Taking dog on airplane

[Anonymous]

Has anyone taken their pooch with them on a flight? Our dog is too heavy to bring on board so we would have to check him on in his carrier.

I am worried to the bone because I keep thinking about all the horror stories you hear on the news of pets getting loose and running away on the tarmac, dogs freezing/boiling to death in the luggage compartment, possible injury from carrier not being secured correctly, etc.

Another caveat that is getting to me is that our dog, a beagle, may howl insistently while being contained. And yes, he is up to date on all shots and vaccinations.

I would love to hear some real-life stories about un/successful airplane trips with a dog. Also, are there any airlines that are more "pet friendly" than others?

This would be for a flight to Chicago during Christmas time.

Thank you.

[Anonymous]

I have personally only taken a cat with me. My BF brings her dog home each Thanksgiving from California about a five hour flight. Dog is a King Charles and does well. Before even considering this I would contact the airline to make sure that there is room for your pet on the flight. There is a limit to the number of pets that can travel on a plane.

I would also contact your vet to discuss. You can request tranquilizers for your dog but not all pets do well with these. My cat was always tranquilized. Without the tranquilizers it would have been a huge disaster.

[Anonymous]

We've taken our dog on a plane -- also too big to ride in the cabin with us. We put her in a crate and left her at baggage, which was a very uncomfortable feeling. We've done it twice. Once in the spring time on Alaska Air from Seattle to DC, and again in the summer on Frontier Air from Denver to DC. We were definitely nervous, but everything worked out well (and we were really happy to have her with us on vacation this summer). We got sedatives from the vet. But it turns out that she didn't actually swallow them for the first flight (our friends later discovered them on the kitchen floor after we'd left for the airport). She was fine with and without them. But I'd prefer to use them again because I think it made her so drowsy that she was less nervous. We actually saw her being loaded on the plane in DC out of the plane window. The baggage handlers lifted her crate and put it on the belt. While they weren't particularly gentle, they weren't rough with her. In the summer we were worried about the heat on the tarmac. But the airlines have limits of too high temperatures when they won't take her. I imagine there might be similar limits for winter travel. I'd check with the airline. Hope it works out for you.

[Anonymous]

Thank you PPs.

- the OP