Brian:

A friend of mine brought an Irish Water Spaniel pup back from England in 2006. That pup was 8 or 9 weeks old, and he was allowed to keep him in a crate at his feet.

Now that was 2006, and he flew non-stop from London Heathrow to Dulles. I'm not a fan of shipping pups. I much prefer traveling to the breeder and picking the pup up and bringing home. But this one is in Switzerland. You mentioned traveling to get the pup, I would. Contact the various airlines that have routes to and from and ask what their policies are about keeping the pup with you. That is a long trip in a cargo hold. Good luck.