Flying a pit bull or bully breed in Canada
If you own or breed a bully breed you already know the script. You call an airline, you say the breed, and the conversation ends. Most passenger carriers keep restricted breed lists that catch pit bulls, American Bulldogs, Staffordshire Terriers, and any dog that looks close enough. We move these dogs across Canada on CargoJet overnight air cargo, which does carry them, with the ground legs handled on both ends.
Why this works when passenger airlines say no
- ✓ CargoJet is a dedicated freight carrier, not a passenger airline
- ✓ They carry bully breeds passenger carriers turn away
- ✓ Overnight flights, so the crate moves during the coolest hours
- ✓ No health certificate for domestic Canadian flights
- ✓ No vaccination records required for domestic Canadian flights
- ✓ Warehouse facilities in 14 Canadian cities
At a glance
- Breeds:
- Pit bull types, American Bulldog, Staffordshire Terrier, and similar
- Origins:
- Hamilton (YHM) and Moncton (YQM)
- Reaches:
- 14 Canadian cities on the CargoJet network
- Drop-off:
- Three hours ahead of the scheduled flight
- Crate:
- IATA compliant, sized to the dog
The breed is not the hard part. The destination is.
Getting a bully breed onto a plane in Canada is a solved problem once you stop calling passenger airlines. The genuinely hard part is where the dog is going.
Breed-specific legislation in Canada is set province by province and city by city, not federally. That means a dog can be perfectly legal at the origin and restricted or banned at the destination, and the rules change over time as municipalities pass and repeal them. We are transporters, not your lawyer, so we do not publish a list of current bans that would go stale. What we do is confirm the destination's rules with you in writing before anything gets booked.
A common lapse is assuming the receiving city works like the origin city because they are in the same country. They often do not. Check before you take a deposit on a puppy, not after.
Four steps from your door to theirs
- 1Tell us the dog and both cities
Breed, adult weight, origin, destination. We confirm the destination's breed rules and quote the ground legs plus the CargoJet fee.
- 2Crate sorted before flight day
We source or specify an IATA crate that fits the dog. A crate rejected at the warehouse means a missed flight, so this gets settled early, not on the day.
- 3Ground to the warehouse, drop three hours ahead
We collect the dog and drive to YHM or YQM, whichever is closer, and check them in three hours before the scheduled flight.
- 4Overnight flight, morning collection
The dog flies overnight in a climate-controlled hold. You or a local contact collects at the CargoJet facility the next morning, or we run the onward ground leg where we operate.
FAQs
Will any airline fly a pit bull in Canada?
Passenger airlines are where people hit the wall. Most of them maintain restricted or excluded breed lists that catch pit bulls, American Bulldogs, Staffordshire Terriers, and dogs that simply look like them. CargoJet is a dedicated freight carrier rather than a passenger airline, and they carry bully breeds. That is why we route restricted-breed dogs through CargoJet instead of trying to force a passenger booking that will be refused at the counter.
Do you need a health certificate or vaccine records to fly a pit bull inside Canada?
No. For a domestic CargoJet flight inside Canada there is no health certificate and no vaccination record required. That saves you a vet appointment and at least $100. Cross-border shipments into or out of the United States are completely different and do require the full paperwork, which we handle for you.
What crate does a pit bull need to fly?
An IATA Live Animal Regulations crate sized to the dog: they must be able to stand fully upright, turn around, and lie down naturally. For an adult bully breed that is usually a large or extra-large crate with metal hardware rather than plastic clips. We source or recommend the right crate before booking, because a crate rejected at the warehouse means a missed flight.
Why does flying at night matter for a heavy-coated, heavy-muscled dog?
CargoJet runs an overnight freighter network. The crate moves during the coolest hours instead of sitting on a hot ramp in the afternoon, which is when live animal shipments run into temperature trouble. For a big muscular dog that struggles to shed heat, a night flight is a materially safer flight.
Are there places in Canada you cannot ship a pit bull to?
Yes, and this is the part people get caught by. Breed-specific legislation in Canada is set provincially and municipally, not federally, so the rules change depending on the destination. Some provinces and municipalities restrict or ban ownership of pit bull type dogs outright. Before we book anything we confirm the destination's current rules with you, because a dog that arrives somewhere it cannot legally live is a problem no transporter can fix at the airport.
Do you handle the ground legs too?
Yes, that is most of what we do. We collect the dog from the breeder, rescue, or owner, drive to the CargoJet warehouse at Hamilton (YHM) or Moncton (YQM), and drop off three hours ahead of the scheduled flight. At the far end you or a local contact collects from the CargoJet facility, or we arrange the onward ground leg where we run.
Got a bully breed that needs to move?
Tell us the dog, the origin, and the destination. We'll confirm the destination rules and send you the full cost in writing before anything is booked.