your dogs in their crates if you leave the room.
If you travel by train, you will have to purchase tickets for each of your dogs and keep them in their carriers during the trip.
If travelling on the bus or subway, they do not require tickets, but must be kept in their carriers.

It's a lot of work travelling with a pet. But if you must, I'd recommend travelling by boat.

I'd worry first about getting long-stay visas. THEN worry about your dog.

I forgot to mention that I live in Paris and have a 6 kg terrier. We travel by train and public transport a lot.

Feeding your dog will be an issue if you will be moving around a lot. It's highly likely you won't have access to the same brand of food, and changing food frequently will can cause serious digestive upsets.

When you narrow down your itinerary, you should check around for veterinarians nearby. Many will speak English, some won't.

The logistics of all this travelling around will be complicated.
You'll need an airline-approved crate, a carrier with wheels, a big bag of dog food - which you will mix with what's available wherever you are to lessen stomach problems, toys, a dog bed...all this will have to be hauled around wherever you go.

And one last thing - when I took the Labrador, she was off-loaded with all the other cargo (meaning non-checked baggage) and sent to a cargo facility 6 miles away from CDG.

I only travelled with a carry-on, so one of you would probably want to stay at the airport and wait for your luggage, or you could possibly store it at the airport.

You'll have to find out where the cargo facility is (depends on the flight) and take a taxi which will accept your dog and its crate. At the "fret" (cargo depot) you'll have to provide your dog's Customs clearance and possibly pay duty. Then you'll have to find a taxi to take you and your dog back to the airport, if that's where your luggage is. Needless to say, speaking French will come in very handy.

You do have the option of walking your dog on its leash inside the airport. That's what I did - and headed for the nearest bar, where we both had a much-needed drink. Even though the poor dog was still freaked-out and stunk to high heaven, people were nice to her.

Another data point for your consideration.

When we learned we were moving to Austria (from the US), NOT taking our then 4 year old, 25kg DDog (Foxhound) was never considered. The scant three months before we departed was a whirlwind of paperwork and a crazy day-earlier-than-expected departure, because the forecast high temperatures in the US might have resulted in the tarmac being too hot to hold dogs before loading (they are last on, first off). I had taken measures to have all of DDog's paperwork translated into German; and both sets of paperwork were affixed to his kennel. One of us was also required to be with him through ticketing and the transfer to cargo (so, plan extra time).

We also opted to fly direct on Austrian, a carrier with known sensitivity for flying animals; and to fly Business Class. That allowed us to linger a bit to ensure that DDog was securely on board, and to get reasonable sleep on the overnight. If we had required a connection, at least one of us would have transited with him (as opposed to hiring a service.) By the time we alit from our flight, DDog was sitting in the Excess Baggage area, waiting for us as if nothing at all had transpired.

DDog has a "Passport" document containing his Microchip and Vaccination records; and only once when transiting into a non-Schengen country in our personal vehicle were we asked to show his documentation.

Would we do it for a six month effort? Absolutely. DDog is a member of our family. At the time we thought our stay in Europe was to be only three years, but now it looks as if another four is in the works, and we could not imagine not having DDog with us. Who knows where your plans might lead? In our four years so far in Europe we have traveled extensively with him and have seldom encountered difficulties, including throughout Provence, Tuscany and Puglia (and much of Italy), Bavaria and other regions of Germany, and of course, throughout Austria.

I hope this is helpful.

My daughter took her 2 cats to the US from Europe when she moved to NY last summer. They were taken to a different area of the airport (pet reception) away from the passenger terminals. I believe JFK is getting a pet terminal (the Ark@JFK). There was a lot of paperwork but none on the scale that is required in the other direction. The cats only got water during the trip for obvious reasons. They were perfectly fine on arrival. Now they have acquired an English Bulldog, when it is time to go back to Europe, it might have to be by sea, as some airlines do not take snub nosed dogs due to health risks.

When my parents moved back to the United States from France, they of course took their little terrier with them. It was in a carrier bag and they had obtained permission to take the dog in the cabin (They didn't even have to pay extra, but this was TWA, so that shows how long ago it was.). The dog had a mild sedative and my parents were going to leave it in the bag for the entire flight, but it was the flight attendants who came and said they could take the dog out of the bag. They even brought a bowl of water. So the dog was able to lie in my mother's lap for most of the trip (a favorite secure place) or on the floor, and there was no trauma at all.