Dog on plane?

Have any of you taken your dog on a plane? I know some airlines such as Jet Blue now allow this and we are considering a cross-country flight with our pooch.

I am concerned though about him keeping quiet and comfortable stashed in a carry-on under the seat in front of me. I am also pretty concerned about the people around me being offended or even allergic to animals. Has anyone ever done this?

Re: Dog on plane?

I flew back after picking up my puppy in August. It was a real challenge because he didn't even know me yet but it worked out. The dog needs to be put in an approved airline carrier and weigh 15 pounds including the carrier. (Although they aren't usually that strict with weighing them or anything.) I flew Delta and there was a $100 charge (per way so $200 roundtrip) to bring your animal in the cabin. When we first got on the plane I was "that" person because Puppy was screaming. I fed him a Cheerio every few minutes and eventually he went to sleep right after take off and everyone was commenting on how good he was! The hardest part was the stopover because he was sooo heavy to carry around and there was no place for me to take him outside to relieve himself and you are not supposed to take him out in the airport. I would strongely suggest NOT having a stopover but I had no choice as there are no direct connections to where I had to go. FM me if you have any further questions.
Laura

Re: Dog on plane?

I haven't flown with a pet but did make reservations for MIL and her cat.
Each airline charges a different amount.
Make your reservations EARLY, because most airlines allow only four pets in the entire cabin.
Good luck !

Re: Dog on plane?

long ago, I flew many times with my mothers Jack Russell. We sat in the very back and were able to put a hand in the bag & pet him the whole time. He never made a sound, mostly just slept. When we were getting our luggage people were shocked to see we even had a dog with us.

He is 18lbs without the bag so we had to force him into the little bag, we always took his head out once on board.

Re: Dog on plane?

I've done this several times with 2 dogs. I had one and my hubby had the other. How big is your pup? I ask b/c Jet Blue doesnt really give them a lot of room. My dogs were quite uncomfortable and they were panthing heavily so I put the carrier on my lap for the duration of the flight which Jet Blue had a problem with. I found that they had more room on Delta and I was able to keep the carrier on the floor. I was hoping they would sleep but they didn't. These were cross county flights so, at least 4-5 hours. I wasn't keen on giving them a sedative so my vet recommened I feed them a bowl of pasta before take off and I did, that made them very lethargic but, like I mentioned they never fell asleep.

It's totally do-able. I just trying to cover all the bases. Make sure they have enough room in their carrier and find out the dimensions of the area you will put it under.

As far as other passengers, one person complained she was allergic. one person out of 6 flights. They just moved me which was ok with me. But, every other passenger couldnt get over how well they behaved. As soon as we landed, I would open the top of the carrier so they could stick their heads out!

Message edited 2/11/2010 5:17:53 PM.

x

Message edited 7/16/2010 12:06:12 PM.

Re: Dog on plane?

I've taken my cats in cargo for a 20 hour flight. They were fine. I couldn't imagine them with me in plane.

ETA: don't sedate, please don't. It doesn't matter what your vet says, many airlines do not allow it and you do not know what can happen up in the air under sedation.

Message edited 2/11/2010 8:16:11 PM.