Relocating with a pit-bull/boxer mix

Flying with any dog any age has it's risks.
We flew our beloved Doberman from Ca. to Hawaii when he was about 7 years old. Not elderly but still up in years for his breed.
I made certain I purchased an extra large crate , one large enough for him to both stand and turn during the flight.
They are suppose to give water at various stops during the transport but yes, some people working at airprts might be a bit put off by a nervous Pit Bull or Doberman, don't count on them actually giving water during stop overs.
I tok my boy to the vet( standard thing to do before being flwn out anywhere) I asked for a mild setative for him.
Not sure if it helped him or not because my husband insisted on putting a nice lamb skin down in his crate so he wouldn't feel lonely or cold. ( I knew it was a dangerous thing to do, he could of chocked on it. Have a stubborn HU husband though)
Well, that lamb skin was in shreds when he arrived in Honolulu , only a 6 hour flight.
He also was red eyed and grogy from the meds given to him.
You will get instructions to not feed them before a flight.
Our HU friends flew their female Doberman from the east coast of the US to Budapest, she was about 6 or 7 at the time. I was told she was fine on arrivale.
My dog went straight into a 4 month quarantine in Hawaii so I was not allowed to comfort or touch him until he had the all clear in HI from yet another vet. Days of not being allowed to even touch him, only to talk to him behind a cage, messed up.
My HU ex DIL flew her 2 dogs from Budapest to Las Vegas about 17 years ago.
They were a lively rowdy pair. I picked her and her dogs up at the airlport myself and brought water and food with me, they went crazy and ate it really fast.( Also not good too happen, can get bloat)
Many people here do have Pit Bulls so that's not really an issue here.
I'm sorry, not really sure what to say, depends on your dgs overall health and mental state I suppose.
If it's on the same flight as it's household buddies then that might be a help.
My brother is a airline mechanic and when I was about to fly with my dog to Hawaii , he told me a few horror tales but that's the way he is. Likes to scare me some.
He said they don't always physically tie the gates in the cargo holds and they can slide around during the flight. Sounds like someone wasn't doing their job but who knows for sure.
We later moved from Ohau to the big Island and the employees at that airport were horrid.
I happened to notice by walking out of the terminal that they had left a huge crate right there on the runway.
It was my dog in his crate!
It was taking over an hour for us to get the all clear to collect him post flight so I thought something was up. I was right, had to make a bit loud fuss to get him taken off the runway.
Like I said, you are putting your pets lives in the hands of strangers  so best of luck.
The good thing is most pets have a short memory.
One more thought, you may be required to chose just one pet to fly onbard.
Airlines are very strict about how many animals are allowed both in the cabin and in cargo per flight.
We had a bird ready to fly onboard with us to HU frm Vegas and last min. it turned really bad. The idiot ticket agent didn't know what he was doing and waited until last min for his supervisor to help him. He had down the wrong breed of bird  ( the jerk was looking at exotic rare birds)and was telling us it was no allowed to enter Hungary. I had contacted everyone under the sun first, even fish and wildlife in Hungary. It was allwed but last min becuase of their stupid mistake they came up with a doozy of an excuse not to let the bird on board. Even though( It had vet certifiates ect.) it had a small cage and was going under my seat during the flight with no reason at all to be let free, they said if it got out it would make the plane crash. Yes, they actually said that. The tiny bird would eat through the wires and crash the plane.
Good thing the breeder was home and willing to take the bird back. I cried my eyes out all the way across the ocean, I was s sad and s mad at the same time.
No more pets for us until we are set for life in one place
Check with the airlines rules, I'm sure it's limited as to how many animals can be allowed in the cabin at one time.

