Travel with Pets - flight VIE-MUC-BOS with 32 pound dog on Lufthansa

Is there anybody out there who has done a Lufthansa flight with a dog down with the luggage? We are going to Boston for Xmas and our 32 pound Labradoodle will go with us. Any advice? We have his European passport with all necessary vaccinations, a blood test for rabies. We are a bit worried of him not making the connection for whatever reason. Do you put food/water in the crate (the wole flight with change will be 12 hrs). Can we see him on the layover? What happens if the connecting flight is cancelled, who will feed him, let him drink and pee? I am sure many of you have done this before, for us it is the first time. Hope to hear from you!! Thanks!

Slightly OT, I for one would never book a pet as cargo with connecting flights involved as this is a recipe for disaster. Is it absolutely necessary for you to take your dog on this trip?

Slightly OT, I for one would never book a pet as cargo with connecting flights involved as this is a recipe for disaster. Is it absolutely necessary for you to take your dog on this trip?

Yes it is ... did you have a bad experience?

Yes it is ... did you have a bad experience?

My Cavalier weighs only 12 pounds so she always travels in cabin with me. It is basically a matter of common sense to avoid connecting flights if possible with live cargo. @:-)

It is basically a matter of common sense to avoid connecting flights if possible with live cargo. @:-)
I agree.

I don't suppose it's possible to take the train from VIE to MUC...???

I agree.

I don't suppose it's possible to take the train from VIE to MUC...???

It is .. but we have a ticket we can't change .. and if you don't use the first leg the others are cancelled ...

Call LH and ask it is that simple. How long is the lay over in MUC anyway. I know the facility in FRA is great. The animals come off first and are put into kennels, fed and watered until the owners arrive from customs. If it is just a stop then you probably won't have time to go the the animal facility anyway because this is often away form passenger facilities. Since this is a cold part of the the animals are transfered to a warm area until they are ready to go to connection. If the connecting time frame is tight they might move the animal straight to the new aircraft.

My personal experiance with LH was good.

Thanks .. that is good to know .. the layover is barely 2 hrs .. so I guess seeing him won't be a possibility. I didn't know they are fed on layovers though ...

Thanks .. that is good to know .. the layover is barely 2 hrs .. so I guess seeing him won't be a possibility. I didn't know they are fed on layovers though ...

....only if the layover is long enough AND the animal is not medicated. They ask for a reason. In my case it was in the paperwork somewhere. If they are not sure they won't to make sure tha animal doesn't regurgitate it and develop probelms while in the sky.

By the way you might want to put one of the absorbant mats in the bottom of the travel cage. The cheapest are the sort one would use you a human - available in Pharamcys and other places who offer such materials for handicaped

Hi all, I am the one who started this thread, wanted to share the experience. We gave him 3/4 of the pill the vet gave us. He was tired, went into the crate at the airport (the one we use at home), we had our shirts in there, toys. He made no fuzz. We had no trouble connecting and when we saw him in Boston, he was happy to see us and acted totally normal. He was not afraid of the crate or anything afterwards. Also no problems going back. The staff at all airports was very nice and understanding. So we had a good experience. and thanks for all your comments