Flying with Dogs - looking at you, Fran & Devan..
- Thread starter PlottMom
- Start date
I'll chip in my experience just 'cause.
We flew with a 7 week old ~10lb pit bull puppy, from Ottawa to Halifax on an AirCanada flight, so only about 2 hours in the air.
I don't remember the brand name of the carrier I used, but I looked up my airline's in-cabin requirements and went to Pet Valu with them jotted down, dimensions and all, and just bought the cheapest soft carrier. The puppy barely fit in it, but I'm thinking "eh, for two hours, she can stand being a little cramped."
I was also terrified something would go wrong at check-in or the gate. They never even measured or checked my carrier, or weighed the dog. That being said, make sure you're familiar with the airline's requirements for dogs flying in-cabin. I think as long as Claire had fit in the carrier without being really disruptive, we would have been ok, since the carrier fit under the seat.
I had remembered reading somewhere to ask if the puppy could sit on my lap when the seatbelt sign was off (I think Fran mentioned this?), since it really was a tight fit in the carrier. My air crew was not okay with that, so Claire had to stay under the seat. She was stress panting and a little fidgety for most of the flight, but quiet. I had a corner of the carrier unzipped and kept handing her ice chips.
Since she was only 7 weeks and had been slurping ice chips for the whole flight, I took her from the exit gate straight outside to a patch of snow by the nearest door, then brought her back in on-leash to wait for our luggage. None of the airport staff had a problem with her being on-leash at the baggage claim.
Good luck! I felt sick to my stomach in the hours leading up to the flight because I was sure something would go wrong, but it was very smooth.
I'm sure you'll be fine! If it's a tight squeeze in the carrier you pick (I think most of them are max 12" or 14") I think slowly feeding frozen goodies (like maybe frozen broth chips/cubes) helps keep them cool and calmer.
We flew with a 7 week old ~10lb pit bull puppy, from Ottawa to Halifax on an AirCanada flight, so only about 2 hours in the air.
I don't remember the brand name of the carrier I used, but I looked up my airline's in-cabin requirements and went to Pet Valu with them jotted down, dimensions and all, and just bought the cheapest soft carrier. The puppy barely fit in it, but I'm thinking "eh, for two hours, she can stand being a little cramped."
I was also terrified something would go wrong at check-in or the gate. They never even measured or checked my carrier, or weighed the dog. That being said, make sure you're familiar with the airline's requirements for dogs flying in-cabin. I think as long as Claire had fit in the carrier without being really disruptive, we would have been ok, since the carrier fit under the seat.
I had remembered reading somewhere to ask if the puppy could sit on my lap when the seatbelt sign was off (I think Fran mentioned this?), since it really was a tight fit in the carrier. My air crew was not okay with that, so Claire had to stay under the seat. She was stress panting and a little fidgety for most of the flight, but quiet. I had a corner of the carrier unzipped and kept handing her ice chips.
Since she was only 7 weeks and had been slurping ice chips for the whole flight, I took her from the exit gate straight outside to a patch of snow by the nearest door, then brought her back in on-leash to wait for our luggage. None of the airport staff had a problem with her being on-leash at the baggage claim.
Good luck! I felt sick to my stomach in the hours leading up to the flight because I was sure something would go wrong, but it was very smooth.
I'm sure you'll be fine! If it's a tight squeeze in the carrier you pick (I think most of them are max 12" or 14") I think slowly feeding frozen goodies (like maybe frozen broth chips/cubes) helps keep them cool and calmer.