My husband is possible getting orders for Germany after he gets back from deployment. We have a 7 months old son and two dogs. I was just wondering if anyone on here has ever been? If so any advice on making the move smoother? And any info I can get would be great! Thanks so much! 

I don't know about Germany but we are going to Korea and I'd imagine that the process is similar. These are the things that I have learned so far....

1. Be sure your orders state concurrent travel, and also that you and your son are authorized to fly on the same date as your husband, if you do not do this you will have to wait a period of 90 days - 1 year to get housing. (That may be different for Germany, but check to be sure.)

2. If your orders say "Deferred travel" But you need to travel with your spouse (I do as I am pregnant and will not be able to travel after a certain date) You will have to call the housing office in Germany, they will most likely tell you to make a reservation with the hotel on post, once you do this send them the confirmation number and they will change it to concurrent travel and send the orders down. (That is how we had to fix it for Korea, so I am sure it is probably similar.)

3. If you don't already have it, Get your no fee passport in advance. You have plenty of time since you still have probably at least 9 months, but it takes about 2 to get the passport back, and at least for Korea, it is the only passport authorized to travel on while under military orders according to the passport office. Also see what is needed to take your little one over. He may need id/ passport/ something but I am not sure as I do not have any kiddos aside from unborn little one.

4. As far as pets go your dogs will need to be up to date on all of their vaccinations, and 30 days before you fly they will need to go to the vet and get a check up and a health certificate. This health certificate will allow for your pets to not be placed in quarienten when you go through.

You will also need airline approved crates with a food/water attachment for them on the plane.

Again this is things I have learned for Korea, but as it is overseas it may be similar or different. Hope it helped a little anyway!

Good luck to you! 

Thank you! 

Do you pay for your dogs flights? 

Do you pay for your dogs flights? 

I am not sure about that part, husband said that the army pays for the ticket, and then we have to pay for boarding. 

http://www.airanimal.com/

I found this link when I was looking it up. Not sure how helpful it is, but the reviews seem ok. 

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080923143326AAkSA6K This link also seems promising, the last post on the link. 

the Army does not pay for your pets to travel it cost my friends $1200 for their german shepard and they had to rehome their husky because it was too expensive, they went to Germany. there are also certain months that large pets cant fly because its too hot or cold in the cargo part of the plane so be sure to check that 

Ok so how do I figure out how much it is going to cost to fly my dogs there? 

the Army does not pay for your pets to travel it cost my friends $1200 for their german shepard and they had to rehome their husky because it was too expensive, they went to Germany. there are also certain months that large pets cant fly because its too hot or cold in the cargo part of the plane so be sure to check that 

That is not what I heard, but that is ok. Like I said we are still finding stuff out. Husband said we have to pay for boarding and that's it, however he could be mistaking.

If that is the case we will have to re home our pup because otherwise we would not be able to afford to take her over there.

Also while reading online about it, the post stated that planes have heating and cooling control, and the cargo can be kept at the same heat/cool as the rest of the plane. Will ask about that as well.

I will ask when we get our new copy of orders and go to get our tickets. 

When we left Germany in 1990 we had a small cocker spaniel. We had to pay to ship her back home. I think it was about $300.

When you get to Germany have fun, travel as much as you can and time will fly for you. 

Brittany,

We are presently in Germany, heading back to Riley at the end of the month. First, allow me to answer your questions about pet travel to and from Germany: it can be done :) That is to say, don't panic; it's not drastically expensive and Germany is a super pet friendly country: you'll see rediculously well behaved dogs all around, in restaurants and stores!

As far as fees for pet travel, most people don't get away with sticking the fees on with their airline tickets. It has been done, but it is not the norm. You pay for them-out of pocket-at the ticket counter, upon check-in of your flight. Your pets will need to be included in your flight bookings, so the airline knows a pet will be onboard. Every airline is different and not all accept pets; however, when your spouse is in full PCS mode, upon booking your flights, an airline that accepts them will be selected for you based on available flight dates and other restrictions.

How big are your dogs? If they are bigger than say chihuahuas, you will have them travel in hard case airline approved carriers, in the heat controlled cargo section of the plane; depending on the airline, this could cost a small bit over a hundred dollars, maybe two. If the pooches are small, they can travel in a sherpa bag that fits below the seat in front of you (with my dogs, ones in a sherpa, the other in cargo); the fees for this being far less, of course.

There are a plethora of websites that have more helpful information. Do a google search :)

Okay, so...there are many military installations throughout Europe, and Germany has the bulk of them. For example, I'm located in Kaiserslautern military community (SW Germany), and I can think of at least five installations within a twenty mile radius. That's not counting a half dozen more an hour or so away. Get the picture? :)

Change is constant. I made all my arrangements in advance, arrived at Frankfurt airport thinking I had my house ready to move into the next day at Grafenwohr and guess what: our orders were changed, and the military peeps at the airport had no idea where to send us yet. We were told we'd stay at the airport hotel overnight; to just sit tight. OMG, right? We ended up assigned to a hospital (nope, we're not medical)- on the opposite end of Germany. We did not get the house I had made all the arrangements for (with pets) and we ended up paying out of pocket-in euro-for our hotel: for four weeks! Breathe, laugh...needs of the Army come first.

Lesson learned? Save up your pennies and be prepared for anything. Chant: this too shall past...you're not the first, you won't be the last :)

It's an adventure...

Final thought, you might find some of the German undergrounds. i.e. ramsteinunderground.com to be helpful. 

Oh, this needs mentioning. Unlike some overseas places (Hawaii was insane and England), we did not have pet quarantine restrictions upon entering Germany.

Worth checking this site out :)

http://www.petflight.com/airlines 

Thank you!!! That was helpful! We have a yorky poo and a two year old boxer. I do have another question for you = ) What did you do with your dogs when you got there since you did not have housing? 

http://www.coyotecommunications.com/germany/basics.html

Check this site out Brittany . It has some things about traveling to Germany, not sure if it is centered on military though. 

When we arrived at Frankfurt airport the pooches were kept in their kennels, in a room where suit cases are stored while you go through military processing (all in the airport). The airport was full of other dogs and you can let them out on a leash to walk around (if they are properly trained, of course) or to venture outside to do their biz. Once you are told your destination, a big tour bus will be your transportation to your new duty station. Your pets are, again, stored in the conditioned luggage section of the bus. It's not as terrible as it sounds.

Our new unit only had two hours notice that we were arriving, so we were unable to attain on-post billeting for a family of five with two small dogs. We ended up finding a pet friendly hotel on the economy. Again, Germany is very dog friendly, so this is not out of the norm; just very expensive when paying out of pocket with such a poor dollar to euro exchange rate. We were reimbursed every dime spent on our hotel stay; don't recall paying extra for the pets.

Be mindful, too, that Germans really love their dogs. There are laws here that protect animals more than the average human in the United States. You are not permitted to leave dogs locked up all day, be it in your hotel or new home of residence, while shopping or house hunting (not that a decent person would want to, but...). Pets must be let out every so many hours and crating them for long periods of time is frowned upon. We actually had friends come back to their hotel room to find their pooch had been let out for them by a member of the hotel staff.

When you have your orders, plane tickets, flight dates, etc. sorted out, that's the time to make arrangements for hotels and housing lists; as far in advance as possible. If, for what ever reason, you are not able to get on post lodging to meet your needs, contact local boarding kennels-there are plenty.
As an example, we have something called the Find-it Guide here. This book and on-line website is a military directory, updated yearly, that provides folks with a wealth of information. Check it out:
http://www.finditguide.de/

Hope this helps :)