Have you ever thought about flying with your dog? In the lead up to our year abroad, Matt and I have so much to prepare, and one of those things is making sure Charlie gets to my dads house. This means taking a flight from Perth to Sydney.

Charlie is a nervous traveller and gets travel sick. On top of this, he is 13 years old and the majority of airlines need a certificate of health for old doggos over 12 years. The vet gave Charlie a clean bill of health, gave us a doggy valium for the trip, and we were good for the next step!

To be honest, I didn’t shop around at all. Qantas is the only airline I would trust to look after Charlie. There’s so much info on the Qantas website. It makes you feel a bit more confident that they know what they’re doing. It cost $150 if you have a ticket on the same flight.

Check in for your doggo is quite early, so make sure you check your times. The pup flies freight, so you will need to hire or purchase a crate. I thought you could hire a crate through Qantas, but turns out you need to hire through a third party. So I opted to purchase one when I turned up at the freight terminal. There was a lot of confusion when I purchased the crate, and I’m not entirely sure I paid for it. Make sure you have fluffy blankets, towels and absorbent pads for the crate. Maybe even a toy if your dog is into that. Mine isn’t.

PRO TIP: Try and relax. Your dog knows when you’re stressed.

Your dog will be packed up, zip locked in, and you will need to leave and head to the airport terminal.

On the other side of your flight you will need to pick up your pup from the freight terminal. Head into the office, sign the paperwork and take your dog home!

If you have any questions, please just let me know!

Last but not least, here is Charlie and Dad happily cuddling. I cried the whole way home.