Picking the puppy up is always better, of course. Myrtle Beach is a tourist hot spot and a big golf area. You can often find very inexpensive flights from major airports to Myrtle Beach. Some folks fly in and make it a mini-vacation. Others fly in and out within a couple of hours. (My house is about 12 miles from the airport but I'll be happy to meet you there if you're not staying long enough to come and visit the paque.)

Puppies can travel in the cabin with you but you must make sure that you specify this when making your reservation since a limited number of pets are allowed in cabin. Different airlines have different charges for flying home with the puppy. The additional charge is generally in the neighborhood of $50.

When you choose this option I'll provide the soft-sided carrier that fits under the seat in front of you. I'll also give your babe plenty of practice spending time in it so it won't new or frightening when he's ready to travel. Puppies fly very well (whether in cabin or in cargo). I've talked to flight attendants about this - as well as to those of our puppy owners who have flown in to pick up pups - and I'm told by all that puppies (and dogs) never cry during the flight.  Your pup will need a current health certificate which I'll provide. There will be no additional charge for the carrier or health certificate. I include those as my thanks to you for coming to get him. (I hate dropping my babies at the cargo desk!)

If you're thinking of driving in you can do a preliminary check of the distance by looking up our zip code: 29526 on Yahoo maps.  If you're driving with your pup I'll provide a crate. If you'd prefer the soft sided carrier just let me know in advance and I'll provide that instead. (You must let me know in advance because if I'm out of them I'll need time to order them.)

If you can't manage to fly or drive in, we can ship the puppy. Most of our puppies leave this way and we have never had a problem with a shipped puppy.  I have had puppies shipped to me and they arrived just fine and thrilled to see me.

The charge for shipping a puppy is $300. This includes the actual flight charge, health certificate, paperwork, crate and other expenses sometimes incurred when shipping pups. 

If a pup is going to travel without a human the airlines are very good about taking care of him, however there are some concerns we have to deal with. The first of these is weather. During the hottest and coldest parts of the year we are at the mercy of the weather and the flight we plan to get a puppy on might not actually be able to take him. We have more leeway in cold weather than in hot. If it is over 85 degrees at either the departure or arrival airport the pup can't go and will have to be rescheduled. One of the ways of dealing with this is to get him on a very early morning or late night flight when the weather is mildest. This often works for us, especially if the pup is flying north.  You do not have to be concerned about the weather if you are flying in to pick him up.

When puppies fly without a human they are often in transit for a longer time than they would be otherwise. This is because some of the airlines fly puppies to a cargo hub and then fly them out of that hub to their final destination. Even considering this the puppies usually do well when flying alone but this is one of my major considerations when flying smaller pups.

I will not allow puppies under 2 pounds to fly without a person unless they will be in transit an unusually short time. This is not an airline requirement but it is my requirement. A pup who will be five pounds or less as an adult may well be under 2 pounds at eight weeks of age and it may be impossible for me to predict when he is born or during the first couple of weeks that he will be this small at 8 weeks. Keep this in mind if you are planning to get a smaller one of our pups.

When can they fly?

Puppies cannot fly until they are eight weeks old (that is an airline regulation but it is also my rule that pups don't leave until they are eight weeks old).

Beau's Travel Story

Beau in South Carolina, ready for adventure.

Beau was just about eight weeks old and we were planning to ship him to San Antonio, TX. The weather had been awfully hot and I wasn't sure he was going to be able to get out of here. Beau's new mom, Shawn, was anxiously awaiting his arrival when she found out that her good friend Teresa was driving from Daytona Beach, FL to Roanoke, VA before flying back home to San Antonio. Shawn arranged for Teresa to go from Daytona to Roanoke via Myrtle Beach so that Teresa could pick Beau up. Teresa did and so it was that Beau got to travel up the east coast in a car and have a short vacation in Virginia before getting on a plane with Teresa and flying home to Shawn... a much more sophisticated and well traveled poodle.

The shortest distance between two places is in a straight line...but that's not always the best or the most fun.

Beau in Texas with his new cat. Adventure is great but it can tire a guy out.

 
Lily getting used to her travel bag for the in-cabin trip to Boston.

 
Austin waiting for his new mom (Me!) in the Cargo area.

 
Liberating Austin from his crate. I couldn't wait to cuddle him. The camera battery died before we could get another shot.

 
Java's arrival at the Raleigh NC airport, you can barely see his tiny face in the shadow.

 
Close up of the happy traveler. He was in transit a long time but doesn't look too traumatized, does he?