I travelled from the US to HU with my furry daughter, albeit not a pit bull. So I have some experience here. I'm not an expert, but hope this helps and feel free to ask questions.
- Your pets must be vaccinated and with certified papers from the State Veterinary office. This was written all over the place -- from the carrier to customs. When I checked in with my girl, no one asked to even see her papers. When I arrived in Hungary, no one asked to see her papers. But let's face it, you must have them in case anyone asks.
- There is no such thing as emotional support dogs with most airlines. Even if the first American leg would allow it, the 2nd exchange in Europe would not (I'm assuming a non-direct flight). No matter how sweet you think your dog is, it will be in pet cargo for the dog. To ease his anxiety, I suggest getting him used to an IATA-approved cage appropriate for his size. I also suggest a European carrier, they are simply better with pets.
- My dog let out a heartbreaking cry when I had to deposit her in the crate and leave her at baggage check-in at the airport. I am sure I went pale in despair. The flight over was comfortable enough, with one layover, and all I could think about was my little girl.  However, I know she was well looked after by the crew -- I know this because she had entirely new bedding inside her crate and she was in perfect health when I picked her up. She was clean. I had put a T-shirt of mine in her cage so she still could smell me which wasn't there when I picked her up, so she may have demolished the inside of her crate and they cleaned it all up and gave her new bedding. Anyway, you'll have to assume pets go into cargo hold except for a small dog or cat.
- You may want to acclimate your dog to the cage, i.e. make it is comfortable dog house, put treats in it, put his blanket in it, etc just so he doesn't look at the cage as somewhere he'll get shoved and forgotten (from his point of view).
- You need zip ties to ensure the door of the cage remains closed during the flight.
- When I picked up my dog at the airport, she was literally handed to me, in her cage, through the conveyor belt straps of the laggage carousel. Some guy stuck his head through and asked loudly, "Who is waiting for a dog?" I grabbed her immediately and we literally walked out of the airport.
- In my area, the 13th district, there are 5 dog parks within a 10 minute walk. The area is green. We can walk to Varosliget or Margit Sziget for runs. She has made a lot of 4-legged friends and the travel ordeal is well behind her. She is having a great time here and I hope yours will as well.

I wrote this in the morning, had a normal work day with extra cuddles and treats for my little girl. Then at the dog park while playing, she suffered a major stroke. I immediately took her to the vet, but the damage was obvious and substantial. I had to ask the vet to put my little girl to sleep, and she died in my arms.

Vicces1 wrote:

I wrote this in the morning, had a normal work day with extra cuddles and treats for my little girl. Then at the dog park while playing, she suffered a major stroke. I immediately took her to the vet, but the damage was obvious and substantial. I had to ask the vet to put my little girl to sleep, and she died in my arms.

OMG,  so sorry to hear that.   It is clear that you loved her very much.

Condolences

Vicces1 wrote:

I wrote this in the morning, had a normal work day with extra cuddles and treats for my little girl. Then at the dog park while playing, she suffered a major stroke. I immediately took her to the vet, but the damage was obvious and substantial. I had to ask the vet to put my little girl to sleep, and she died in my arms.

Oh no, I am so very very sad to hear this and feel your pain.
Such a sudden thing to happen, it is shocking.
You did all you could do and your little girl was in your arms as she went over to the Rainbow Bridge.
I know some people don't understand that losing a beloved pet is as painful as losing a family member .
Sometimes I think it is even more painful because they are so innocent and loving.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

Such a sudden thing to happen, it is shocking.
I know some people don't understand that losing a beloved pet is as painful as losing a family member.
Sometimes I think it is even more painful because they are so innocent and loving.

She was definitely my family, my little girl. I feel foolish to cry every day, but we had a connection. We were devoted to one another. To lose her so quickly and unexpectedly....there's never a good time but...
Thank you for your kind words.

Vicces1 wrote:

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

Such a sudden thing to happen, it is shocking.
I know some people don't understand that losing a beloved pet is as painful as losing a family member.
Sometimes I think it is even more painful because they are so innocent and loving.

She was definitely my family, my little girl. I feel foolish to cry every day, but we had a connection. We were devoted to one another. To lose her so quickly and unexpectedly....there's never a good time but...
Thank you for your kind words.

Don't feel foolish.   She was part of the family.   It's normal to feel that way upon the loss of a family member, furry or otherwise.

The kids (and I suppose Mrs F and I) had a pet chicken which died in tragic circumstances a month ago.  I was surprised how upset I was about it.  A rationalisation was "it was only a chicken".  But it had been around here for some years since it was a chick and the kids had grown up with it and loved it in their own way.  Gone but not forgotten.