Source-first methodology
DogAbroad helps people understand and organise the requirements involved in travelling internationally with a dog. International dog travel rules are rarely found in one place: owners may need destination-country authorities, export rules, airline policies, veterinary guidance, breed restrictions and transport standards, often while working backwards from a fixed travel date.
DogAbroad brings that information together into destination guides and a personalised Dog Travel Planner. It is a research and planning resource. It does not replace official government guidance, your veterinarian, your airline or a qualified pet-relocation professional.
Plan your dog's journey
Official-source checks
Built around the authorities travellers must confirm with.
DogAbroad links users back to official veterinary authorities, government portals, airline policy pages and recognised animal-transport guidance.
What the Dog Travel Planner does
The Dog Travel Planner helps owners turn complicated travel information into a practical preparation plan. Enter your departure country, destination country, dog's breed or type, weight, measurements and intended travel date, and the planner can help identify:
- Likely veterinary and documentation steps.
- Rabies vaccination and blood-test timing.
- Tapeworm-treatment windows.
- Cabin, hold or cargo considerations.
- Breed restrictions and muzzle requirements.
- Snub-nosed breed limitations and seasonal airline restrictions.
- Indicative IATA crate dimensions.
- Questions to confirm with your airline, veterinarian or relocation agent.
The planner is designed to help you navigate the process, not to replace the authorities responsible for approving your dog's journey.
Our source hierarchy
1Official government veterinary authorities
Every destination guide begins with the relevant official government or veterinary authority for that country. Depending on the journey, this may include USDA APHIS, UK DEFRA, the European Union and national veterinary authorities, CFIA, Australia's DAFF, New Zealand MPI, and destination agriculture, customs or animal-health authorities.
Where rules depend on the country of departure, we also consider the relevant export authority and the destination's classification of the origin country.
2Airline policies
Government permission to import a dog does not automatically mean that a particular airline will carry that dog. We check airline policies for cabin and hold weight limits, approved routes, aircraft, crate requirements, breed restrictions, snub-nosed dog embargoes, seasonal heat restrictions, transit and codeshare limitations.
Airline policies can change and may vary by route, aircraft or operating carrier. Travellers must always confirm acceptance directly with the airline before booking.
3IATA transport guidance
Where relevant, we use IATA guidance for animal transport and crate sizing. An estimated crate size is only a planning aid. The airline or cargo operator transporting the dog has final authority over whether a crate is acceptable.
How we research and review information
DogAbroad's country guides are researched from official government pet-travel and veterinary sources. We then check relevant information against airline policy pages and recognised animal-transport guidance.
Our pages are reviewed on a rolling schedule. Automated monitoring helps flag possible changes to source material for human review, and each country guide displays its review date.
Source-of-truth noticeDogAbroad organises official requirements into practical guides and timelines. The linked government authority remains the definitive source and should always be checked before booking.
Regulations can change without warning. Government pages may be updated, temporarily unavailable or interpreted differently by local officials, airlines or veterinary authorities. Before travelling, verify the final requirements directly with the destination country's official veterinary authority, the relevant authority in the departure country, the operating airline, and your veterinarian or official government-approved veterinarian.
Where information on DogAbroad differs from an official government source, follow the official source and please tell us about the discrepancy.
What DogAbroad is and is not
DogAbroad is
- A free research and planning resource.
- A way to navigate official information more efficiently.
- A tool for organising requirements into a practical timeline.
- A starting point for conversations with veterinarians, airlines and relocation specialists.
- A directory of destination, airline, airport, breed and transport information.
DogAbroad is not
- A government authority.
- A veterinary practice.
- A pet-shipping or relocation agent.
- An airline.
- A guarantee that a dog will be accepted for transport or entry.
- A substitute for checking the official requirements before travelling.
The traveller remains responsible for confirming that all documents, treatments, identification, permits and transport arrangements meet the requirements in force on the date of travel.
Complex journeys
Some journeys carry a higher risk of delays, denied boarding or refused entry. Professional assistance may be especially valuable when the destination requires an import permit or quarantine reservation, rabies antibody testing is required, the dog is travelling as manifest cargo, the itinerary includes multiple airlines or transit countries, or the requirements are unclear or contradictory.
It can also be worth getting specialist help when the dog belongs to a restricted or commonly misidentified breed, is snub-nosed, is travelling unaccompanied, or is moving to destinations such as Australia, New Zealand or Japan. For complicated moves, consider using an experienced IPATA member or another appropriately qualified pet-relocation specialist.
Why we built DogAbroad
DogAbroad was created by the team behind CatAbroad.com. Dog owners were using our cat-travel information, but dog travel involves additional complications that cat guides cannot properly address: breed restrictions, muzzle laws, tapeworm-treatment windows, larger transport crates, cargo costs, snub-nosed breed policies and airline-specific weight limits.
We built a separate resource designed specifically around dogs and the realities of international dog travel. Our aim is not to replace official guidance. Our aim is to make it easier for dog owners to find, understand and act on that guidance, while always directing them back to the authorities that make and enforce the rules.
The person behind it
DogAbroad is run by the same person behind CatAbroad.
DogAbroad is operated by Andy Ward, the responsible person listed in the site imprint and the creator of CatAbroad. The dog site exists because travellers kept needing dog-specific help that a cat-travel guide could not honestly cover: breed rules, muzzle laws, cargo handling, crate sizing, seasonal embargoes and airline acceptance checks.
The approach is the same: start with official sources, keep the public copy plain, and make it easier for people to ask the right questions before they book. DogAbroad is personal in the sense that it is built by a real person who cares about careful travel planning, but it does not pretend to replace your veterinarian, airline, official authority or relocation specialist.
- Source-first. Official authorities and airline policies stay at the centre of the guidance.
- Dog-specific. Dog pages separate import permission from transport acceptance, breed rules and route handling.
- Correction-friendly. If an official source disagrees with a page, the source wins and the page should be fixed.
Help us keep DogAbroad accurate
Pet-travel requirements change, and first-hand reports can help us identify updates quickly. Please contact us if you find a rule that appears outdated, discover a broken official-source link, receive different instructions from an authority or airline, encounter a route or breed restriction we have not covered, or want to share what happened during your dog's journey.
We investigate reported discrepancies and update our guidance where appropriate.
USDA
DEFRA
EU
CFIA
IATA
CDC